Centre LSD Calls for Greater Investment in Youth on International Youth Day
By Charity Onah
The African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD) has called on governments, development partners, civil society organisations, schools, communities and the private sector to increase investment in young people and create meaningful opportunities for their participation in governance and development.
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Centre LSD made the call in a statement issued to commemorate International Youth Day 2026, with this year’s theme, “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations.”
The organisation said the theme reflects the diverse realities of young people across Nigeria and Africa while highlighting their shared aspirations for dignity, opportunity, meaningful participation and a better future.
According to Centre LSD, young people should no longer be viewed merely as beneficiaries of development programmes, stressing that they are already citizens, innovators, leaders and agents of social change.
The organisation noted that young people across Nigeria and Africa continue to contend with challenges including unemployment, limited access to quality education and digital opportunities, barriers to civic participation and inadequate platforms to influence decisions affecting their lives and communities.
It added that young women, rural youth and young people living with disabilities often face additional barriers to participation and opportunity.
Despite these challenges, Centre LSD said young people share a common desire to learn, work, participate, be heard and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
The organisation highlighted the work of its youth arm, Young Ambassadors for Development (YAD), which provides platforms for young people to develop leadership skills, engage with development issues and take action within their communities.
Operating under the motto, “Empowering Africa’s Youth, Transforming Tomorrow,” YAD focuses on youth leadership, civic engagement, mentorship, social innovation and youth-led community action.
Centre LSD Executive Director, Monday Osasah, said Africa’s approach to youth development must move beyond treating young people as beneficiaries of government and development programmes.
“We must stop treating young people merely as beneficiaries of development. They are partners in shaping the Africa we want, and their voices, ideas and leadership must be reflected in the decisions that affect their lives and communities,” Osasah stated.
Centre LSD further called for youth participation in governance to go beyond symbolic representation, urging stakeholders to involve young people meaningfully in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programmes that affect their present and future.
The organisation said its youth development work is anchored on its broader vision of “an African society with strategic leadership and sustainable development” and its mission to work with forces of change to empower citizens to transform society.
As Nigeria and the rest of the world mark International Youth Day, Centre LSD reaffirmed that differences in the circumstances of young people should not obscure their shared aspirations.
“Young people are not waiting for the future. They are already building it,” the organisation stated, calling for a renewed commitment to creating opportunities that allow young people to contribute fully to Africa’s development.
Centre LSD is a Nigerian non-governmental organisation focused on strategic leadership and sustainable development, with programmes covering leadership, governance, gender equality and inclusive development.