President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proposal for a 30-day national youth conference has sparked criticism, with many Nigerians describing it as a misplaced priority amid the country’s current economic challenges.

The conference, announced during the President’s speech to mark Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day, aims to unite youths to discuss issues such as education, employment, innovation, security, and social justice.

Critics, including youth organizations and public analysts, believe that the government should instead focus on implementing existing recommendations to address the nation’s pressing socio-economic issues. They argue that the challenges faced by Nigerian youths, such as unemployment, poor educational opportunities, and inadequate empowerment initiatives, are already well-known to the authorities. There are calls for the administration to act on these issues directly rather than organize another gathering with no binding power to enforce change.

Opponents of the conference have suggested that the federal government use digital platforms and social media to gather input from youth leaders nationwide, making use of the Ministry of Youth Affairs to coordinate these efforts.

They believe this approach would be a more effective and cost-efficient way to engage the country’s youth in policy-making while addressing their concerns in a manner that reflects Nigeria’s current financial realities.

However, critics argue that spending resources on the conference is unwise, given Nigeria’s economic constraints and the fact that recommendations from the 2014 National Conference are still yet to be implemented.