Youth leadership critical to West Africa’s progress – Goodluck Jonathan

Former Nigerian President urges young people to take active roles in governance, promote peaceful advocacy and use social media to hold leaders accountable.

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has called on young people across West Africa to take a more active role in leadership and decision-making, saying their meaningful involvement is essential to achieving sustainable development, peace and security in the sub-region.

He made the call while addressing an ECOWAS Ministerial Consultation on Transforming Youth Leadership and Policy Action to Advance Peace, Security and Community Resilience in Accra on Thursday, October 29, 2026.

Mr Jonathan said West Africa could not make meaningful progress if young people, who constitute a significant proportion of the population, were excluded from governance and efforts to protect their countries.

“We cannot move forward as a sub-region and even as a continent or society if the youth are neglected, if the youth are not involved in an effort to protect our own country,” he stated.

Youth must embrace leadership

The former Nigerian leader recalled the important contributions young people made to West Africa’s independence struggles and subsequent political developments, particularly through student movements and youth activism.

He urged the current generation to draw inspiration from that history and take responsibility for promoting accountable leadership, good governance and peaceful political change.

According to him, young people’s numerical strength gives them considerable influence over the direction of the continent, with the potential to contribute either to stability and progress or to crisis and instability.

Mr Jonathan also challenged young people to overcome the perception that leadership is reserved for older people, stressing that commitment, determination, energy and service to the public were more important than age.

He maintained that leadership should be driven by the desire to serve the collective interest rather than pursue personal benefits.

Advocacy instead of confrontation

On strategies for achieving change, Mr Jonathan encouraged young people to prioritise peaceful advocacy, mentorship, persuasion and constructive engagement instead of confrontation.

Drawing on his experience in government, he recounted how dialogue and engagement with young people had helped defuse a potentially volatile situation.

He cautioned that violent approaches could worsen instability and undermine the development young people sought to achieve.

The former president also urged young people to use social media strategically to mobilise support, influence public debate and hold governments accountable for decisions they consider contrary to the public interest.

ECOWAS consultation focuses on youth empowerment

The three-day consultation, held from October 27 to 29, brought together government representatives, regional institutions, development partners and youth leaders to assess progress in implementing the African Union’s Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security.

The discussions focused on strengthening youth participation, regional cooperation and community resilience across West Africa.

Mr Jonathan urged emerging leaders to remain patient and committed, noting that meaningful political and social transformation requires sustained effort over time.