In a time when Nigeria’s future hangs in the balance, one question has never been more critical: can our youth be truly empowered to lead, build, and transform the nation? President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in a powerful affirmation, recently declared:

“Youth will not be exploited to do the bidding of the government. Instead, our administration will work with and for the youth, providing them with a platform through which they may fulfill their greatest aspirations.”

This vision finds tangible expression in the National Youth Conference 2025, a flagship initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development under the Honourable Minister Ayodele Olawande. More than just a gathering of young people, this conference represents a national movement - a pivotal opportunity to unlock the voices, talents, and potential of millions of Nigerian youth at home and in the diaspora.

A Turning Point for Nigerian Youth

The National Youth Conference (Confab) is not just another dialogue platform. It is Nigeria’s largest youth-led participatory space, designed to draw input from all 360 federal constituencies, the six geopolitical zones, and Nigerian youth abroad. It aims to promote inclusive decision-making, foster civic responsibility, and ensure that government policies reflect the real needs, insights, and innovations of young Nigerians.

This is a generational moment. At its core, the Confab seeks to answer a simple but vital question: How can Nigeria’s youth be empowered not just to survive, but to lead?

What the Youth Confab hopes to Deliver

1. Providing a Platform for Youth Voices: Young people are often spoken about, but rarely spoken with. The conference provides a structured avenue for youth participation in national policy, ensuring that ideas generated from the grassroots find their way into actual policy action. This represents a strategic departure from tokenistic consultations toward genuine engagement.

2. Promoting National Unity and Cohesion: Nigeria’s diversity is a strength—but only when it is harmonized. By bringing together youth from varied ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds, the Confab fosters dialogue that builds bridges and reinforces a shared national identity. This is critical in a country often divided along fault lines.

3. Addressing Pressing Youth Challenges: From unemployment to inadequate access to quality education and healthcare, the conference will offer a platform to brainstorm practical, youth-informed solutions. It acknowledges that those closest to the problems are also closest to the solutions.

4. Enhancing Networking and Collaboration: The Youth Confab will be a melting pot of talent, innovation, and ambition. It presents young Nigerians with opportunities to connect, co-create, and collaborate across sectors—unlocking peer-to-peer mentorship, business partnerships, and leadership synergies that can outlive the event itself.

5. Strengthening Youth Institutions: No nation can rise beyond the quality of its institutions. A critical outcome of the conference will be reimagining and reforming existing youth-focused structures, such as the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), to ensure relevance in the 21st century. It is time to move from outdated bureaucracies to responsive and dynamic institutions.

6. Developing Actionable Policy Recommendations: What makes the Confab truly transformational is that it will not end with speeches and slogans.

Every dialogue session, breakout group, and roundtable should feed into clear, implementable policy documents—with a direct pathway to government adoption. The intention is action, not rhetoric.

The Time for Symbolism is Over
Nigeria has witnessed countless conferences, panels, and white papers on youth development. But this time must be different. The National Youth Conference 2025 must not be a one-off; it must become an institutional platform for continuous youth-government engagement.

Empowering youth is no longer optional it is a national survival strategy. From agriculture to tech, education to climate innovation, Nigeria’s young population holds the keys to economic rebirth and political transformation. But to unleash this potential, we must go beyond inclusion as a slogan—we must practice it as policy.

Conclusion: A Call to Bold Action

If implemented with sincerity, openness, and institutional backing, the National Youth Conference 2025 has the power to shift Nigeria’s developmental trajectory. It can activate a new generation of leaders who are not waiting to inherit power, but who are ready to co-create the future with wisdom, integrity, and urgency.

The real test will not be the size of the gathering, but the scale of impact it produces. Let this not be a ceremony of words, but a catalyst for youth-led governance, enterprise, and innovation.

As a nation, we owe our youth more than promises; we owe them platforms. Let this be that platform.

Let the National Youth Confab be the spark that lights the fire of national renewal.

-------
Ijigban Daniel Oketa is the Founder of Citizen Voices Empowerment Foundation and Convener of the National Youth Coalition for Transformative Leadership Initiative (NYC-TLI). He is a leadership strategist and youth advocate working at the intersection of policy, civic innovation, and entrepreneurship.