Chairman, United Bank for Africa Group (UBA), Tony Elumelu, says the lack of employment opportunities serves as a recruiting tool for those benefitting from insecurity and terrorism which has ravaged Northern part of Nigeria and some other parts of Africa.
Elumelu, who is also the founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), made this comment while speaking at Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, with the President of Senegal, Macky Sall and President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani in attendance.
According to him, to put an end to terrorism and stop the continuous recruitment of the youths by terrorists and violence sponsors, there’s the need for government to create jobs and the private sector to invest in the youths.
While speaking at the event, Elumelu said regardless of the number of seminars held to discuss insecurity in Africa, if jobs were not created and poverty was not curbed, extremists would continue to brainwash the youths. According to him, deliberating on weapons to defend against insurgency is not enough and not the lasting solution.
“To tackle insecurity, we must tackle poverty, which is the root cause. We must prioritize our young ones by creating economic opportunities for them, as well driving inclusive growth. There is also the need to involve our women in the development agenda of the continent. While it is no doubt important to discuss weaponry and other means to deal with insurgency, lasting peace can only be attained in the long run by investing in our people across Africa,” Elumelu said.
Elumelu said companies also have a role to play in job creation. He made reference to the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s $100 million Entrepreneurship Programme as a method to create employment opportunities. The foundation, with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), plans to empower 100,000 young Africans in 10 years.
