Press spotlights Bill Gates assertion that youths are crucial to the growth of Nigerian economy, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The assertion by the Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Bill Gates, has said that investments from and the participation of youths are crucial to the growth of the Nigerian economy is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that the Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Bill Gates, has said investments from and the participation of youths are crucial to the growth of the Nigerian economy,
He stated this during a conversation with the Chief Executive Officer of Co-Creation Hub Nigeria, Dr ‘Bosun Tijani, at the Pan-African Youth Forum 2023.
According to the co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, the voice of youths in the country was critical to ensure that the resources were shifted to investments in infrastructure, health, and education.
He added that if young people applied their strengths, educated themselves, and made contributions in the spaces they were passionate about, the path to impact would reveal itself.
Responding to a question from Tijani about his framework for determining what to focus on, Gates spoke about how identifying the divide between rich and developing countries, and the limited resources going into healthcare informed what he prioritised.
During the conversation, which covered the impact of Artificial Intelligence on education, health, manufacturing, and governance, Gate noted that Africa would benefit by applying AI to languages and unique datasets in healthcare that cater to the continent’s realities.
The newspaper says that the report that Freight forwarders operating at Seme Border have written to the Federal Government demanding the opening of the border for vehicle importation and the
Freight forwarders operating at Seme Border have written to the Federal Government demanding the opening of the border for vehicle importation.
The Director of Road Transport, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Ibrahim Musa, disclosed this at Seme during a meeting between officials of Nigeria and Benin organised by the Economic Community of West African States.
He explained that freight forwarders appealed to the former Minister of State for Transportation during his last visit to the border, asking for the reactivation of the border.
He said a memo prepared and sent to the Federal Government based on the request was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The director said FEC had promised to leave the approval on reopening the border to the new government to act on.
He said, “I was here with the former Minister of State for Transportation and the freight forwarders pleaded that the border should be reactivated for free movement of goods and services. The minister made us prepare a memo to that effect. It was considered and sent to the government.”
The Punch also reports that despite the warning by the Federal Government on the purchase of cow skin (ponmo) due to the outbreak of Anthrax disease in some neighbouring countries, the trade in the commodity still thrives.
A survey of some markets at Mushin, Egbeda, Oshodi, and Ikotun, all in Lagos State, by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that the demand for ponmo hasn’t dropped.
This is in spite of the announcement made by the government.
The Federal Government had, on June 13, alerted the general public, to the outbreak of anthrax disease in some neighbouring countries within the West African sub-region.
It advised Nigerians to desist from the consumption of hides at the moment.
The statement read in part, “the disease, which has claimed some lives, is a bacterial disease that affects both animals and man that is a zoonotic disease”.
It said that anthrax spores are naturally found in the soil and commonly affect domestic and wild animals.
The Guardian says that as the Paris Summit for a ‘New Global Financial Pact’ begins today, world leaders meet to deliberate on impact of the global crises of the last five years – COVID-19, Russia’s war on Ukraine, inflation, climate change – that have plunged many of the developing world into economic decline alongside crippling debt and exacerbating energy and food insecurity.
To address these problems, France President, Emmanuel Macron is holding a summit that seeks to focus political attention on the injustices and inequities of the current global financial architecture, bringing together leaders, civil society advocates, private actors, and international financial institutions.
The gathering’s goal is to find ways to build a more inclusive and equitable financial system, one that enables climate transition and promotes biodiversity without jeopardising development.
To tackle the impact of COVID-19 on Africa, in May 2021, France hosted the summit on the financing of African economies. This time, the goal is to reinvent the global financial architecture.
Ever since the paradigm shift brought about by the pandemic, Macron has argued for a new approach – a ‘Paris consensus’, in reference to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change – to replace the market-orientated Washington consensus with net zero, sustainable economic development goals. With the summit, Macron is pushing to reform the global architecture to incentivise net zero investments for a sustainable future.
According to the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), Macron’s idea behind this summit is to give a political boost to an issue all too often discussed only on a technical level, and in silos.
Head, ECFR Policy Fellow, Celia Belin, said: “No one expects an actual pact to be signed, but France – along with the summit’s steering committee, which is composed of states and international organisations – is aiming for a political declaration that would muster firm commitments from world leaders, and force consequences down the line.”
GIK/APA