Employment generation remains an important factor if the Nigerian government wants to claim they have delivered the dividends of democracy. Like many other African countries, Nigeria is full of youths below the age of 35 years. The task to create employment is for all African countries and, in Nigeria, for all tiers of government.
The Lagos State Government recently held its flagship investment forum at the Convention Centre of Eko Hotels and Suites. The third in the series, tagged Invest Lagos 3.0, with the theme “Lagos Business Gateway to Africa, was held June 8-9, 2026. The Lagos State Government convened the forum in conjunction with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. The goals of the convention were to attract over US$2.5bn and to target N4tn in local and foreign direct investment. The focus is not on employment generation, though the outcome of generating the expected funds would normally involve the creation of jobs.
For many years, many Nigerian states have convened economic fora focusing on fund generation instead of directly addressing more economic variables with fund generation as a by-product. Focusing on employment, output, and/or labour productivity as the primary aim of a forum and targeting some returns on investments as specific objectives should make such a forum worthwhile. Our focus is not always on the means to get the required funds, but on getting the funds by any means.
