SystemSpecs’ Executive Director, Atanda urges Nigerian Youths on Capacity Building to accelerate Economic Growth

Africa’s growing youth population is its biggest resource and strength, offering limitless potential, according to the African Union’s (AU) African Youth Charter.

With the youths making up 75% of the continent’s population, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for African youths to explore new and innovative ways of coping not for themselves alone, but for their communities as well.

To this end, Deremi Atanda, the Executive Director of SystemSpecs– one of Africa’s leading software technology firms- has urged Nigerian youths to develop the much-needed capacity to stimulate the country’s economic growth.

He added that technology, creativity, sustainability, and global competitiveness should be the main drivers of innovation, especially in the post-COVID-19 era.

Atanda said this during the economic outlook virtual conference organized recently by the Junior Chamber Institute (JCI), with the theme “Nigeria in 2021: Navigating Uncertainty, Harnessing and Creating opportunities.”

The Junior Chamber International is a youth-centric organization of young and active under-40 career professionals, entrepreneurs, and public-spirited individuals passionate about making a positive impact in their society.

Presenting his keynote address on how to accelerate future growth through innovation and youth pragmatism, he said:

“If there is work to be done, it must be done. Young people should set in motion Nigeria’s economic growth agenda by garnering relevant skills and using such knowledge to foster positive change in various segments of the society.

“While everyone must commit to being the best in their professions and other spheres of influence, there is also the call for collective effort and assertiveness to withstand daunting challenges that beset the Nigerian path.”

In his viewpoint, there is no doubt that Nigerian youths are among the brightest in the world, however, more young people must rise to the occasion and take charge of the future.

One way to achieve this, according to Atanda, is for youths to be active stakeholders in the Nigerian Project rather than being mere armchair critics. He further encouraged them to also actively participate in the political process.