Headline

Nigeria’s Population Surge May Fuel Unrest, World Bank Warns

Published

7 months ago

October 19, 2025

The World Bank President, Ajay Banga, has warned that without deliberate and coordinated global action, the growing population of young people could become a source of instability rather than a catalyst for progress.

This was as he projected that Nigeria’s population may rise by about 130 million by the year 2050.

Banga disclosed this during the 2025 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, where he warned that Africa’s explosive population growth presented both an unprecedented opportunity and a looming risk.

He cautioned that failure to create economic opportunities might turn youthful optimism into frustration, fueling unrest, insecurity, and mass migration with far-reaching consequences for every region and economy.

According to him, with the right investments focused on opportunity rather than need, Africa’s young population could become a powerful engine for sustainable growth and innovation in the decades ahead.

Banga described the coming decades as “one of the great demographic shifts in human history,” noting that by 2050, more than 85 per cent of the world’s population will live in countries currently considered developing.

He warned that over the next 10 to 15 years, approximately 1.2 billion young people will enter the global workforce, competing for only 400 million available jobs, resulting in a gap of 800 million unemployed or underemployed youths worldwide.

A transcript of his speech obtained by our correspondent on Saturday read, “Reconstruction is an essential part of our mandate. A service we stand ready to deliver whenever and wherever it’s needed and to the best of our ability. At the same time, as an institution of development, we are equally committed to conflict prevention.

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“Alongside rebuilding what has been lost, we must also focus on creating the conditions for opportunity and stability. That is what motivates our actions and decisions today. We are living through one of the great demographic shifts in human history. By 2050, more than 85 per cent of the world’s population will live in countries we call “developing” today.

“In just the next 10 to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people will enter the workforce, vying for roughly 400 million jobs. That leaves a very large gap. Let me express that urgency another way: Four young people will step into the global workforce every second over the next ten years.”

He added that in the time it takes to deliver the remarks, tens of thousands would cross that threshold, full of ambition, impatient for opportunity.

The World Bank boss said the pace of population growth was most staggering in Africa, which will be home to one in four people by 2050.

“Between now and then, estimates suggest that Zambia will add 700,000 people every year. Mozambique’s population will double. While Nigeria will swell by about 130 million, firmly establishing itself as one of the most populous nations in the world.

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“These young people, with their energy and ideas, will define the next century. With the right investments, focused not on need but on opportunity, we can unlock a powerful engine of global growth.

“Without purposeful effort, their optimism risks turning into despair, fueling instability, unrest, and mass migration, with implications for every region and every economy,” he added.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, Nigeria’s current population stands at about 237.5 million, already making it the most populous nation in Africa and the sixth largest globally.

However, with the projected surge of 130 million new citizens in the next 25 years, Nigeria could climb even higher, outpacing many developed nations in size and youth population.

The World Bank President described Africa as the epicentre of this demographic transformation, where birth rates remain high and economic growth has struggled to keep pace.

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Banga echoed this concern, warning that failure to harness the demographic dividend could destabilise economies and fuel insecurity.

“Without deliberate action, optimism could give way to despair, driving instability, unrest, and mass migration with consequences for every region and economy,” he noted.

Banga emphasised that job creation must be at the core of all national and international development strategies.

“This is why jobs must be at the centre of development, economic, or national security strategy,” he stated.

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He disclosed that the World Bank Group has expanded its financial capacity by about $100bn through new instruments and partnerships.

The multilateral development bank co-financing platform, he added, now hosts a pipeline of 175 projects, with 22 already financed, worth about $23bn.

The Bank is also working on an IFC2030 strategy aimed at mobilising more private capital to complement public investment, particularly in developing economies like Nigeria.

Nigeria’s fast-growing population has long been a source of debate among economists and policymakers. While its youthful population, estimated at over 60 per cent under age 25, offers potential for innovation and productivity, the country faces severe infrastructure deficits, high unemployment, and limited social services.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that youth unemployment stood at over 33 per cent in 2024, while millions remain underemployed or outside the formal labour force.

Headline

‘Pioneer Of Cable TV News’: Key Facts About CNN Founder, Ted Turner

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

Ted Turner, the media businessman who founded CNN died at the age of 87. He died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Contents

Launched 24-hour news television

Built a media network

Expanded through sports

Recognition and influence

Philanthropy and global causes

Environmental efforts

Health and later years

Early career path

Leadership and legacy

Personal life

Exit from business

Family

Below are key facts about his life and impact:

Launched 24-hour news television

Turner founded CNN on June 1, 1980, introducing the first 24-hour news channel and changing how audiences follow global events.

Built a media network

He moved from billboards into broadcasting, turning an Atlanta TV station into a national superstation in 1976. His business later grew to include CNN International, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network.

Expanded through sports

Turner invested in sports broadcasting and owned teams including the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks, using television to reach wider audiences.

Recognition and influence

In 1991, he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year for his role in shaping modern news coverage.

Philanthropy and global causes

He founded the United Nations Foundation and supported campaigns against nuclear weapons. In 1997, he pledged $1 billion to the United Nations.

Turner supported conservation work, including reintroducing bison in the United States, and backed environmental education through the “Captain Planet” cartoon.

Health and later years

In 2018, Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia. He also recovered from a mild case of pneumonia in early 2025.

Early career path

He took over his father’s billboard company at 24 after his father’s death and later expanded into radio and television, despite limited experience in journalism.

“I worked until 7 o’clock, and when I got home the news was over,” he once said. “So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.”

Leadership and legacy

“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”

Personal life

Turner married actress Jane Fonda in 1991, and they later divorced after 10 years, though they remained close.

“I would never love anyone like I love him,” she said. “But I just couldn’t keep moving in his world, along the surface for the rest of my life. I knew that I would get to the end of my life and regret not doing the things that I also needed to do for me.”

Exit from business

He sold his company to Time Warner in 1996 and later stepped away following its merger with AOL.

Reflecting on his life, Turner once said: “I lost Jane. I lost my job here. I lost my fortune, most of it. Got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize.”

Family

He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Headline

Iran’s Nationwide Internet Shutdown Hits 70 Days

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

NetBlocks, a monitoring group, has disclosed that an internet shutdown enforced by the Iranian regime has entered its 70th day, severing key access from swathes of the population under the shadow of war.

NetBlocks reported on Friday that the blackout has now surpassed 1,656 hours, marking more than two months since US-Israeli strikes pounded Tehran and escalated across the Middle East.

“Digital connectivity is vital in times of crisis,” NetBlocks said in a post on X. “Limiting service harms those most in need – people with disabilities, students, small businesses and the general public.”

According to CNN, Iran imposed a separate internet shutdown on the country’s 92 million people earlier this year, when it launched the most lethal crackdown on anti-government protesters since the Islamic Republic’s founding 47 years ago.

CNN further reports that the latest blackout has cut off another potential lifeline for Iranian residents faced with high unemployment and economic pressure exacerbated by the US-Israeli campaign.

(CNN)

Headline

Gas Prices In US Edge Down After Two Weeks Of Increases

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2026

Editor

The cost of a gallon of regular gas in the United States (US) has edged down a little more than a penny to $4.55.

According to AAA’s readings, this marks the first decline in the average gas price after 15 straight days of increases.

The decline is minuscule compared to the large increases in gas prices over the last two weeks.

According to CNN, gasoline costs rose an average of nearly 4 cents a day during that period and had several daily increases of between 7 and 9 cents.

Also Read: Trump insists US-Iran ceasefire intact despite recent exchange of fire

CNN also reports that based on past gas spikes, it will likely take weeks for gas prices to get down below $4 a gallon.

The report, however, states that a previous two-week stretch of gas price declines only shaved 14 cents off the average price, taking the average price to $4.02, before the recent 15-day run of increases.

According to CNN, it could take months for the average price to fall below $3 per gallon, as it did before the war in Iran.

CNN further reports that only one state – Oklahoma – now has an average price of less than $4 a gallon, and its average stands at $3.98. California has the highest average price at $6.16.

(CNN)