One Voice, One Future: Youth Power for a New Nigeria

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

In the history of nations, there always comes a defining moment when the youth must rise to rescue their future from the grip of complacency, corruption and systemic decay. That moment, for Nigeria, is now. The clarion call is no longer a whisper in the dark, it is a deafening roar echoing across the cities and villages, the streets and campuses and the diaspora. 2027 is not just another election year; it is a generation’s opportunity to reclaim its destiny.

Nigeria, once hailed as the Giant of Africa, is now crawling under the weight of failed leadership, nepotism, economic collapse and insecurity. Over 70% of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 35, this is not a mere statistic; it is a superpower waiting to be activated. Yet, for decades, the same recycled leadership has ruled the country like a private estate, while the youth are sidelined, patronized or pacified with empty slogans.

The Reality: A Nation Betrayed
The facts are brutal and undeniable. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), as of the fourth quarter of 2024, youth unemployment stood at 42.5%, one of the highest rates globally. Thousands of graduates are turned out yearly into a job market that has nothing to offer them. Our educational institutions are underfunded, with lecturers going on endless strikes, while billions of naira are siphoned into the offshore accounts of corrupt politicians.

The World Bank states that over 40% of Nigerians live below the poverty line, with youth bearing the brunt of the economic despair. The same youth are used during elections as pawns, thugs, online propagandists and cheerleaders for politicians who have never and will never fight for their future.

We must say: “Enough is Enough.”

The Power of Youth: A Sleeping Giant
Across Africa, the story is changing. Youth-led movements are challenging old orders and shaking the foundations of outdated governance systems.

In Uganda, Bobi Wine, a musician turned politician, galvanized millions of youth to challenge President Museveni’s long-standing dictatorship. While he didn’t win the election, he ignited a flame of hope. In Sudan, youth were at the center of the 2019 revolution that ousted the 30-year regime of Omar al-Bashir.

As Nelson Mandela once said, “Youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” But as things stand in Nigeria, tomorrow never seems to come, unless we seize it.

In 2020, during the #EndSARS movement, we saw a glimpse of what a united, tech savvy and courageous Nigerian youth can achieve. For once, the world stood still as Nigerian youth organized without a central leadership structure, crowd funded, coordinated logistics, engaged in civic education and peacefully demanded justice. Despite the violent crackdown at Lekki Tollgate, the spirit of resistance lives on.

2027: The Youth Mandate
If we are serious about change, then 2027 must be our electoral revolution. Not through violence, but through strategic mobilization, political education, voter registration and active participation in the democratic process.

Let us be clear: the days of apathy are over. As the African proverb goes, “He who is not part of the solution is part of the problem.”

Youth must no longer be mere spectators or online critics; we must become candidates, campaigners, policy drafters, party leaders, election monitors and political donors. Our demographic power must translate into voting power and our voting power must produce accountable leadership.

According to INEC, less than 35% of youth eligible to vote actually did so in the 2023 elections. This is a travesty. With over 90 million Nigerians under 40, if even 50% of us vote smartly and strategically in 2027, we can turn the tide.

Towards a National Youth Alliance
What we need now is not another party, we need a movement, a coalition, a National Youth Alliance that transcends ethnicity, religion and class.

A youth amalgamation that brings together student unions, tech entrepreneurs, young professionals, artisans, artists, athletes, activists and influencers. A youth vanguard that builds structures, fields candidates, protects votes and holds leaders accountable.

We must engage in issue based politics, not stomach infrastructure or tribal loyalties. The youth must demand answers to the questions that matter:

“Why are over 10 million Nigerian children out of school?”

“Why does Nigeria remain the poverty capital of the world, according to the Brookings Institution?”

“Why is our minimum wage ₦70,000 when a bag of rice is over ₦70,000?”

“Why are lawmakers earning ₦30 million monthly while civil servants are owed arrears?”

The late Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader, once said, “You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness.” We need a bit of that madness, the madness to challenge the status quo, to think differently and to act boldly.

From Hashtags to Ballot Boxes
It is not enough to trend on Twitter or rant on TikTok, social media is powerful, yes I agree, but it is not a substitute for civic engagement; we need to bridge the gap between online activism and offline results.

Youths must start at the grassroots to win local government seats, state assemblies and build a pipeline of leadership that is tested and accountable. The #NotTooYoungToRun Act must not be a symbolic victory; it must be a political weapon in our hands.

Let us support credible youth candidates with our time, resources and platforms. Let us organize town hall meetings, debates and policy hackathons. Let us raise funds, build apps to track campaign promises and expose corrupt leaders.

As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, “When we refuse to engage in politics, we end up being governed by our inferiors.”

Time for Tangible Action
It is time for each Nigerian youth to ask themselves: What am I doing today to secure my tomorrow? Are we registering to vote? Are we sensitizing our peers? Are we demanding better governance at the community level?

We must begin to think long term, beyond 2027. The goal is not just to elect a few fresh faces. The goal is to build a sustainable youth-driven democratic culture where excellence not ethnicity, becomes the metric of leadership.

Let us stop romanticizing suffering. Nigeria has the talent, the resources and the manpower to be great. What we lack is visionary leadership and that is what we must now provide.

Final Words: A Movement, not a Moment
This is a movement, not a moment. It will require sacrifice, unity and strategy. There will be obstacles, betrayals and frustrations. But we must remain focused.

As the Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah declared: “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.” Likewise, any victory in 2027 will be meaningless unless it sets off a chain reaction of liberation, innovation and transformation across all levels of Nigerian society.

So, dear patriotic Nigerian youth; RISE! This is your time… Your country needs you more than ever.

Don’t wait for change, be the change.

Together, we can make a difference.

#YouthFor2027 #NationalAllianceNow #SecureTheFuture #NigeriaDeservesBetter

“More Will Jump Ship”: Tinubu Predicts Mass Defections to APC Ahead of 2027

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday predicted a wave of defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections, declaring that politicians would not remain in a “sinking ship without a life jacket.”

Speaking at the APC Renewed Hope Agenda Summit held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Tinubu said he was proud of his administration’s progress and the ruling party’s performance, stating that defections were a natural part of the political game.

“I’m happy with what we’ve accomplished and expecting more people to come,” the President said. “You don’t expect people to stay in a sinking ship without a life jacket. That’s the game.”

The event gathered key APC stakeholders, including the National Working Committee, Progressive Governors’ Forum (comprising 22 governors), and leadership of the National Assembly, all of whom unanimously endorsed Tinubu for a second term in 2027.

According to a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu hailed the bold economic reforms initiated under his administration, emphasizing long-term benefits despite early challenges.

“We couldn’t keep spending the future of our children. Through the Renewed Hope Agenda, we committed to tackling economic instability, insecurity, corruption, and poverty,” he said.

The President noted that Nigeria’s economy is already seeing the positive impact of reforms, especially through the elimination of multiple exchange rates and the drive to attract foreign direct investment.

Referencing the fight against corruption, Tinubu cited a case where the EFCC recovered over 750 properties from one individual, warning that continued arbitrage in the foreign exchange market would only worsen systemic corruption.

“I’m proud to say the reforms are working. Nothing good comes easy,” he stated.

Governor Hope Uzodimma, Chair of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, moved a motion endorsing Tinubu for re-election in 2027, which was seconded by Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani. Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas also declared full support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.

APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, declared Tinubu as the party’s sole candidate for the 2027 presidential race and called for internal unity:

“Reject sabotage. Engage the grassroots. Deliver the Renewed Hope Nigerians rightfully deserve,” he urged.

The summit marked a show of strength and solidarity within the APC, as Tinubu rallied his party around a bold economic vision—and a clear message: the ruling party is not just holding ground, it’s preparing to expand.

A Nation Betrayed: How NASS Budget Padding Exposes Tinubu’s Complicity and the Rot in Nigeria’s Leadership.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

In a disturbing revelation that should outrage every patriotic Nigerian, civic-tech organization BudgIT has uncovered a monumental financial scandal in the 2025 budget, one that shatters every illusion of fiscal responsibility under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. According to BudgIT’s damning analysis, the National Assembly padded the 2025 Appropriation Act by inserting 11,122 projects worth a staggering ₦6.93 trillion, projects not proposed by any Ministries, Departments or Agencies (MDAs), but smuggled in by lawmakers.

This is not a clerical oversight, but a calculated and treacherous move. More importantly, this raises one inescapable question: Why did President Bola Tinubu sign this fraudulent budget into law if he was genuinely against it? The answer is simple, brutal and damning: because he is part of the collaboration. This is not just corruption, it is institutional betrayal. It is the final confirmation that the war in Nigeria is not between political parties but between the corrupt elite and the suffering Nigerian masses.

The Anatomy of Budget Padding
Let us first understand the scale of this treachery. The 2025 national budget, totalling ₦28.7 trillion, now has nearly 25% padded content, courtesy of lawmakers’ “constituency projects.” These are not national priorities or economically strategic programs. These are politically motivated insertions designed to enrich contractors linked to lawmakers, reward political loyalty and in some cases, simply launder money.

BudgIT revealed that several of these projects are duplicated, vague, inflated or outrightly useless, such as the procurement of hundreds of boreholes and solar streetlights in areas that do not even have roads, schools or hospitals. These are not investments; they are tools of financial cannibalism.

A similar trend happened in previous years, but never on this scale. In 2021, former President Buhari complained that the National Assembly inserted over 1,000 projects worth ₦150 billion. Now, under Tinubu, that figure has ballooned to ₦6.93 trillion; which is nearly forty-six times higher. This is not reform. This is regression at gunpoint.

Tinubu’s Silence is Complicity
To sign such a budget, fully aware of its fraudulent padding, is not a mistake, this is an endorsement. President Tinubu, known for his political astuteness and Machiavellian tactics, cannot claim ignorance. BudgIT’s report was based on public records. If civic groups could uncover this, then surely the Office of the President, with all its resources, was also aware.

Yet, Tinubu raised no alarm. He signed it into law. Why?

Because the padding was politically convenient. This budget is not just a fiscal document, it is a loyalty purchase agreement. As the APC seeks to consolidate power ahead of 2027, especially in light of its underwhelming performance, it is using state resources to bribe lawmakers across party lines. These padded projects are political IOUs for securing second-term endorsements and collapsing opposition platforms.

This is not democratic governance. This is budgetary banditry, orchestrated under the guise of legislative “oversight.”

The Cost to the People

While the so-called leaders gorge themselves on fake projects and fraudulent allocations, ordinary Nigerians are gasping for breath. Inflation is above 33%, food inflation is at 40%, unemployment remains sky-high and naira continues to hemorrhage value, trading at nearly ₦1,500 to the dollar. Meanwhile, the masses are told to “tighten their belts” while the political elite expands theirs.

Public infrastructure is collapsing. Schools remain underfunded, hospitals are glorified mortuaries and insecurity has become a permanent fixture. Yet ₦6.93 trillion enough to build 20 world-class universities or electrify entire regions has been carved out as a political slush fund.

Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education and former Vice President of the World Bank for Africa, once noted, “The problem with Nigeria is not lack of resources. It is the deliberate theft of the commonwealth by a few.” That is exactly what this budget represents: a theft of historic proportions, blessed by the presidency, executed by lawmakers and paid for by the blood and sweat of ordinary Nigerians.

A Nation Held Hostage
The fundamental betrayal here is not just the money. It is the normalization of impunity. Nigeria has become a hostage state where lawmakers legislate for themselves, the executive protects the corrupt and the judiciary often dances to the tune of power. The 2025 budget saga is not just another scandal, it is a window into how deeply broken the Nigerian state has become.

Even worse is the sheer arrogance with which this fraud is being executed. No lawmaker has denied BudgIT’s report. No investigation has been ordered. The Presidency has remained silent and the APC, whose manifesto once promised “fiscal discipline,” has said nothing.

Silence is not just death anymore, it is endorsement. Every day this padded budget stands unchallenged, democracy dies a little more.

Calls for Action
This cannot be allowed to stand. Civil society must rise. Journalists must demand answers. Every Nigerian must understand that this is not politics this is plunder. The 2025 budget must be reviewed, the padded projects must be removed and those responsible must face prosecution.

Section 81(1) of the Nigerian Constitution empowers the President to prepare and lay before the National Assembly an annual budget. However, it also states in Section 80(4) that “no moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund other than in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly.” This legal ambiguity has been weaponized by both the legislature and the executive to enrich themselves while the nation bleeds.

This is where the people must draw the line. Budget padding is not just bad governance, it is treason against the Nigerian people. Those who participate in it, approve it or benefit from it must be named, shamed and prosecuted.

Final Thoughts: Time for a Revolution of Accountability
The time for timid reform is over. Nigeria needs a revolution not of guns, but of accountability, transparency and civic outrage. If the President will not fight corruption, then the people must. If lawmakers will not serve the people, they must be voted out even if it means starting from scratch.

History will not be kind to the collaborators of this budget. And neither should we.

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” The 2025 budget scandal matters. It is a defining moment in the fight for Nigeria’s soul. And we must not remain silent.