Sanwo-Olu: Lagos making significant strides in job creation

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, says the state is making significant strides in job creation for the youths.

Sanwo-Olu spoke at the Lagos employment summit organised by the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, on Wednesday.

“Over the past year, we have made significant strides in improving the employment landscape. Our unemployment rate has seen significant positive change, thanks to various initiatives and policies aimed at creating jobs and empowering our youth,” the governor said.

“Part of the responsibility we have as a government is to be able to create an environment where the likes of LSETF can indeed be an enabler that will create that job that we urgently and very desperately need in our environment.

“The challenge we see in Lagos is the challenge that each time we plan and want to execute that plan, the numbers we have to deal with, a lot of times, have outstripped that plan that we have.

“That is why you will see that in almost all of our endeavours, we are overstretched.”

The governor said the situation makes it seem the state is slow at implementing necessary policies because “we have a population that is growing at a level that we need to do something about in the country”.

He said the government will not give excuses for the reasons things are not at the level they ought to be “because we know too well that the successes of Lagos is in itself a challenge”.

Sanwo-Olu commended the LSETF board for staying true to the mandate of the current administration.

He said the agency has directly and indirectly created over a thousand jobs and should be supported.

‘LARGE YOUTH DEMOGRAPHY A POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH’

On his part, Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and chairman of Fate Foundation, said the goal of the summit is to foster inclusive and important discussions on critical issues facing Lagos with respect to job creation as the state grapples with rising unemployment, multidimensional poverty and significant income disparity.

Adeola said the problem of unemployment in Lagos has been compounded by the daily inflow of people, who are seeking greener pastures, into the state.

“The challenge to LSETF will be to let’s all learn from each other and develop creative solutions to the problem of job creation, particularly for young people in Lagos,” he said.

“Youth unemployment continues to remain one of our most burning challenges. Our continent, Africa, has the youngest population in the world and according to the World Bank, with 70 percent of sub-saharan Africa under the age of 30.

“By 2030, over 40 percent of the global youth population will be African and by 2050, the number of African youths is expected to reach 830 million people, with Nigerian youths being one in three.

“This large youth demographic dividend like the one in Lagos presents several potential opportunities for economic growth that can potentially lead to higher economic output and productivity.

“Innovation through the creation of new businesses and industries fuelled by fresh, youthful ideas and brimming energy, but it can also foster a dynamic consumer market catering to needs and preferences of young people, particularly in sectors like retail, entertainment, technology and human capital development.”

He urged LSETF to map out the types of enterprises that will most likely create impact within priority value chain and target sectors that are critical to meet long-term transformation while providing direct decent jobs enmasse.

“LSETF programmes like Lagos innovate which focuses on tech ecosystem and the job hub must be significantly scaled to align with the Lagos theme target,” he said.

Speaking with journalists, Feyisayo Alayande, acting executive secretary of LSETF, said the goal of the summit was to bring together the demand and supply side of labour with a view to creating job opportunities in the state.

“We have five pillars we use to deliver this and they are employability, access to capital, Lagos innovate, our training arm for technology and also business support,” Alayande said.

“This event is saying to all of our stakeholders that we have a call to action to make sure that in our little space, the wealth we create, we need to collaborate, make changes and impacts in Lagos.”

She added that the labour market information system (LMIS) that was launched is a tool that job seekers can use to find jobs that match their skillset.

She urged job seekers to log on to the system, input their details, and assured that they will be matched with employers.

“Beyond that, for the policy makers, regulators, people that need to understand our true unemployment rate in Lagos and the needs of Lagosians, the LMIS is actually that solution that will give that information to make those decisions for the state,” she added.