Nigeria’s Youth: The Untapped Engine of Economic Transformation

Nigeria’s Youth: The Untapped Engine of Economic Transformation

By Pascal Dozie | April 8, 2025

Lagos, Nigeria – In the bustling heart of Yaba’s tech ecosystem last week, I witnessed something that reaffirmed my belief: Nigeria's salvation lies not in oil nor politics—but in her young minds.

A group of five young Nigerians, all under 30, were huddled inside a modest co-working space, building a mobile payment app designed to serve rural traders with no internet access. I listened as they explained how their solution would use USSD codes to reach over 40 million underserved Nigerians. They weren’t just writing code—they were writing a new chapter for Nigeria.

This is not an isolated story.

From the streets of Aba where fashionpreneurs are stitching global dreams, to Kano where agri-tech startups are tackling food insecurity, our youth are showing us what governance often ignores: innovation thrives when frustration meets imagination.

And yet, a sobering reality looms—over 53% of Nigerian youth remain unemployed or underemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (2024). These are not lazy youth. They are underutilized assets, victims of a system slow to recognize that the real oil lies in the intellect, not the soil.

I have spent decades building institutions—from Diamond Bank to the Central Bank Board. One truth remains: No nation prospers by ignoring its most energetic demographic. What we’re seeing now is not just talent; it's a revolution quietly boiling beneath our noses.

But this revolution needs fuel: access to capital, functional infrastructure, and visionary policies. Young Nigerians need more than motivational speeches; they need concrete investments, tax incentives, and regulatory support that doesn’t stifle ambition.

If Nigeria is to rise, we must do more than applaud our youth—we must back them with bold policies, public-private partnerships, and a national mindset that shifts from consumption to creation.

The time is now.

Because when a nation invests in its youth, it doesn't just secure its future—it rewrites it.

Pascal Dozie is a Nigerian entrepreneur, economist, and public policy advocate. He is the founder of Diamond Bank and a former Chairman of MTN Nigeria.

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