President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Implementation Committee for the National Youth Conference at the State House, Abuja.
This inauguration comes five months after Tinubu first announced plans for a 30-day national youth conference during his Independence Day address aimed at tackling key challenges facing the country’s young population.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, shared details of the event in a statement released on Monday, titled ‘Nigerian Professionals Will Return As Economy Improves, President Tinubu Assures at Inauguration of National Youth Confab Planning Committee.’
“When you listen to most professionals leaving Nigeria, there’s a cause. If you grow prosperity back home and empower people, they will not bother leaving. They will stay home,” President Tinubu said. The President added, “I want to reassure you that you are the hope of this country, and everything hangs on you.
Tinubu assured Nigerians that his administration’s economic reforms would create an environment that encourages professionals who left the country in search of better opportunities to return home.
He tasked the 44-member Implementation Committee with ensuring that recommendations from the youth conference translate into meaningful, impactful policies. The committee is chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Development, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya.
Other members of the committee include the Senate Chairman on Niger Delta Development Commission, Asuquo Ekpeyong, alongside Dr. Linus Okorie, Dr. Garba Aliyu, Babatunde Adeleke, Francis Sani, Azeezat Yishawu, Sara-Igbe Sukubo, Hauwa Ibrahim, Zara Goni, Oladele Nihi, Dare Ojepe, Uchechukwu George Egbe, and several others.
Another Confab?
The statements from President Tinubu remain hollow, rhetoric, and glaringly disconnected from the realities of his government — a reality defined by soaring inflation, worsening unemployment, entrenched corruption, and a declining standard of living.
It paints a rosy picture of economic recovery and youth inclusion, but the truth on the ground tells a completely different story. Inflation has risen to unbearable levels, leaving everyday Nigerians struggling to afford even their most basic necessities. Food prices have skyrocketed, and the value of the naira continues to plummet. Unemployment, particularly among the youth — the very group the President claims to prioritize — remains disturbingly high, leaving many young people hopeless and desperate.
Corruption, now a culture in Nigeria, still thrives unchecked. It continues to siphon resources meant for development, enriching a privileged few while the masses endure suffering. Meanwhile, insecurity remains rampant, from banditry to kidnappings, making survival itself a daily battle. In this context, the so-called economic reforms and promises of prosperity ring hollow, disconnected from the suffering Nigerians face every day.
The “japa” syndrome, where Nigerians, especially young people, flee the country in search of better opportunities abroad, isn’t a trend that will simply reverse because the government offers hopeful words. It’s a direct result of failed leadership, economic hardship, poor infrastructure, and a broken system that offers little to no hope for a brighter future. People leave because they see no path to success, no matter how hard they work. Empty assurances about future prosperity won’t make young Nigerians stay. Only tangible improvements to their quality of life will.
A youth conference is not the answer to the “japa” wave or the myriad of other problems plaguing Nigerians. We’ve been here before — under former President Goodluck Jonathan, a National Conference was convened in 2014, bringing together representatives from every party of Nigeria and sector of society to brainstorm solutions to Nigeria’s most pressing issues, which ironically, the All Progressive Congress (APC) boycotted. That conference produced a comprehensive report filled with actionable recommendations to address everything from economic restructuring to national security and governance reforms.
Rather than spending more public funds on yet another round of deliberations that will likely yield similar suggestions, the government should revisit the 2014 National Confab report. The solutions are already there — researched, debated, and agreed upon by a diverse collection of Nigerians from all walks of life. The failure was not in the recommendations but in the political will to implement them.
Recycling the same promises under a new banner won’t solve Nigeria’s problems. What the country needs isn’t another conference but decisive action and committed leadership. The government should channel its energy and resources into implementing existing solutions, tackling corruption, stabilizing the economy, creating sustainable jobs, and restoring security. Only then can we truly reverse the “japa” wave and give young Nigerians a reason to believe in a future worth staying for.
The time for talking is over. Nigeria needs action — and it needs it now.
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