A former Chairman of INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, and a Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, emphasized the importance of inclusive youth involvement in the Nigerian governance and political structures. This took place during a 10th Anniversary IAC event celebration in Abuja.
While delivering a keynote speech at the event, Jega commended IAC for maintaining successful youth-oriented projects for the better part of a decade. This proves that intentional mentoring and civic engagement with youth remain critical for equipping Nigerians with quality leadership.
“It is easier to build organizations than to maintain them, but especially for youth-focused ones. IAC has demonstrated that civic education and training in leadership can assure civic engagement. How can we claim that we have a democracy when youth are left out of our structures of governance?” he explained.
Bagudu pointed out in his address that Nigerian youth need to be included because Nigeria has more than eight million births yearly.
“The demographic trend clearly brings about a challenge and an opportunity. Engagement with youth education, skills development, and leadership today is how we build a brighter future for our democracy and economy,” he added. He called for more opportunities for youth to be involved in shaping policies and running the countries.
IAC’s founder and executive director, Hafsat Uman Shinkafi, said that IAC was founded in 2015 to address youth exclusion, unemployment, insecurity, and low civic awareness among Nigerian youth. She explained that considering Nigeria’s demographic composition with more than 70 percent of Nigerians being below 35 years of age, the involvement of youth in nation-building cannot be overstated.
Within the last 10 years, Shinkafi observed that IAC has trained hundreds of Nigerian youths in leadership academies, civic education programs, and empowerment projects.
“The mission of IAC is to make youth key players instead of passive observers in Nigeria’s democracy,” Falola said. She gave a number of major projects that IAC had participated in. This included raising electoral awareness for 2019 and 2023 elections. She mentioned a civic action project called Except with Me with LEAP Africa.
The annual event, whose theme was “10 Years of Impact: Changing Lives, One Act at a Time,” brought together diplomats, development partners, and beneficiaries of some of the programs initiated by this organisation. Looking ahead, Shinkafi emphasized that IAC would continue to focus on training leaders across the country, civic education for pupils in schools, and advocacy for making youth voices heard in government. “The raising of a credible and visionary leadership for tomorrow is not a responsibility for tomorrow. We are training leaders for tomorrow today,” she said.
