Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of Heirs Oil and Gas (HHOG) Limited and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has advised the Nigerian government to improve its power supply for public consumption to tackle unemployment.
Elumelu made this submission during an interview on CNN with highly-revered broadcaster Richard Quest, which was monitored by BizWatch Nigeria.
Aside from advocating that the government should improve its power supply, the billionaire also made a case for access to capital.
“We need three things to unlock potential in the young ones; first, we need the government to provide an enabling environment to enable the young ones to achieve; second, access to electricity is so difficult in Africa and without electricity, you can’t do much, so we need to fix that.
“Third, new entrepreneurs require access to capital, which is why the Tony Elumelu Foundation provides non-refundable seed financing of $5000, not because we have so much, but because we want to give to the younger generation.
“I think that prioritizing the young and investing in their future would help us create ultimately sustainable economic prosperity for all. I don’t see despair; I see an opportunity for us to do more in order to produce the kind of prosperity that would move the globe toward more booms rather than recessions,” he stated.
Stressing the need to have a stable power supply in Nigeria, Elumelu, during his conversation with the United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Senator John Kerry, advocated for the world to consider Africa’s energy poverty and attendant underdevelopment and allow the continent to use its God-given hydrocarbon resources to industrialise and tackle its social, economic challenges as the developed countries did.
“Global conversations around climate change are geared towards a focus on green and renewable energy. However, Africa’s focus is and should remain, providing energy from both traditional and green sources for its citizens,” the UBA chief added.
