President Bola Tinubu marked Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day Anniversary with a significant announcement – a 30-day National Youth Conference to tackle the challenges faced by the country’s young people, who make up over 60% of the population.
Tinubu emphasized the importance of involving young people in shaping policies that impact their lives, ensuring their voices are heard and creating a pathway for a brighter future.
“As we work to overcome the challenges of the day, we remain mindful of the next generation as we seek to galvanise their creative energy towards a better future,” he said.
“We lead today with the future we wish to bequeath to our children in focus, recognising that we cannot design a future that belongs to them without making them its architects,” Tinubu emphasized. “Considering this, I am pleased to announce the gathering of a National Youth Conference.”
This conference will address the diverse challenges and opportunities confronting young people, who constitute more than 60% of Nigeria’s population.
“It will provoke meaningful dialogue and empower our young people to participate actively in nation-building,” Tinubu explained.
“By ensuring that their voices are heard in shaping the policies that impact their lives, we are creating a pathway for a brighter tomorrow. The 30-day Confab will unite young people nationwide to collaboratively develop solutions to issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice.”
Tinubu assured that the modalities of the conference and selection of delegates would be designed in close consultation with young people through their representatives. “Through this confab, it will be our job as leaders to ensure that their aspirations are at the heart of the conference’s deliberations. The government will thoroughly consider and implement the recommendations and outcomes from this forum.”
Additionally, Tinubu acknowledged Nigeria’s resilience, saying, “We have survived crises that disintegrated other nations.” He reaffirmed his administration’s determination to defeat bandits and terrorists, enabling displaced farmers to return to their lands and boost food production.
Tinubu also emphasized his administration’s commitment to reforming Nigeria’s political economy and defence architecture for the nation’s survival.
