Youth And Nation Building: Navigating Opportunities In An Era Of National Reforms

Being a Lecture by the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, fnipr, at the 34th Convocation Ceremony of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, held at the University Auditorium, Gidan Kwano Campus, on Saturday, 31st January 2026.

Protocol.

On a day like this, many years ago, at a different university, I was privileged to take part in my own Convocation ceremony. So I very much know and share the depth and breadth of your feelings as graduating students, after years of being on campus – reading, studying, sitting for examinations, and eagerly looking forward to the real world. I know what it feels like to be both excited and nervous about what the future holds, and to wonder whether you have all that you need to survive out there.

Today, you are on the cusp of that real world, about to step out of these proverbial four walls of higher learning, armed with youth, energy, expectations, and ambitions. Let me quickly assure you that these qualities will take you all very far, and that the life lessons you have learned up till this point will go a long way in helping you take those tentative first post-graduation steps. Relax, and enjoy this special day.

I consider myself very privileged to have the opportunity to stand before you today to deliver this 2026 Convocation Lecture; joining a very distinguished list of Convocation Speakers. It is especially pleasing for me that I am doing this in a University in my home State. This is one homecoming that I will cherish for a very long time to come.

I will start by congratulating all of you on this well-deserved milestone. You have paid your dues, been found worthy in and out of the classroom, and it is now time to celebrate the success that has led you to this juncture, and to do so with family members, friends, classmates, and well-wishers.

Distinguished graduands, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I have chosen as the theme of this lecture ‘Youth and Nation Building: Navigating Opportunities in an Era of National Reforms’, and I will now focus on unpacking that theme. Let me briefly explain why I chose it, by looking at the key elements within it.

Youth, because this is a gathering with a heavy presence of young people. Not everyone graduating today is a youth, of course, but most of you are. Nigeria, like the rest of Africa, also happens to be a very youthful country, with half of our population under the age of 20, and three-quarters under the age of 35.

What this means is remarkable when you ponder it: one out of every two Nigerians was born after the year 2005. This is well after the introduction of GSM telephony to Nigeria, and halfway into the second term of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s civilian administration. For those of us who knew Nigeria pre-GSM, and who witnessed the military era firsthand, this is a truly striking realisation — that we are increasingly becoming the minority in a rapidly growing country.

In another twenty five years, Nigeria will be the planet’s third most populous country, after India and China, and ahead of the United States. Our 400 million people at that time will include what has been projected to be the world’s second biggest population of people under 20. With the right education, skilling, and preparation for the rapidly transforming work-spaces of the 21st century, Nigeria will be an unstoppable global force in the arts, sciences, technology, and innovation.

The second major concept in this theme is Nation Building. Nation-building is the deliberate act of forging a sense of belonging and cohesive identity among a people. It is much more than building physical infrastructure – it is about constructing a collective national mindset that blends trust, values, opportunity, and belonging, transforming geography into unity and community. It does not and cannot happen overnight. It takes time, patience, and commitment, and is passed from one generation to another.

Writing about the new African and Asian states that emerged following the wave of independence of the 1960s and 1970s, in his 2022 book Nation Building: Why Some Countries Come Together While Others Fall Apart, the Swiss sociologist Andreas Wimmer argues that: “Creating an independent nation-state with a flag, an army, an anthem, newly minted money, and freshly printed passports did not guarantee that citizens identified with the nation or that they accepted the authority of the state.”

So, nation-building is more than having the paraphernalia of a nation – a flag, a passport, an anthem, public institutions. It also does not mean that the people of a nation will agree on everything. It does not mean erasing our unique ethnic and regional identities, or forcing homogeneity of thought. Rather, it means ensuring that all voices are heard and that there is a constant effort to guarantee inclusive representation in every sphere of national life.

Since Independence, successive federal administrations have tried to catalyse this process – through the creation of new states and local governments, national conferences, constitutional revisions, and interventions such as Federal Character and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others.

The third concept is National Reforms. This recognises and seeks to amplify an inescapable fact: that Nigeria is currently in the middle of some of the boldest and most ambitious reforms it has experienced in decades. And these are not happening by accident. They are the product of the deliberate vision and political will of a leader elected in 2023 – His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

Many of us are familiar with the most ambitious of these reforms: the removal of petrol subsidy, the unification of the foreign exchange rate, and the new tax laws which took effect on January 1, 2026. I will speak in more detail about them shortly.

Young people matter, especially in a country like ours, which has them – you! – in abundance. Nigeria’s youth, very well represented in this auditorium today, possess special qualities that set them apart: entrepreneurial energy, talent, innovation, and drive.

Nation-building matters too; in fact, it is essential. If a nation is not being built, it is shrinking and declining. And of course, reforms matter. There is no nation-building without reforms. There is a popular saying that insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different results. Reforms protect us from that trap. Through reforms, we move away from what is not working and entrench what is.

Nigeria’s Reform Landscape since 2023

I will now provide a more detailed overview of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bold reform vision since he assumed office on the 29th of May 2023. I will be focusing on both the thinking behind it and the practical realities and outcomes of implementation.

Right from when he traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria campaigning and presenting his vision of Renewed Hope, President Tinubu made it clear that he would spearhead a fundamental reset of Nigeria’s economic landscape – not for the sake of change alone, but because it was necessary and long overdue.

This is why he wasted no time declaring at Eagle Square, minutes into his Inauguration Speech, that petrol subsidy was gone. It was an audacious step, but the President was clear-headed and resolute. With the announcement made, the focus shifted to implementation. It was not easy, and there was strong pushback, but we have a President and Commander-in-Chief who is a fearless veteran of reform battles.

The next target was the foreign exchange regime, which had created opportunities for arbitrage and leakages. The President brought the same decisiveness to this task, cleaned up the Central Bank of Nigeria, and tasked the new Governor with fixing the FX system. Since then, we have seen unprecedented clarity, transparency, and predictability in that market.

The third leg of the macroeconomic reform tripod is tax reform, which has delivered four landmark Tax Acts – arguably the most impactful tax reforms in our history.

While the process has unfortunately been clouded by misinformation and scare-mongering, the truth is emerging. In recent weeks, many salary earners have received higher take-home pay following implementation. The goal was never to take more from Nigerians, but to simplify taxation and make it fairer and more transparent.

And we must not lose sight of the ultimate objective: more resources for federal, state, and local governments to invest in infrastructure, services, and social programmes.

The Role of Reforms in Creating and Expanding Opportunities and Pathways for Progress

The renewed attention of domestic and foreign investors, occasioned by these reforms, is opening up opportunities in every sector of the economy: digital technologies, agriculture, the creative economy, renewable energy, and many more.

There’s a phrase that went viral on the Internet a few years ago among young Nigerians: “Na dem dey rush us!” This is the situation in which Nigeria now finds itself. Many firms that had previously considered exiting the Nigerian market are now making a U-turn, given the scale and steadiness of the stability we have seen in the last 18 months, as the President’s reforms begin to yield fruit. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s monthly survey of business confidence has recorded 13 consecutive months of expansion, demonstrating that serious investors are paying attention and responding positively.

Just last week, Shell Plc’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wael Sawan, led a delegation to visit President Tinubu and attest to just how attractive Nigeria has become as an investment destination for oil and gas.

He said to the President, and I quote: “We have really been in a space where we are very keen to invest in Nigeria. But I would say this has not always been the case. Your leadership and your vision have created an investment climate over the last few years that, I will be very honest with you, propelled us to invest, especially as we compare to other investments around the world. Stability in today’s environment carries a premium for corporates because we are investing not for one administration or five or ten years, but for 20, 30, 40 years — and in the case of Nigeria, for many decades.”

What the President’s reforms are doing is creating massive waves of opportunity in every sector you can think of. And young Nigerians are emerging among the biggest beneficiaries of this new array of opportunities opening up in this era of national reforms.

Nigeria continues to be Africa’s most vibrant technology startup ecosystem, accounting for five “unicorns” — companies valued in excess of one billion dollars — more than any other African country. Andela, Interswitch, Opay, Flutterwave, and Moniepoint were all founded in Nigeria before making their mark beyond our shores.

The work that the Tinubu administration did to secure Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List in 2025 was another strong demonstration to the world that there is a new template in town. That grey-listing, which the administration inherited, had significant negative implications for our ability to participate seamlessly in the global financial system. Nigeria’s exit from the list will therefore go a long way toward unlocking new opportunities for our banking and fintech companies, as well as for all Nigerians doing business with the world.

Distinguished graduands, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Let me now touch on one of the biggest and most visible opportunities created for young Nigerians in the last two years: low-cost, long-term financing for students of our higher institutions through the National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Since its launch in May 2024, NELFUND has received almost 1.5 million applications, with more than 900,000 beneficiaries and counting. Over ₦174 billion has so far been disbursed as tuition fees and monthly upkeep allowances. Through NELFUND, we have incontrovertible proof that the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda is real, functional, impactful, and transformational. I am sure that many here today are beneficiaries, and that when the story of your academic journey is told, NELFUND will feature prominently and positively.

There is also the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, another brainchild of the President, which is creating a new pipeline of affordable financing to support various categories of Nigerians, including Youth Corps members. Everybody deserves a shot at building a comfortable life, and access to credit is a critical element in enabling this.

From the 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT) programme to the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, the Presidential Metering Initiative’s skilling programme, the new national TVET initiative, the Nigerian Youth Academy Startup Programme, the ongoing implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act, and the National Health Fellows Programme – which is now in its second phase – the determination of the Tinubu administration to permanently rewrite Nigeria’s youth narrative is strong, unwavering and beyond doubt.

I spoke earlier about the massive waves of opportunity being created by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reforms. But these opportunities must be recognised and taken advantage of by those seeking to benefit from them.

Opportunities do not automatically transform lives unless they are sought, seized, and harnessed. They are merely potential in raw form, and of little use if left untapped. It is possible for affordable credit, student loans, or technical and vocational training programmes to exist, and yet for you not to benefit — either due to a lack of awareness or because you have given in to the cynical voice that says, “don’t bother – you can’t get it.”

Because of how many government programmes were run in the past, such cynicism is sometimes understandable. But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has gone the extra mile to send a strong message that these opportunities are open and available to all Nigerians, regardless of gender, age, creed, ethnicity, tongue, or region. And we have seen multitudes of testimonials from people who defied cynical thinking and chose instead to apply – and succeed.

Conclusion

As I conclude, I will do so with a heartfelt message to all of today’s graduating students.

One phase is ending, but another is just beginning. It is time to transition from the relatively sheltered environment of the university campus into the wider world beyond.

To make the future count, you must be deliberate about your next steps. Ask yourself important questions: Who am I? What do I want out of life? What do I want to be known for? What value do I carry, and what value can I add — to an employer, to my community, to the world? And how can I improve that value?

It was Socrates who said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Those words remain as true today as they were over two thousand years ago. No one who seeks a meaningful life can afford to proceed without reflection and deliberate thought.

We live in a world filled with distractions. Among the biggest of these are our mobile phones. Everyone here today is carrying one, and many of you may already be scrolling through them as this ceremony proceeds.

To succeed in life, you must master your time and attention. You cannot afford to be a slave to technology — which, if unchecked, can become the greatest thief of time and focus. It is instructive that the motto of this University is “Technology for Empowerment.” This phrase should always stay with you, reminding you in every moment that technology is meant to empower, to improve, to enable – and not to distract, not to demean, not to diminish human dignity.

Learn the art of engaging with the unfolding reforms at various levels of government. We may not all become politicians, but we must care about how we are governed and contribute our quota to raising the standard of governance. You may not care about politics, but politics certainly cares about you.

For those of you who have already gained valuable experience in campus politics and student leadership, that experience can help you navigate the complexities of life beyond the university. The point I am making here is that no knowledge, no experience, is ever wasted.

As fellow builders and shapers of Nigeria’s greatness, we must never shy away from using our voices, our energy, and our talents to make a difference wherever we find ourselves.

See yourselves, from this very moment, as builders. You can build from where you are, with what you have. You do not need to wait until you have amassed wealth or influence before contributing to nation-building. Start now. Use the powerful tools available to you, including the Internet and digital technologies. Build your personal brand, your voice, your confidence, your networks, and your professional capital.

Give serious consideration to public service – joining law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and Ministries, Departments and Agencies at all levels of government. Future generations must emerge to build on the legacy of previous ones, and public service is one of the most important avenues for nation-building.

Some of the friends you have made on this campus will be lifelong companions, standing by you through both good times and challenging times. Do not be so eager to leave campus that you leave friendships behind.

You are a fortunate generation. Today’s technologies allow you to stay connected in ways we never could. In my time, it was easy to lose touch. Do not take your advantages for granted.

Never underestimate the value of mentors and professional networks. Mentorship does not always have to be face-to-face. Today’s digital tools allow us to learn from and model our lives after people we may never meet personally.

Embrace lifelong learning. There will never be a time when you have learned enough, especially in an age when knowledge quickly becomes obsolete. As the late Steve Jobs told Stanford University students at their commencement ceremony: “Stay hungry; stay foolish.” In other words, never allow complacency to set in. Always seek new knowledge and seek to break new ground.

Pursue every opportunity to develop your skills and expand your knowledge. We are surrounded by online resources and certifications that can unlock doors you never imagined. Beyond those doors lie opportunities such as remote work, freelancing, and consulting.

Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that must be mastered and leveraged upon for professional advancement. But it also comes with its downsides and pitfalls, requiring utmost care and safeguards.

Distinguished graduands, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Nigeria is both motherland and fatherland, which means that it is meant to nurture, protect, and provide for us, the people who call it home, whose ancestors belong to this land. We have a lot of work ahead of us to come to a place where we experience the country in the truest and most rewarding sense of citizenship. Instead of being discouraged or dismayed by the scale of the journey ahead, let us be energised, accepting that we are the architects of our nation’s destiny, and that when we treat it well, despite its many imperfections, it will be good to us.

On this note, I will close by once again expressing my immense gratitude to the authorities of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, for extending to me this prestigious invitation to deliver the 2026 Convocation Lecture. And once again, congratulations to the graduating classes.