Stakeholders advocating greater youth involvement in governance have expressed concern over the growing exclusion and marginalisation of young people from decision-making processes across West Africa, warning that the trend is fuelling disillusionment and undermining democratic institutions in the sub-region.
The stakeholders voiced these concerns on Tuesday in Abuja at the Next Gen Initiative West Africa Youth Regional Symposium 2026, urging young people to take bold steps and actively participate in the democratic process rather than remain on the sidelines.
In his speech, the Nigeria Country Director of the National Democratic Institute, Francis Madugu, urged young people to become more actively involved in governance rather than remaining on the sidelines.
Madugu said while many young people believe they have less access to political power than earlier generations of African leaders, greater engagement remains the pathway to influence and leadership.
“I think that young people just need to engage more. If you think about names like Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Nkrumah, Sam Nujoma it wasn’t served; they engaged and built themselves towards political power,” he said.
