The United Nations Children’s Fund Generation Unlimited Nigeria (GenU 9JA) Public-Private-Youth-Partnership (PPYP) Platform has set motions in place to empower no fewer than 11 million Nigerian youths before 2030.
Already, the group disclosed that it has gainfully engaged over nine million young Nigerians through different innovative partnerships.
At the platform’s annual Steering Committee meeting held at the Airtel Headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday, the group noted that in its bid to pull out twenty million youngsters from the yoke of unemployment before 2030, it has already set an ambitious target of empowering nine million youths in the last three years.
In a statement issued by UNICEF Communications Officer, Blessing Ejiofor, the group described the feat as groundbreaking, saying GenU 9JA is committed to transforming the lives of millions of Nigerian youths by connecting them to opportunities for skills development, digital learning, and livelihood pathways.
Ejiofor mentioned that the meeting was attended by GenU 9JA partners from the government, private sector, civil society, UN organisations, and young people from across Nigeria.
She recalled how UNICEF launched the global Generation Unlimited movement to meet the urgent needs of young people between the ages of 10-24 in 2018.
The international body also pointed out that it is passionate about expanding learning, skill development, employment, and engagement opportunities.
Ejiofor added that the Nigeria chapter of Generation Unlimited, GenU 9JA, was launched in 2021.
She said since its inception, however, UNICEF GenU 9JA has empowered nearly 9 million young Nigerians, surpassing the three-year target of 7.5 million.
The meeting noted that the milestone positions the initiative well on its journey to achieving its 2030 goal of connecting 20 million young people with opportunities for growth and impact.
Reviewing its progress across its three core pillars including connectivity and digital learning, workplace readiness, and youth engagement, the committee’s key partners presented updates on their respective contributions, underlining how collaboration has driven success.
Speaking at the event, Carl Cruz, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, emphasised the transformative potential of digital access, citing the ongoing UNICEF-Airtel Reimagine Education Program, a part of the GenU 9JA initiative.
In his submission, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), highlighted the impact of youth entrepreneurship, saying that young people are the engines of Africa’s economic transformation.
They maintained that in the next six years, the group would meet its 20 million target as they hope that the meaningful engagement of Nigerian youths would transform the nation’s economic outlook.