Nigerian policymakers, community leaders and private sector stakeholders should work together in building an environment where young people can flourish, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola has said.
In a statement to celebrate the 2025 International Youth Day, Isola, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2021–2023, also stated that the youth are not merely leaders of tomorrow, they are solution providers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and peace-builders of today.
The statement read: ‘Today, we celebrate the vibrance, resilience, and boundless potential of the young people who form the beating heart of our society, The International Youth Day is not just a symbolic occasion; it is a clarion call to invest meaningfully in the future architects of our world.
‘A lifelong advocate of youth empowerment and gender equality, Isola stated that the prosperity of any nation rests on its ability to nurture, guide, and equip its young citizens with the tools they need to thrive.
‘Our youths are not merely leaders of tomorrow, they are solution providers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and peace-builders of today.
‘Across Nigeria, we have witnessed the undeniable energy, creativity, and courage of our youth in education, business, technology, culture, and politics. Yet, to fully unlock their potential, we must address the pressing challenges they face: unemployment, inadequate access to quality education, gender disparities, and limited opportunities for meaningful participation in governance’.
The All Progressives Congress
(APC) chieftain said that his advocacy for youth empowerment is rooted in the conviction that no nation can rise above the capacity of its young people.
“Likewise, my unwavering support for gender equality stems from the belief that when we empower young women equally alongside young men, we multiply the power of progress. A balanced society is a stronger society’, he said.
He called on national leaders to establish programs that would mentor the youth, fund their ideas, and trust them with leadership responsibilities.
‘The future is not some distant horizon — it is here, and it is youthful. Let us commit to empowering our youths today, so that they may inspire and lead us all into a tomorrow defined by innovation, justice, and shared prosperity’, Isola said.
