Secretary-General of the Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures (COSPAL), Dapo Oyewole, has said only about 2.8 per cent of parliamentarians globally are under the age of 30, a figure that has remained largely unchanged for more than a decade.
Oyewole, who cited findings by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), said more than one-third of the world’s parliamentary chambers have no young member.
He spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a youth town hall meeting organised by the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI) to mark International Youth Day.
Oyewole also announced a call for applications for the next batch of participants in the LMI leadership mentorship programme initiated by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
He said with half of the world’s population below 30 and Africa being the youngest continent, young Africans must have a meaningful role in shaping the continent’s future.
‘Africa’s youth cannot afford to be powerless characters in the story of the continent,’ he said.
Oyewole said LMI’s five-year experience, during which 218 fellows have graduated from the programme, showed that young people were not lacking interest in public service.
He said the major challenge was the lack of opportunities for young people to contribute to nation-building.
He said, ‘Africa does not suffer from a shortage of talent. It suffers from a shortage of pathways, adding that the African leaders must build a continent where leadership is not inherited by accident, but cultivated by design’.
While announcing the call for applications for its 2026 cohort, he said the initiative firm part of a fresh drive to prepare young Nigerians for leadership and greater participation in governance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He called oo political parties to deliberately create space for young Nigerians seeking elective office, warning that the country’s youthful population must be better reflected in its political leadership.
While applauding Gbajabiamila for founding the LMI, he said the initiative aim to identify promising young Nigerians, equip them with leadership skills, expose them to the workings of government and position them to take up leadership responsibilities.
According to him, the 2026 programme will be the fifth cohort of the initiative, which has continued to attract significant interest from young Nigerians seeking opportunities to contribute to national development.
He disclosed that about 11,000 young Nigerians began applications for the programme last year, while approximately 7,000 completed the process.
Oyewole said the figures demonstrated the growing appetite among Nigerian youths to participate in public-sector leadership and play a role in shaping the country’s future.
He explained that LMI was designed not merely as a training programme but as a platform to ‘train, equip, expose and position’ young Nigerians to serve their country, while building the confidence, experience and networks required for higher leadership responsibilities.
The 2026 intake is open to Nigerians aged between 21 and 35, with about 50 participants expected to be selected, although the organisers may increase the number to 60.
Oyewole said the initiative would maintain its commitment to inclusivity through gender balance, representation from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as participation by persons living with disabilities.
He said political parties must deliberately identify, support and sponsor young Nigerians seeking elective positions, arguing that the country’s youthful population should be adequately represented in political leadership.
Oyewole said LMI represented a practical response to the leadership gap by providing young Nigerians with the skills, exposure and networks required to participate meaningfully in governance.
Also speaking at the event, he first UN Global Advocate for Peace and Security, Mariam Bukhar Hassan said although opportunities existed across the continent, many young Africans were unable to take advantage of them because such opportunities were not being communicated or structured in ways that enabled young people to access them.
According to her, the continent must move beyond discussions about youth potential and focus on creating systems that give young people meaningful access to economic opportunities.
Hassan also identified mobility as a critical component of youth empowerment and economic development, arguing that the ability of young people to move freely across the continent should not be treated as a luxury even as she noted that the African Continental Free Trade Area was designed to create a vast market, with young people expected to play a major role in driving trade, entrepreneurship and innovation.
She, however, expressed concern that while goods could move across African markets under emerging trade arrangements, young people often faced restrictions that limited their ability to travel and participate fully in those markets. ‘Mobility in itself is not luxury, it is infrastructure for the young person,’ she said, stressing that restrictions on movement undermine the ability of young Africans to participate meaningfully in continental economic integration.
The UN Global Advocate therefore called on the African Union and governments across the continent to urgently find a solution to the mobility challenge by ratifying the African Union Free Movement Protocol. Hassan noted that despite the importance of the protocol, only four AU member states had ratified it, describing broader ratification as essential to unlocking the potential of young Africans and ensuring that they can actively participate in the economic opportunities created by continental integration.
As the 2027 elections draw closer, the LMI leadership pathway is positioned to offer young Nigerians an opportunity to move beyond demands for inclusion and acquire the practical experience, exposure and networks needed to participate effectively in Nigeria’s political and governance processes.