President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has called for a shift from tokenistic empowerment schemes to real investment in young people, saying Nigerian youths and their counterparts across 51 other African nations need capital, not N10,000 freebies, to drive their entrepreneurial dreams and build sustainable wealth.

Adesina, who spoke during an exclusive interview aired on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily yesterday, described the “japa” phenomenon, a slang referring to the mass migration of young Nigerians abroad, as a significant loss for the country.

The former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development argued that Africa’s youthful population should not be seen as a burden but rather as a demographic advantage that can be harnessed into a formidable economic force through deliberate and strategic investments.

“Young people don’t need freebies; they don’t need people saying, ‘I just want to give you an empowerment programme.’”

“They have skills, they have knowledge, they have entrepreneurship capacity, and they want to turn their ideas into great businesses.

“What young people need is not those empowerment programmes; they need capital, they need you to put your money at risk on their behalf,” the development economist added.

Adesina warned that the continued exodus of young talents from Nigeria in search of greener pastures abroad was detrimental to the country and the African continent as a whole.

He explained that Africa’s youth bulge, often seen as a liability, is in fact a potential goldmine, just as China and India have turned their massive populations into global economic powerhouses.

According to him, with proper investments in human capital development, job creation, and social protection systems, Africa’s young population can become a major driver of economic growth, as they possess considerable purchasing power.

He further stressed that in a global economy facing rising tariffs, Africa must look inward by boosting consumption as a vital component of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with youths playing a central role in that economic transformation.