The Minister of Budget and National Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, has questioned the methodology used by foreign agencies to generate economic indices for Nigeria.
He said Nigeria needs to be involved in the collation of economic data to fully understand how this data is compiled and to accurately represent the industrious nature of its citizens.
The minister made this statement at the official launch and unveiling of the “Africa Youth Employment Clock” by the MasterCard Foundation and the World Data Lab, in collaboration with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, in Abuja.
Bagudu, while speaking to the media, said foreign agencies do not adequately reflect the hard work of Nigerian citizens when compiling economic data.
He said, “Sometimes a data set may not reveal all. For example, how do I communicate to the world that in my country, Nigeria, there are hardworking individuals, such as a woman in Ogbia, Taraba, or Borno, who are willing to wake up as early as 4:00 am to contribute their efforts?
“Sometimes the way data is generated, particularly by some officials of international bodies, misses this out. I gave an example with credit rating agencies.”
Appreciating the MasterCard Foundation and the World Data Lab for their contributions in helping the government reduce unemployment in the country and the African continent, Bagudu said the African Youth Clock initiatives highlight where Nigeria stands as a country.
“Many policies support the dream of ensuring that our young people have employment opportunities. By employment opportunities, I mean both direct employment and the ability to employ others,” he added.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, commended the two organisations for the initiative, noting that youth employment is a pressing challenge that needs to be addressed with urgency and strategic commitment.
She added, “An estimated 245 million young Africans are currently unemployed and this could grow to over 297 million by 2030 if we fail to act decisively.
“Youth unemployment threatens the socio-economic stability of our nation. The federal government is implementing bold and innovative strategies to tackle this crisis head-on.
“Our policies are closely aligned with the aspirations of the Nigerian Development Plan 2021-2025, and the long-term articulated agenda for employment for 2050. Our long-term plans for employment generation are implemented through various avenues: economic diversification, leveraging key sectors like agriculture, ICT, manufacturing, and the creative industry to create jobs; skills acquisition; support for SMEs; innovation in education; enhancing digital literacy; and private sector engagement.”
She added, “The FG is making significant efforts to ensure our young people are positioned at the forefront of these initiatives. Under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, there is a renewed focus on transforming the labour market.”
“Credible data is the backbone of quality decision-making. The clock will provide real-time employment trends to youths across the continent, broken down by gender, age, and sector.
“This data-driven approach will enable policymakers to identify gaps in existing strategies and tailor interventions. This tool will help us align our policies more closely to ensure our interventions are effective and efficient. We look forward to partnering with all stakeholders on this transformative endeavour.”
MasterCard Foundation’s Country Director in Nigeria, Rosy Fynn, said the collaboration between the foundation, World Data Lab, and the government will create 30 million jobs, which will increase over time.
He said, “Creating 30 million jobs by 2030 is very feasible because it spans different areas. A lot needs to happen, but not only are we creating 30 million jobs across Africa, but these will be fulfilling and dignified jobs. We think it is feasible because of all the efforts we are making to push for youth employment.
“The African Youth Employment Clock will provide access to very important data that will allow us to see where to focus our efforts. We need to be aware that many of the jobs to come will be in the service sector, so we now need to provide systems, tools, and access to finance to enable people to seize opportunities in the service industry.
“When we decided to work in Nigeria, we reviewed the Renewed Hope policy of the government and decided that our efforts should align with the government’s interests.”
The Vice President of Strategic Engagement at the World Data Lab, Dr. Reshma Sheoraj, said their focus is on tracking Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“For the first time, we’ve brought a data model that is consistent and comparable. You can see the trends in youth employment across Africa and Nigeria, with detailed insights at a sub-national level,” she noted.
She said that working closely with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has been very helpful in gathering data on unemployed youth in the country.
“We’ve been working very closely with the National Bureau of Statistics Office, which has been a great partnership. The foundation of our data collection has been survey data.
“We also work with International Labour Organisation data as well as other international sources. We bring together those datasets, clean the data, and make it comparable,” Sheoraj said.
