Nigeria’s private sector cannot provide enough jobs for Nigerians, Bola Tinubu, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said at an Arewa House Lecture on Saturday.

Mr Tinubu who chaired the 2021 Sardauna Memorial Lecture, spoke on the topic: “Reduction of the Cost of Governance for Inclusive Growth and Youth Development in Northern Nigeria in a Post-COVID-19 Era.”

The politician posited that the solution to the current state of insecurity and youth unemployment is more spending by the government.

“Fiscal wisdom but not necessarily austerity is required for an economy like ours in a time like this, to ensure equitable wealth redistribution and meaningful use of resources,” Mr Tinubu told a gathering on mostly northern leaders of thought at the Kaduna venue. “The years have shown that the private sector is much too weak to spur the growth we need. If the private sector could manage this feat, it would have already done so. Where the private sector is too weak or unable, the government must fill the void.”

“This means the government must not be afraid to embark on an activist fiscal policy to create jobs, build infrastructure and develop our industrial sector as well as continue to improve agriculture. This means the government must spend money but spend it on those things that bring the requisite economic returns for the nation,” he offered further.

Mr Tinubu noted that the combined effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and massive unemployment were responsible for the weak economy despite exiting the recession and deliberate actions must be taken in reversing the trend.

His comments come barely weeks after the National Bureau of Statistics released reports showing Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a record 33.3 per cent.

The former Lagos State governor and 2023 presidential aspirant underlined the importance of the government of any populous country to allocate sufficient funds to projects and programmes capable of creating and encouraging enduring growth and employment.

“Urban populations are growing but urban jobs are not. Here, the government must implement a national industrial policy to encourage key industries that begin to employ this growing urban workforce,” he said.

However, the efficiency of Nigeria’s private sector is tied to its enabling environment. In 2020, Nigeria ranked 131 of the 190 countries assessed by the World Bank in its Doing Business Index.

At the beginning of the lockdown, Nigeria witnessed small and medium scale businesses having to downsize their staff strength to remain afloat.

Financial body, KPMG, released a report titled “The Twin Shocks(COVID-19 Pandemic & Oil Price Crisis) and Implications for Nigerian Family Businesses”. In it, problems that were highlighted as impact on the average business included; disruptions in the supply chain as a result of local and cross-country restrictions, reduced cash inflows and liquidity challenges due to significant downward pressure on demand and reduced profit levels.