The Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Africa 2050, Olaide Agboola yesterday said, Africa is becoming a home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, the continent is urbanizing more rapidly than any other part of the planet. Africa’s 1.1 billion citizens will likely double in number by 2050, and more than 80% of that increase will occur in cities, especially slums.
The implication of this turbo-charged growth is hard to fathom. Consider how Lagos (already Africa’s largest city) is predicted to expand by an astonishing 77 people every hour between now and 2030.
Africa is not prepared for this urban explosion. By 2025, there will be 100 African cities with more than one million inhabitants, according to McKinsey. That is twice as many as in Latin America. Runaway urbanization and a growing youth bulge, with most young people lacking meaningful job prospects, is a time bomb.
Already 70% of Africans are under 30 youngsters account for roughly 20% of the population, 40% of the workforce and 60% of the unemployed.
She made this disclosure yesterday while opening a day summit organized by The Circle Media Plus in-conjunction with African Voice Newspaper UK.
The event entitled, ‘AFRICA IN 2050’’ was to motivate and enlighten the youth to chart the right course of rising up to their potentials and make Africa what it ought to be before the year 2050 when her population is projected to be 2.4 Billion.
The guest speaker, Prof Aiyede Emmanuel of the Political Science Department University of Ibadan said, there is a need to wake up and see what can be done
to create long-lasting prosperity in Africa through our educational reform systems. The government must provide the conditions necessary for all children to go
to school. They must provide good classrooms with reliable electricity, to power everything from a light bulb to a computer. They must provide a healthy
environment, make education compulsory and free for all children. The Government must be accountable and responsible for her Citizens to create an enabling environment for job creation.
According to Dr Muyiwa Adigun of the Law Department University of Ibadan, the world is at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, with the convergence of new technologies such as ICT, artificial intelligence, and robotics entirely transforming economies as well as massively increasing the pace of change.
He said: “Africa has the potential to leapfrog over the shortcomings prevalent in advanced economies, several countries on the continent are missing out on this opportunity by under-investing in science, technology, research and development. Research and development spending is extremely low and there is a lack of qualified researchers. Only five African universities are among the top 500 universities globally. This translates into an inability of African economies to transform their raw materials into high-end finished products that can compete in a global market, Better education and training will not come for free, particularly given a
large number of young people reaching school age. This is why l am excited about Africa 2050 initiative because it will contribute to better outcomes of Africa, with a strong focus on revolutionizing the mind of both politicians and the populace.
In his remarks, Segun Adefila of Theater Troupe of Africa noted that the development of Africa most especially Nigeria is a necessity and all hands must be on the deck to make Africa what it ought to be before the year 2050.
His words: This is the time to change the face of Africa through a conscious effort of learning from our forefathers who have set the right part to follow if we could pay more attention to their creative wisdom. They have given us proverbs as a road sign to our destination and that is why we must not trivialize our culture making it irrelevant.
Earlier, Olakunle Agboola who is the Creative Director of Africa 2050 said, He is happy for the turn-out of youth at the Summit which shows African youth are ready the narratives.
His Words: Africa has been perceived as a dark continent and dwarfed by International Media. The continent is characterized by poverty, diseases, political instability, war and corruption. This is a call to take the limit off Africa and position her in a path of victory and success before 2050. The share vision of 2050 is for Africa to soar higher and take her rightful position ensuring all nations within the continents are developed.
Africa 2050 is a shared passion by THE CIRCLE MEDIA PLUS and AFRICAN VOICE NEWSPAPER UK and is becoming a movement of passionate youth to see a developed Africa before 2050.
Having organized Africa 2050 summit in the UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI and KAMPALA UNIVERSITY, it has become a vision to run with extending our tentacles to other Universities across Africa to reach out to the future leaders of this great continent to wake up and make a change. The Summit has several youths across South-West in attendance including several partners and prospective sponsors.
