By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja
Presidential aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Hayatu-Deen on Thursday declared that Nigeria’s worsening unemployment, insecurity, and rising cost of living amount to a theft of the future of young Nigerians.
He has thus urged youths across the country to mobilize ahead of the ADC presidential primary scheduled for May 25.
Speaking at a Youth Townhall held at Novare Mall, Abuja, Hayatu-Deen said the 2027 election must become a defining moment for a new generation determined to reject “recycled politics and recycled promises.”
Addressing hundreds of young Nigerians at the event, the economist and former Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) said the country’s political leadership had failed young people through years of poor planning, weak governance, and economic neglect.
“Two-thirds of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 35. So whenever politicians talk about Nigeria’s future, they are talking about young Nigerians. And the painful truth is this: right now, the future of young Nigerians is being stolen,” Hayatu-Deen said.
He lamented that more than 18 million Nigerian children remain out of school while millions of graduates are unable to find jobs, insisting that the country’s problem is not a lack of talent, but a failure of leadership.
“The problem has never been the young people of Nigeria. The problem has been leadership, leadership that failed to plan, leadership that failed to invest, leadership that normalized suffering and then told Nigerians this was simply how things are,” he said.
Hayatu-Deen, who completed the ADC presidential screening process on Wednesday, challenged the party to present what he described as “a fresh candidate” capable of defeating the ruling APC and restoring public confidence in governance.
“The ADC will decide whether it is truly serious about winning, whether it is prepared to offer Nigerians a real alternative, and whether it is ready to present a candidate who understands the pain people are living through every day,” he stated.
Positioning himself as the only aspirant focused consistently on jobs, security, and the future of young Nigerians, Hayatu-Deen unveiled key aspects of his economic and security agenda, including a proposal guaranteeing 100 days of public work annually for eligible low-income Nigerians and tax incentives for businesses employing NIN-verified workers from vulnerable communities.
“Jobs are not just economic policy. Jobs are security policy. Every young Nigerian with a job is one less recruit for crime, extremism, banditry, and violence,” he said.
Speaking emotionally about insecurity, Hayatu-Deen revealed that his own sister had been abducted and held captive for three years, describing the experience as one that permanently changed his family and strengthened his resolve to tackle kidnapping and violent crime.
“My own sister was abducted and held for three years. So when I say this issue is personal to me, I mean it in a way very few people in public life can understand,” he said.
The presidential aspirant pledged that a Hayatu-Deen administration would, from its first day in office, formally designate bandit groups and kidnapping syndicates as terrorist organizations, aggressively pursue their financiers, and strengthen regional security cooperation with neighboring countries.
“These are not second-term promises. These are Day One priorities,” he declared.
Hayatu-Deen also described the ADC as “the only party built with the welfare of Nigerian citizens at the core of its formation,” while warning that the party risks losing credibility if it embraces what he called “the same old politics.”
“The only way to defeat a fatigued APC is with a fresh candidate. I am that candidate. I carry no baggage. I owe no political godfathers. I am not a product of factional wars,” he said.
He concluded by calling on young Nigerians and ADC delegates to mobilize massively ahead of the party’s presidential primary.
“Vote for jobs. Vote for safer communities. Vote for leadership with calmness, discipline, and competence. Vote for a Nigeria that finally puts its young people first,” Hayatu-Deen said.
