The visiting Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Mr Guy Ryder said on Thursday that Nigerian Youths are very talented and vibrant; declaring that “all of us who visit your country are aware of the talent and vibrancy of your people.”
He made this declaration even as he stated that the disturbing reality is that 255 million young people are not in employment, in education or training; adding that 136 million young people are working, yet still live in poverty.
The ILO Director-General, who was speaking at the opening of the “Global Youth Employment Forum ( GYEF),” holding in Abuja stated that world over, Nigerian youths are seen in all sector, known very well for their talents and quality.
Guy Ryder, who is the first ILO DG to visit the independent Federal Republic of Nigeria, the first being in 1959 pre-independent era, said he was very proud of that achievement.
He said: “I want to say that all of us who visit your country are aware of the talent and vibrancy of your people. We see them across the world in all sectors. So, we know very well the quality and talent of the people of Nigeria.
“I am proud to be the first serving Director-General of our organisation to visit the independent Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This is also the centenary year of ILO and we have dedicated ourself not to looking back at our 100 years history, but to look forward to the future of work.”
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He added: “There are many good reasons why we are holding this Forum in Africa, why we choose Nigeria and why we have come to Abuja. In my experience as the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation, if I ask any minister of labour what their priorities are, in nine out of ten, their answers have always been generating work for young people and for the young people.
“The priority has been to obtain quality education and a chance at a decent job. I believe that there is no important job before us in any part of the world than the task we have set for this global youth employment forum.
“Of course when you look at the future of work, automatically, we think of youth and the situation of youths in the world of work. We should be realistic. There are plenty of good situations that we can observe and alot of positive stories about this. The best educated generation of young people that the world has ever seen. But the overall picture is the aggregate numbers required to stop and think and take action.”
But the Guy Rider said: “The reality is, and it is a disturbing reality; around the world, 255 million young people are not in employment nor are they in education or training. Young women are three times more likely to be part of that number than young men.
“So, we must ask ourselves, what is their future going to be? Are they included in our labour market or excluded? With young people more likely to be unemployed than adults, even when they can find a place of work, they can be in extremely difficult condition, which sometimes fall short of ILO’s ambition of decent work for all.
“136 million young people are working, yet still live in poverty. These are the working poor and in Africa, that is the status of 60 per cent of young workers, often concentrated in conditions of informalities and in rural economies.
“Whether we like it or not, these are our global realities and that was the reality the international community set for itself when in 2015, the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The commitment then was to leave nobody behind and that include the goal of inclusive growth and decent work for everybody, including youths.”
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