Former Vice President and presidential hopeful, Atiku Abubakar has replied President Muhammadu Buhari over his comments that ‘Nigerian youths are lazy and want everything for free’.
Recall that President Buhari while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, said the country’s youthful population is reliant on the notion that Nigeria is an oil-rich nation, which leads to the demand for free things.
He said, “About the economy, we have a very young population, our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million. This is a very conservative one.
“More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria has been an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free.”
However, in almost an instantaneous reaction, the former vice president took to his Twitter account to counter the president’s statement in a series of tweet.
He noted that as an employer of labour, he has thousands of Nigerian youths on his payroll all over the country that has proved their worth as innovative and hardworking over the years.
He tweeted: “I will never refer to Nigeria’s youth as people who sit and do nothing. They are hardworking. I should know, I have thousands of youths working for me all over the country who have been the backbone to our success.
I’ve always said oil is not Nigeria’s greatest asset. Our greatest asset is our youth who created Nollywood out of nothing and an entertainment industry that is second to none in Africa.
Another tweeter handle, obviously opened for the former VP’s presidential ambition tweeted to buttress Atiku’s points:
Our youth are charting new frontiers; creating a huge tech industry on their own! Their entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic, and creative abilities are things of pride and should be applauded, encouraged and nurtured. Atiku businesses are being managed by youths, not even above the age 35. He believes in Nigeria’s youths and he’s coming on board with 40% inclusion of youths in his cabinet,” his tweets read.
