May tells President to invest in young people for prosperous future

British Prime Minister, Theresa May, urged President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of Commonwealth countries to invest in young people so as to build a more prosperous future.

The PM made her plea while speaking at the closing press conference of the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday, April 20, 2018. She noted that shaping the future is reliant on investing in supporting young people to gain skills.

In her speech, she told Commonwealth leaders to step up efforts in reaching a series of shared commitments that will help to build a more sustainable, more prosperous and fairer future for all.

She also disclosed that the summit has pledged to ensure that all girls and boys across the Commonwealth will be able to access at least 12 years of quality education and learning by 2030.

Her statement read, "In building a more prosperous future, this is the first Commonwealth summit to make a unanimous statement on the need to fight protectionism.

"Our Declaration on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment will help to expand investment and boost intra-Commonwealth trade to a value of $2 trillion by 2030.

"And we will play a leading role in shaping the future of global trade policy, using our unique perspective to help ensure that free and fair trade truly works for everyone.

"This includes stepping up efforts to share the technical expertise to enable small and developing states to benefit from the growth of free and fair trade.

"It means addressing systemic barriers to women’s full and equal participation in the economy – including increasing opportunities for women to trade internationally and supporting the growth of more women-owned business.

"And it means investing in supporting our young people to gain new skills.

"And at this Summit we have pledged to ensure that all girls and boys across the Commonwealth will be able to access at least 12 years of quality education and learning by 2030."

Buhari criticised for lazy youths comment

President Buhari has been in hot water back in Nigeria after he made remarks that many have considered to be dismissive of Nigeria's young generation.

While speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, President Buhari remarked that a lot of Nigerian youths wait on handouts from the government.

"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," he said.

He has been heavily criticised by Nigerians for his utterance, with his opponent in next year's election, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, remarking that Nigerian youths are hardworking with great entrepreneurial spirit, work ethic, and creative abilities that should be nurtured.