By Kenneth Chibuogwu Gbandi
I enjoyed every moment of our visit with our daughter in Latvia. She is there on an Erasmus exchange, and our conversations in the streets of Riga and around the questions shaping her generation kept returning to one essential point: we must listen to young people, and we must do so now.
The discussions were honest and sometimes challenging. Young people want older generations to take their concerns seriously, especially on climate change, economic transition and fairness. These are not distant topics for them, or abstract ideas for a seminar. They concern the world they are already living in and the future they will inherit.
After more than 30 years of experience in Europe and the diaspora, I have seen how much can be gained when generations speak to one another with respect. My daughter’s perspective brought something equally important to our conversations: experience may offer context, but young people bring a direct understanding of the pressures and possibilities defining their lives. We need both.
The divide we discussed in Riga is not confined to Europe. It is visible across Africa and especially in Nigeria, where more than 60 per cent of the population is under 25. Nigerian young people are not waiting for tomorrow to feel the effects of climate change, economic uncertainty and governance challenges. They are dealing with these realities now, while also creating businesses, building digital skills and organising in their communities.
For too long, leaders have told young people that they are “the leaders of tomorrow”. The phrase sounds encouraging, but it can also become an excuse for keeping them out of decisions today. A country cannot claim to prepare its young people for leadership while denying them influence over the choices that shape their present.
We should move from inviting young people to speak to giving them a meaningful role in setting priorities and making decisions. That means creating genuine partnerships in our communities, public institutions and political organisations. Older leaders still have a part to play, but it should include mentorship, opening doors and sharing institutional knowledge—not simply deciding what the next generation ought to think.
It also means backing the solutions young people are already developing. Across Nigeria and the diaspora, young innovators are working in technology, sustainable agriculture, clean energy and enterprise. Their ideas need access to funding, training, markets and the institutions that can help them grow. Youth forums and advisory panels can begin a conversation, but participation must lead to influence, resources and measurable action.
This is where diaspora experience can add value. Nigerians abroad bring professional skills, international networks and exposure to different approaches to public policy and innovation. Young Nigerians bring local knowledge, creativity and an intimate understanding of the challenges facing their communities. When those strengths meet, the result can be more than a conversation: it can be a practical partnership for change.
That partnership must also enter our politics. If young people are expected to participate only during campaigns, or to wait for an undefined future before taking responsibility, then we have not made room for their leadership. Political parties should make space for them in policy development, candidate selection and decision-making and be prepared to judge that inclusion by what changes in practice.
This raises a question Nigeria should be willing to consider after 2027: is it time for a Diaspora–Youth political party? The question is not simply whether to create another party. It is whether the existing political system can offer young people and the diaspora a credible route to shape policy and share responsibility for governing. If it cannot, Nigerians may look for a new political platform that gives those voices a central role.
Intergenerational dialogue is where insight begins, but dialogue without action breeds cynicism. The conversations in Riga reminded me that young people are ready to contribute. The responsibility of established leaders is to listen, work alongside them and make room for their ideas to influence the decisions that affect us all.
We should stop asking young people to wait for their turn. They are already helping to shape the present. Our task is to build the bridge and give them a real place in the decisions ahead.
Hon. (Dr.) Kenneth Chibuogwu Gbandi is a long-serving Nigerian diaspora leader, former Deputy National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (Diaspora Engagement), and Chairman of the ADC Diaspora Network (ADC-DN).
