Adesina increases the alarm on the trend of ‘japa’, calling for investment in African youth

African Development Bank President (AFDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has voiced a deep concern over the increasing popular migration trends as referred to in Nigeria as Japa, a term that captures the exodus that developed from young Nigeria to look for better opportunities abroad.

In an honest interview on television channels on Thursday, Adesina described the trend as a “large -magnitude loss” for Nigeria and the African continent in general, warning that Africa exported its future by failing to invest adequately in his youth.

“What young people need is not only token or free empowerment schemes,” he said. “They need access to capital. They need people who will be enough to believe in their ideas to endanger money on their behalf.”

Former Minister of Agriculture Nigeria stressed that the population of African youth, which is estimated to be more than 465 million between ages 15 and 35, is not an obligation, but the potential of gold mining if utilized correctly. Interesting comparisons with India and China, Adesina argues that the population is only a burden when it does not have productivity and investment.

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“India and China have a very large population, but it is not a problem for them because they have invested in the skills of their people. Africa must do the same thing,” he said.

According to him, youth migration indicates more than just the search for greener grasslands; This is a reflection of the lost belief in the local system. He added that if young Africans have meaningful jobs, access to funding, and adequate social protection, many prefer to live and contribute to their home country.

“Don’t do outsourcing African prosperity to other continents,” he warned. “The future of our young people must lie down in Africa -in Africa that grow strongly, create quality jobs, and respect their ideas.”

Adesina also stressed the importance of internal consumption, which states that in the world that is increasingly dominated by protectionist trade policies, building demand and local production is the key to African economic resilience.

His statement arose amid increasing concerns that the smartest mind in the continent contributed to the development of foreign countries while Africa continued to lag behind in the critical fields of innovation and industrial growth.

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