Gen Z Only Noticed Economic Hardship– Minister’s Aide

The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lere Olayinka, has criticised some young Nigerians for their views on the country’s economic situation.

Olayinka said Nigeria had made progress compared with previous years, arguing that many members of Generation Z only began to understand the country’s economic challenges when they became adults.

He spoke during an interview shared by African Independent Television on Tuesday.

According to him, many young Nigerians did not understand the country’s economic situation while growing up because their parents provided for their needs.

He said they now had a different experience because they were responsible for paying their own bills and meeting their daily needs.

“That’s why people, a lot of the Gen Z generation now, because of what they have seen, because when they were growing up, and this is very funny, when they were growing up they didn’t know how Nigeria was. Their parents were providing for them. Now they have seen, they have to provide for themselves,” he said.

The FCT minister’s aide also compared today’s technology with the difficulties journalists faced in the past.

He said technological improvements had made journalism easier and created new ways for people to earn money.

Olayinka recalled that when he worked as a journalist, he travelled by road from Bauchi to Jos to send reports to television stations.

He said recorded videos were also transported in VHS cassettes to television stations for broadcast.

However, he noted that journalists and content creators could now share their work online without travelling long distances.

According to him, social media has also created job opportunities for people who can produce content from their homes.

“Now, technology has even provided jobs for a lot of people. Things that were not available to us, growing up,” he said.

Olayinka also urged Nigerians to stop focusing only on reports of hunger and economic hardship.

He argued that people were still building houses despite the country’s economic challenges.

“So let us not keep this mindset of telling people there’s hunger, there’s hunger, there’s hunger, there’s hunger. People are building houses now, today, as we are talking,” he said.

He further pointed out that homelessness was also a problem in developed countries.

According to him, the government’s responsibility is to create an environment where citizens can work, earn a living and meet their needs.

“The only thing the government can do is to provide enabling environment,” he added.