Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged African leaders to see the continent’s youth as a generational force for innovation, leadership, and global competitiveness rather than a burden. Jonathan made the call in a statement on Saturday by his Media Adviser, Mr Eze Ikechukwu, calling for investments in initiatives that positively impact young people.

This is following Jonathan’s keynote speech in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the launch of a report titled Advancing Inclusive Development: Policy Options for Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gabon, Mali, and Niger. The report was produced through a collaboration between the African Union Commission, the UNDP’s Africa Facility to Support Inclusive Transitions (AFSIT), and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Jonathan urged African nations to invest in education, digital infrastructure, and skills development to harness the potential of the continent’s youth for global competitiveness and leadership. “We must shift from seeing demographics as a challenge to embracing it as a strategic advantage. Our youth must be seen as an asset, not a burden,” he said. He stressed that investing in education, digital infrastructure, and skills development is no longer optional but imperative for Africa’s future prosperity and stability. Jonathan noted that while Africa remains the world’s youngest continent and a fast-growing economic frontier, it continues to struggle with deep-seated structural weaknesses. According to him, these challenges include governance deficits, political instability, economic fragility, and the lasting effects of external shocks. He advised African leaders to prioritise inclusion and economic empowerment to foster political stability and sustainable development across the continent. Africa’s future, he emphasised, must not be left to chance. He insisted that governance must be rooted in legitimacy, inclusion, and responsiveness to citizens’ needs. To address instability, Jonathan urged leaders to take decisive action in building a strong, self-reliant, and prosperous continent through wise governance and economic investment. He warned that political stability cannot be sustained without trusted institutions, the rule of law, and leadership that derives its legitimacy from the people. “We must invest in building responsive governance structures, fostering constitutional integrity, and ensuring that democracy delivers tangible benefits for all,” Jonathan said. He also called for profound economic transformation, noting that fragile states do not emerge solely from political crises but from economic exclusion and underdevelopment. Jonathan stressed that Africa’s economic future hinges on industrialisation, technology-driven growth, and regional trade integration to drive sustainable development. The former President argued that security must be re-imagined as developmental stability, requiring solutions beyond traditional military responses. He urged African leaders to adopt a whole-of-society approach, tackling the root causes of conflict, such as poverty, marginalisation, and weak governance. Jonathan described the launch of the report as a moment of reckoning and renewal, pushing Africa to confront the stark realities facing parts of the continent. He encouraged African nations to embrace the report’s recommendations while strengthening regional cooperation to address shared challenges. As Africa’s largest democracy and economy, Jonathan said Nigeria has both a responsibility and a privilege — to lead by example and serve as a catalyst for continental progress. Nigeria, he added, has embraced regional cooperation as a core foreign policy pillar, working through ECOWAS, the African Union, and global partnerships to promote peace and democracy. He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to championing economic integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to drive regional prosperity. “A united Africa is a stronger Africa — one that trades within itself, builds resilient supply chains, and creates African solutions for African challenges,” Jonathan said. (NAN)