Japa is not the solution- Lagos State

By Zion Rufus

Addressing the increased migration of talents to foreign countries during a fireside chat at the ongoing Lagos Economic Summit 2022, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State admonished Nigerian youths, stating that “Japa is not the solution”. 

Japa, the street slogan for “escape” which has now become a corporate conversation, has exposed the vulnerabilities of many sectors that make up the Nigerian economy as a result of the mass exodus of youths and the skilled workforce. 

“Japa is not the solution,” Sanwo-Olu submitted in a response to Tolulope Makinde, a Digital marketer and panelist on the fireside chat who advised youths to be audacious as nothing in life comes easy.

Makinde had shared: “Lagos is good soil, and if you are on good soil, your own input is what matters. I know there are places you go that you will make the right kind of input and you end up getting an unexpected output, but for a place like Lagos, I would advise us youths to be competent; and by that I mean choose your hard. Being lazy, and being poor is hard; being hardworking and being rich is hard. Being healthy and fit is hard; being unhealthy and unfit is hard; so choose your own difficulty, whichever way, it is going to be hard.”

Validating Makinde’s premise, the Lagos State Governor echoed: “Choose your own hustle. Japa is not the solution. Anyway, anyhow, it’s going to be hard, so go hard. Go for what you can deal with, and go deal with it. There is no shortcut to anything.

The fireside chat with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu which featured Sandra Chukwudozie (Forbes 30 Under 30); Corporate Farmer International CEO, Akin Alabi; Tolulope Makinde (Winner of the digital activation materials); Toluwakin Olowofoyeku (Kugali boy); and Sean Burrowess (Ingress For Good), was introduced as part of the Lagos Economic Summit 2022 to facilitate a round table conversation between Nigerian youths and the government on issues concerning education, entrepreneurship, policies, and regulations amongst others. 

 

LEAVE A COMMENT

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

    No comments found.