Speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on Wednesday, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said many young people in Nigeria are lazy and simply want to take advantage of the country’s oil wealth.
“More than 60% of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free,” Buhari said.
Wednesday’s remarks reminded many people of comments he made in a 2016 interview with UK Telegraph which were also critical of Nigerian youth.
In that interview, Mr. Buhari said some Nigerians in England, mostly young people, are disposed to criminality and should not be granted asylum there. He was fiercely criticized for the comment, with many saying it failed to convey the reality of Nigerian youth’s problems.
His most recent comments have once again upset thousands in Nigeria who took to social media to voice their displeasure.
Former Nigerian Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, believed by some to be Buhari’s stiffest competition next year’s presidential campaign, said on his Facebook page that he would never refer to Nigeria’s youth as people who “sit and do nothing”.
“They are hardworking. I should know, I have thousands of youths working for me all over the country who have been the backbone to our success,” the post read.
Reno Omkori, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan was even more critical.
Nigerian youths created Nollywood from scratch without government help. 77% of Black doctors in America are Nigerians, mostly youths who were frustrated out of Nigeria due to inept leadership of the likes of Buhari. In his life, can Buhari name one thing he has run successfully?
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 18, 2018
Between Nigerian youths and Buhari, who sits and does nothing? What rubbish from a President who lied that rats chased him from his office so he could work at home! A lazy President who cant supervise his IGP to know where he is calls youths lazy. You will hear from them in 2019!
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 18, 2018
Omkori’s 2019 prediction was not missed by presidential hopeful Adamu Garba.
Garba, an IT entrepreneur running for president under the All Progressives Congress (APC) banner, says the Nigerian economy has faltered under Buhari and that Buhari has cost Nigeria 7.5 million jobs in three years.
Garba urged Nigeria’s young people to keep the economy as well as Buhari’s recent comments in mind when they head to the polls next year.
“‘We strongly condemn this statement and the Nigerian youths must remember that the same man they queued under the sun to vote for, walked across states for, campaigned for, has turned around to shame them, Garba said.
“The Nigerian youths must prepare to act decisively in 2019 and vote for their interest.”
Nigeria’s combined youth unemployment and underemployment rate hovered around 50% in late 2017 following the country’s worst economic recession in 25 years.
Nigeria came out of recession last year but growth outside the lucrative oil sector remains tepid, constrained by a lack of education and infrastructure.
