President Muhammadu Buhari has advised Nigerian youths to start their own business because his regime does not have jobs to offer the teeming unemployed youngsters.

“We should ensure the children get proper education,” noted Mr Buhari as several thousands of students remain shut out of school because of the months-long ASUU strike. 

“The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs. We don’t have jobs in government anymore,” admitted Mr Buhari. “With technology, governments are becoming more (sic) smaller, nimble and efficient.” 

The president added, “Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology. During the COVID-19, we asked all level 12 downward to stay at home, and surprisingly the systems worked effectively.”

He stated this when he visited the Emir of Daura, Faruk Umar Faruk, at his palace on Sallah homage, according to a statement by his media aide Garba Shehu on Wednesday.

Mr Buhari also called for the need to teach Nigerian youths about the country’s history to become patriotic. 

“The younger children should be guided and taught history, as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds,” he explained. “Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes.”

The World Bank report in July 2021 indicated that the unemployment rate had risen more than ever in Nigeria’s history under Mr Buhari’s regime.

The Washington-based organisation said the unemployment rate started rising sharply in 2015 when Mr Buhari assumed power, worsened by COVID-19, pushing Nigeria into a recession.

“The rise in unemployment rates has been particularly acute since the 2015- 2016 economic recession and has further worsened as COVID-19 led to the worst recession in four decades in 2020,” said the report.

Similarly, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria rose five-fold from 6.4 per cent in 2010, hitting 33.3 per cent as of the last quarter of 2020 under the regime.