Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima has called for a deliberate and forward-looking framework for youth leadership development, noting that it is the backbone of sustainable progress.
The VP made the call on Monday at the State House Conference Center during the Abuja Dialogue 2026, convened by the Office of the Vice President and Lagos State’s Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy.
Vice President Shettima said the country’s demographic profile must no longer be treated as a rhetorical point in public discourse, but as a strategic reality requiring policy attention at the highest levels of governance.
He warned that the country’s status as one of the world’s youngest nations would count for nothing without deliberate institutional investment to match its demographic scale.
“We are one of the youngest nations on earth. That fact should not be treated as a line for conferences or a statistic for brochures. It is a national condition with profound consequences,” he said.
VP Shettima stressed that the future of Nigeria would depend not merely on the abundance of its natural resources or the ambition of government programmes, but on the systems built to sustain leadership continuity and national development.
National Platform
He described the Abuja Dialogue as an important national platform for reflection at a time when governments around the world are being forced to respond more precisely to rapid changes in technology, economics and public expectations.
The Vice President stated that leadership in the present age cannot be casual or accidental, but must be cultivated through structured pathways that prepare young people for responsibility.
“Youth leadership must be understood with clarity. It is not a ceremonial handover waiting for age to perform its arithmetic. It is a structured process through which young men and women are prepared, trusted, integrated, and supported within the institutions that shape our future,” he said.
The Vice President noted that this new framework must go beyond slogans and applause to reshape the design of education, public service, enterprise and civic institutions.
He further emphasised the need for gradual pathways through which young Nigerians can assume responsibility, arguing that leadership matures through practice and accountability.
“Leadership grows when young people are given room to learn, to contribute, to make decisions, and to be held accountable for results. Responsibility is the workshop where capacity is refined,” he said.
Addressing the nation’s youth directly, VP Shettima noted that the moment now presents both an invitation and an obligation https://uaecancer.ae/ to participate meaningfully in shaping the future of the country.
“Leadership is not defined by age. It is defined by readiness to bear consequences, to choose the long view over easy applause, and to place the common good above private comfort,” he said.
He commended the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy and Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for convening the Dialogue, describing it as a significant contribution to the national conversation on leadership renewal and long-term development.
Powerful Signal
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu thanked the Vice President for his willingness to host the Dialogue, noting that it sends a powerful signal to every state government, every development partner, and every young Nigerian that the Federal Government recognises the strategic importance of youth leadership development.
He explained that at the heart of the Lagos leadership ecosystem is the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy (LJLA)—a cornerstone institution named after one of Lagos’s most transformative leaders.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said the Academy was not merely a fellowship but a talent incubator where young Nigerians receive real public sector immersion, cross-sector learning, policy exposure, mentorship from seasoned leaders, and the opportunity to execute capstone projects that address real societal challenges.
To tap into youth potential, the governor called for commitment, policy frameworks, budgetary allocations, and the kind of political will that turns good intentions for young people into functioning institutions.
In a goodwill message, the Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, said the timing of the dialogue was apt, noting that Nigerian youths are prepared, ready and committed to playing their roles in the advancement and development of the country.
The Executive Secretary of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade, praised the partnership between the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government in placing the youth at the centre of national conversation about their interests and well-being.
She noted that the Abuja Dialogue underscores the need to scale the conversation about youth leadership development as a strategic pillar of governance, economic growth, and institutional resilience.https://uift.edu.mx/contacto