The recent statement by Tosin Eniolorunda, Managing Director and CEO of Moniepoint, about hundreds of job vacancies remaining unfilled due to a shortage of qualified candidates has sparked important conversations about employment, education, and the future of our workforce. While many people focus on the lack of ready-made talent, there is another side of the conversation that deserves equal attention.

Can’t companies employ willing candidates and train them to fit the requirements of those roles?

This is not about lowering standards. It is about expanding opportunities and creating practical solutions. In every growing economy, businesses play a major role not only in generating jobs but also in developing the people who fill them. If organizations continue searching only for fully polished professionals, many vacancies may remain open while millions remain unemployed.

The reality is that many young people may not have all the required experience today, but they possess something equally valuable — willingness to learn, adapt, and contribute when given the chance. Potential should not be ignored simply because perfection is unavailable.

Across the world, successful economies have shown that workforce development is built through continuous training and skill acquisition. China became a global manufacturing and technology powerhouse largely through massive investment in vocational education, technical training, and industrial workforce development. India has grown into a major force in information technology, outsourcing, and engineering by investing heavily in technical education, digital skills, and youth training programs.

Countries like Germany are widely respected for apprenticeship systems that connect education directly with industry needs, while Singapore continuously retrains its workforce to remain globally competitive. These nations understand one important truth: talent is not always found ready-made — it is often built through structured development.

Nigeria and Africa at large can benefit greatly from this mindset. Rather than relying solely on a small pool of already experienced professionals, businesses can invest in creating their own talent pipeline. This would not only reduce unemployment but also strengthen loyalty, improve productivity, and build a workforce that understands company culture from the ground up.

Of course, young people must also take responsibility for personal growth. Learning digital skills, communication, discipline, problem-solving, and professionalism is essential in today’s competitive world. The educational system also needs reform to better prepare graduates for modern realities.

However, solving unemployment requires a shared effort. Government, institutions, employers, and individuals all have roles to play. Companies cannot complain endlessly about skill shortages without also participating in skill development.

The future belongs to organizations that recognize raw talent, nurture it, and transform it into excellence. Sometimes the best employee is not the one who knows everything already, but the one who is hungry to learn and ready to grow.

Instead of asking only, “Where are the qualified people?” perhaps we should also ask, “How many people can we train to become qualified?”

That is how nations build capacity. That is how industries grow. That is how futures are created.

Born in Libreville, Cynthia Bulot embodies a new generation of African creators who transform emotion into a visual language. A self-taught painter, she discovered her calling three years ago during the lockdown period, when the silence of the world gave rise to a profound new passion: painting. What might have remained a simple pastime quickly became an artistic revelation and a unique path of self-expression.

Since then, Cynthia Bulot has pursued a captivating creative journey, guided by the power of color, the sensitivity of gesture, and a deep search for meaning. Through each canvas, she explores not only shapes and textures, but also the roots of her own cultural identity. Her work becomes a dialogue between personal memory and collective heritage.

The paintings of Cynthia Bulot invite viewers into an intimate immersion in childhood memories, where images of the past are released from shades of black and white and reborn through a vibrant, luminous palette. Each composition celebrates transmission, joyful nostalgia, and the richness of ancestral traditions, subtly reimagined through a contemporary sensibility.

Through her sincere and instinctive art, Cynthia Bulot affirms that creativity can emerge in the most unexpected moments and become a powerful force for renewal. Her pictorial universe—authentic, bold, and deeply rooted—deserves the attention today of art lovers and international cultural circles alike.

By Uche EJIMS

In a renewed push to expand financial access and strengthen youth participation in the digital economy, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Civic Education (MINJEC) has reaffirmed its strategic partnership with UBA Cameroon, signaling a deepened commitment to financial inclusion, innovation, and youth empowerment in Cameroon.

The renewed agreement was formally signed by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Mr. Mounouna Foutsou, alongside the Deputy Managing Director of UBA Cameroon, Mrs. Jeanne Anie Ekeme. The partnership underscores a shared vision between both institutions to equip young people with the tools needed to actively participate in the formal financial system and the evolving digital economy.

At the center of this collaboration is the Biometric Youth Card initiative, a flagship project designed to serve as a gateway for young Cameroonians into financial services. Beyond simplifying access to banking solutions, the initiative is expected to enhance financial literacy, encourage savings culture, and promote entrepreneurship among young people across the country.

In an increasingly digital world where financial access plays a critical role in shaping opportunities, stakeholders say the initiative represents more than a banking solution—it is a pathway to economic inclusion and empowerment for a generation that holds the future of the continent.

UBA Cameroon continues to position itself as a key driver of financial innovation and inclusion in the region. Through partnerships such as this, the institution reinforces its long-standing commitment to youth-focused development programs, aligning financial services with broader socio-economic impact.

For MINJEC, the renewed collaboration reflects its continued drive to bridge the gap between civic engagement, education, and economic empowerment, ensuring that young citizens are not left behind in the country’s development journey.

As Africa’s youth population continues to grow, initiatives like this highlight a broader continental shift toward inclusive financial systems that prioritize access, innovation, and opportunity.

For the diaspora community and readers of Naija Diaspora Magazine, this development resonates beyond Cameroon. It reflects a larger African narrative—one where young people are increasingly recognized not just as beneficiaries of development policies, but as active architects of economic transformation across the continent.