Kunle Adelabu
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Rep. Babajimi Adegoke Benson, has charged Nigerian youths on the need to upscale their talents and develop capacities for the one trillion dollars economy that Nigeria is moving into.
Rep. Benson who is representing Ikorodu federal constituency, stressed the need for youths to be prepare to maximise the US$1 trillion dollars economy that Nigeria is driving at under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
He spoke as the special guest of honour at the second edition of “Mentorship with HOA”, a youth development platform initiated by the Chairman, Igbogbo/Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (IBLCDA), Omo’ba Hammed Olalekan Aroyewun (HOA) held at the IBLCDA Secretariat at the weekend.
”Nigeria’s GDP today is about 300 billion dollars. And we are about the second largest economy in Africa. And we have a power stream of just 5,000 megawatts and with this, we are the second largest economy in Africa.
”South Africa has over 50,000 megawatts. Egypt also has over 50,000megawatts, while Morocco, and Algeria, also have huge megawatts, but we have 5,000 megawatts and yet, we are the second largest.”
”And, as you know that without power, you can’t be anything. But we have struggled because we are Nigerians to be number two biggest economy in Africa. So, that means we’ve done greatly despite our challenges.
He added; “But here is where the story gets sweeter. This administration is trying to ramp up the power from 5,000 to about 30,000, and we want to hit a 1 trillion dollars economy.
”Now, if we attain that economic height, and in the power generation too, it means the economy is going to create so many jobs that you (youths) seated here cannot even fill up the job space to be created.”
”We will have to import labour from all over the world. So, we should all take time to pray for the administration to upscale whatever skills we have.”
The three- term lawmaker who said he’s always jealous whenever he realises that he is, no longer a youth because of the enormous opportunities opened to them, urged them to develop skills to maximise the 1 trillion dollars economy.
”I see young people and I understand the potential that Nigeria can give them. If we get governance right, this is the place to be, yes, that is Nigeria. Because you thrive where there are skills. Where skills are available, there are opportunities.
”Therefore, if we are going to move from a 250 billion dollar economy to a 1 trillion dollar economy. If we want to ramp up power from 5,000 megawatts to 25,000 or 30,000 megawatts, you need to be prepared from today, and don’t let anybody lie to you because, each one of you have a talent.”
While emphasising his charge with the Biblical story of a master who gave his servants different talents while embarking on a long journey and returned to ask them to account for what they have done with them, Rep. Benson also urged them not to focus on politics.
Rep. Benson further buttressed the importance of human capital development to the development of any country when he cited one of his professor’s development idea which he conceptualised as three “I” – Instruments, Institutions and Individuals, emphasising that the quality of Individiuals in a country determines its productiveness.
”The first ” I” is called Instruments, which can be like constitution, laws etc, and there’s no country in the world that doesn’t have a constitution. There’s no country in the world that doesn’t have laws.”
”The second “i” is called institutions. There’s no country in the world that doesn’t have institutions. Nigeria has NDLEA, America has DEA. I’m sure Togo will have their own. They all have central banks. They all have assemblies.
”The last one is where the issues are, which is individuals. We all have individuals, but the level and patriotism and caliber of individuals distinguish a developing country from a developed country.”
He stated further, “The individuals in the developed countries know how to upscale their talents. They do not only see politics as a way of living.”
”They know how to be mentored; they are self starters. That is why they are developed countries. And when you have those individuals like that, they will run their institutions properly and they will do or apply their instruments appropriately.”
The lawmaker who was disappointed with low positive response when he asked participants about how many of them own their own businesses, urged Nigerian youths to focus on their talents, develop their capacities and use it to create values and opportunities for others.
