1st ARUA International Conference
Theme: “The Deepening Youth Unemployment Crisis in Africa Occasioned by COVID- 19 Pandemic: What Options Available for the Rescue?”
December 2-4, 2020
The 1st ARUA international conference themed “The Deepening Youth Unemployment Crisis in Africa Occasioned by COVID- 19 Pandemic: What Options Available for the Rescue?” was declared open by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe on Wednesday, December 2, 2020. In his speech, he stated that youth unemployment remains a crucial challenge dominating political discourse and global development agendas. According to him, the youth unemployment rate in Nigeria is high and the University of Lagos is focused on ensuring that students graduate as job creators and not job seekers and this is why the First ARUA conference is a timely one. He stated that the Conference outputs will be a viable tool for making informed decisions that will support the success of the already existing Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre of the University, led by Dr. Sunday Adebisi.
The Keynote speaker, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, who is the Senior Special Adviser to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the “Ease of Doing Business” emphasized that the government is poised to make Nigerian youths gainfully engaged and productive by creating and supporting interventions that promote value creation among the youth. According to her, the present government looks forward to developing the capacity of the Nigerian youth to innovatively create jobs rather than working for anyone or queuing for unavailable jobs. In her concluding statement, government interventions in addition to the civil society commitment, and the private sector consciousness to promoting better working conditions for providing sustainable solutions are some of the strategies for maximizing the potential of the African youth.