Nigerian political officeholders like to innovate nonsense. What tactless youthful exuberance prompted the recent announcement by the Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jemila Ibrahim, on plans to establish a national youth development bank?
According to her, the bogus idea is part of efforts by President Bola Tinubu to increase access to capital for young Nigerians. How shameless?
For me, this is not just intended to seek cheap attention to be seen as creative. It is more of a frenzy to create new frontiers for looting the commonwealth. What is so special about a bank dedicated to the youths.
What is the minister’s contest of youth in the first place because we have a country where 50 year old people regard themselves as youths and struggle for benefits meant for the truly young people?
The youths in higher institutions have bank accounts with which their parents send them money.
What Nigeria needs is a viable economy and secure environment that will attract investment and not going to foreign countries by Nigerian leaders to beg for investors who will never take them seriously.
Which investor would like to invest in a country where human beings are being slaughtered in cold blood on the eve of Christmas in Plateau state and other parts of the country with the government having no clue over a lasting solution to the insecurity? Who would like to invest in a country where people are kidnapped for ransom almost as a culture now?
The proposed youth bank is an avenue to engage hangers-on as executives and board members to widen the sphere of looting. What happened to people’s bank of Gen Ibrahim Babangida? How well are the community banks and microfinance banks helping rural dwellers as intended?
Nigeria is in need of patriotic leaders like Lee Kuan Yew and Nelson Mandela and not useless programs aimed to enrich politicians and hangers-on. The Betta Edu scandal is still fresh in mind.
It is all about the sincerity of our leaders and not establishing suspicious youth banks. The existing commercial banks, mortgage banks, and microfinance banks, Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, are for both youths and old people.
We don’t need youth banks for politicians and hangers-on to feast on.
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