President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of a 30-day national youth conference has sparked a range of reactions among Nigerians.
Critics view the initiative as a political maneuver aimed at securing youth support ahead of the 2027 elections, while supporters see it as an opportunity for meaningful dialogue on pressing issues facing young people.
The Voters Rights Association of Nigeria (VRAN) has sharply criticized the proposal, labeling it a potential vehicle for corruption and mismanagement of funds.
VRAN President Jezie Ekejiuba emphasized that the government does not need another conference to understand the challenges youth face, citing recent protests such as the #EndBadGovernance movement as clear indicators of the issues at hand.
He said: “VRAN wishes to inform President Tinubu that his government does not need the so-called 30-day youth confab to be in the know of the challenges and opportunities confronting our young people.
“The #EndBadGovernance protests nationwide earlier this year were a sad reminder of the problems of not only the Nigerian youths, but also the problems of the Nigerian people as a whole, because the protests clearly threw open the challenges, including but not limited to the insecurity crisis occasioned by Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping, high costs of food, electricity bills, transport services, prohibitive costs of education, health services, and high rate of unemployment, among others, which were caused by the sudden removal of petrol subsidy in the country by the present administration.
“VRAN contends that all that the Nigerian youths deserve now are actions and not rhetoric or voices echoing from the proposed youth conference because, as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
“We wish to remind the Tinubu administration that even during the military administration of Gen.
“Yakubu Gowon when this type of current economic crisis confronted Nigerians, Gowon, with a human face and sympathy, pitied the hungry and suffering Nigerian masses then by introducing a social security programme called the Udoji Awards to alleviate the pangs of the harsh economic policy as being witnessed currently in Nigeria.
“VRAN, hereby, calls on President Tinubu in like manner and with human face and sympathy for the hungry and suffering Nigerian masses to introduce a social security programme that will benefit the generality of the Nigerian populace by the Federal Government of Nigeria undertaking to pay the Dangote Refinery half of the cost price of a litre of every Dangote fuel product to give Nigerians a new lease of life.”
Conversely, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) expressed a more favorable view, welcoming the initiative as a chance to engage youth and address their concerns. However, AYCF President Alhaji Yerim Shettima cautioned that previous dialogues have often failed to yield concrete results and called for a commitment to implement any resolutions reached during the conference.
“We have had national conferences in the past. The last one was the 2014 confab, which gave us a blueprint on the way forward on how to achieve a better Nigeria for all Nigerians.
“Things have been addressed across the board, including even things that have to do with the youths. Rather than creating another bureaucracy for political reasons, I think the government needs to look at the 2014 confab report as it affects our youths and other areas to ensure that constitutional amendments get to a level where a lot of the problems that Nigerians are facing can be addressed,” he said.
Public commentators and other groups echoed concerns about the effectiveness of the conference, with many urging the government to act on existing recommendations from previous conferences, particularly the 2014 confab, which provided extensive insights into youth challenges.
As discussions continue, the overarching sentiment remains one of cautious optimism, tempered by a desire for tangible actions rather than mere rhetoric.
