By Clifford Ndujihe

ONDO State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko has urged politicians and governments in Nigeria and in Africa not to stifle the social media because it plays critical roles in governance. According to him, a vibrant social media is one of the things needed to drive and sustain development in Africa, a continent he said must fast-track her industrialization to address looming challenges.

”Although, politicians are at the receiving end of caustic attacks on the social media, we must resist the attempt to gag the social media. Already, the social media has opened up a plethora of opportunities for the younger generation, who have embraced it whole heartedly, using social media to have their voice heard and their products seen globally. We must not hinder such opportunities through bills as the Social Media Bill, we risk alienating a significant part of our population by stifling their rights to express their views and challenge conventional wisdom. Rather, our focus should be on supporting the vibrant social media now evident in Nigeria and empower the youth to use the social media in the most effective and responsible manner.,” he said.

Mimiko made the appeal, yesterday while delivering a keynote address at the Africa Business Conference, 2016, organized by the Lagos Business School, Lagos. The address was titled, Africa Rising: Leveraging the Power of a Younger Generation.” Stressing the need for African countries to pursue industrialization vigorously, especially in the face of dwindling and crashing prices of primary produce and commodities, he said leaders of the continent must not go to sleep because of predictions of future stability and economic advantages.

His words: ”Africa is already being described as the world’s youngest continent in terms of the average of its population. By 2030, it is predicted that Africa will have the lowest dependency ration of any region – in other words, the largest ratio of working-age population to the total (UNDESA, 2015). By 2040, Africa will have more than 1.4 billion people of working age – far surpassing China and India (UNDESA, 2015). this position has been corroborated by the United Nations World Population Prospects that by 2035, the number of Africans reaching working age (15-64) will exceed that of the rest of the world combined.”

Given the scenario, Mimiko said there is need for Africa to industrialize, create jobs, provide infrastructure and leverage on its greatest strength, its future asset of size and quality of youths.

To address the looming challenges facing Africa, he said there is need for cultural renaissance, massive investment in education and human capital development, further development and harnessing of information and communication technology, improved healthcare delivery, agriculture and wealth creation, tapping from entertainment and the creative industry and ensuring gender equity.