Lamido calls youth vanguard of positive change

*As PDP celebrates International Youth Day

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Former Jigawa State Governor, Mallam Sule Lamido, has described Nigerian youths as the vanguard of positive change and the backbone of the country, urging political leaders to create opportunities for them to participate meaningfully in governance.
Lamido said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Headquarters during the party’s celebration of the 2026 International Youth Day.
Represented by the PDP Gombe State governorship candidate, Prof Isah Pantami, the former governor said young people constituted more than 60 per cent of Nigeria¡¯s population and therefore could not be excluded from political decision-making, policy formulation and national development.
According to him, ¡°They are the backbone of our humanity. They are the vanguards of any positive change. They are the ambassadors of progress and development”.
He added: ¡°They are the pillars of our stability globally. They are energetic, they are powerful, they are creative, among many others”.
Lamido said the energy, creativity and numerical strength of young Nigerians made it imperative for governments and political parties to provide an enabling environment for them to contribute to national development.
He identified the creative and entertainment industries, digital economy, smart agriculture, politics and governance as areas with significant opportunities for young Nigerians.
Lamido, however, listed unemployment, an outdated education system, lack of mentorship and the high cost of living among the major challenges confronting the youth.
“Job scarcity is real. Many opportunities are being replaced today by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies”,
he said, stressing that thousands of graduates were struggling to find employment because available opportunities remained limited.
Lamido also expressed concern over the mismatch between Nigeria¡¯s education system and the requirements of the global labour market.
He argued that the country¡¯s education system should shift from producing job seekers to developing young people capable of creating employment.
“Our system is about producing potential employees and there are no opportunities for them to be employed. This is a major challenge”, he said.
The former governor also criticised the limited access of young Nigerians to political offices, saying the implementation of the “Not Too Young To Run” policy remained difficult because of the high cost of seeking elective office.
He said the cost of nomination forms, campaigns and other political activities have effectively placed elective positions beyond the reach of most young Nigerians.
While commending the PDP for subsidising nomination fees for some categories of aspirants, Lamido called for broader measures to reduce financial barriers to youth participation in politics.
He urged political parties to provide greater support for young aspirants if the country was serious about translating the ¡°Not Too Young To Run¡± campaign into reality.
The former governor assured young Nigerians that the PDP would prioritise their empowerment, education, skills development and political participation.
“We are here to celebrate you. We are here to commend you. We are here to mentor you. And we are here to say that we are very proud of you globally”, he said.

He added: “We are here to admit that you are the backbone of Nigeria. We are here to say that you are the vanguard of any positive change. We are here to say that you are the leaders of democracy”.
The PDP National Youth Leader, Ambassador Ibrahim Bala-Aboki, while also speaking at the programme, said the party had recorded progress in youth mobilisation, inclusion and participation since his assumption of office.
Bala-Aboki said the party had mobilised young people and female youths to participate in ward, local government and state congresses, culminating in the party¡¯s National Convention in March 2026.
He said the party also supported young members seeking elective and party positions, contributing to the emergence of several youth candidates whose names had been certified by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, the PDP youth leadership had also supported voter registration and INEC¡¯s e-registration exercises.
Bala-Aboki declared that young people should no longer be viewed merely as future leaders, insisting that they were already stakeholders in the country¡¯s political process.
“As we celebrate International Youth Day, let us remember that young people are not leaders of tomorrow alone; we are leaders, partners and stakeholders of today”he said.
The PDP National Youth Leader also announced a youth empowerment programme being implemented in collaboration with Destiny Hotshot Synergy International.
He said 100 youths would be trained under a Train-the-Trainers initiative, with the beneficiaries expected to train 50 youths each in the country¡¯s 774 local government areas.
He said the programme would cover skills including photography, shoemaking, duvet production, hair cream production, soap making, shampoo production, air freshener production and aftershave production.
Bala-Aboki said the initiative was designed to promote entrepreneurship, self-reliance, job creation and sustainable livelihoods among young Nigerians.
While speaking earlier, the Director-General of the PDP Female Youth Wing, Hon. Loveth Izekor, said young women must move beyond being mobilised for elections to becoming decision-makers within the party and the country.
Izekor said the 2026 International Youth Day celebration was an opportunity to remind young women that they had a critical role to play in shaping Nigeria’s political future.
“Democracy dies when youth are silent. We must move from being mobilized to being decision-makers”,¡ she said.

END