Young people are Nigeria’s valuable resource – Osinbajo

Acting President Yemi Osibanjo has called for more investment in young people saying they are the most valuable resource the nation has not oil.

He made the call yesterday during the national summit tagged ‘Investing in youth to reap demographic dividend in Nigeria’ in Abuja,

Represented by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Osinbajo also launched Nigeria’s fourth national RAPID and roadmap on achieving demographic dividends.

RAPID is an evidencedbased advocacy tool, which projects the social and economic consequences of high fertility on different sectors of the economy such as labour, education, health, urbanization, and agriculture.

Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole said there was need to reduce Nigeria’s total fertility rate, which currently stands at 5.5% compared to that of Rwanda and Gabon at 3.90% and 3.91% respectively.

He said if Nigeria works hard at managing her population, the country could attain a gross domestic product GDP/capital ratio of $5800 in 2050.

The Country Director for Palladium’s USAID-funded Health Policy Plus project, Onoriode Ezire delivered a presentation on the RAPID model, which shows the impact of fertility on population growth overtime.

The launch of the 4th national RAPID and the roadmap on achieving demographic dividends indicates Nigeria’s commitment towards implementing the right policies that would address future population growth and sustainable development.