Stakeholders advocating greater youth involvement in governance have expressed concern over the growing exclusion and marginalisation of young people from decision-making processes across West Africa, warning that the trend is fuelling disillusionment and undermining democratic institutions in the sub-region.
The stakeholders voiced these concerns on Tuesday in Abuja at the Next Gen Initiative West Africa Youth Regional Symposium 2026, urging young people to take bold steps and actively participate in the democratic process rather than remain on the sidelines.
In his speech, the Nigeria Country Director of the National Democratic Institute, Francis Madugu, urged young people to become more actively involved in governance rather than remaining on the sidelines.
Madugu said while many young people believe they have less access to political power than earlier generations of African leaders, greater engagement remains the pathway to influence and leadership.
“I think that young people just need to engage more. If you think about names like Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Nkrumah, Sam Nujoma it wasn’t served; they engaged and built themselves towards political power,” he said.
He noted that power mapping, advocacy strategies and practical approaches to civic participation are essential for young people seeking to influence governance and public policy.
According to him, youths must remain informed, participate actively and seize opportunities to shape decision-making processes.
“I don’t think young people can sit out, stay out and criticise, or say that opportunities were not given. You have to engage.
“Be it across the countries in West Africa or across Africa, my simple answer is engagement, being informed and participation.”
Madugu added that active participation remains one of the fundamental principles of democratic practice.
“I’ve also learned one thing about democracy and democratic practices. If you engage, if you participate, you will get something,” he said.
Also speaking, the Coordinator of the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network, Paul Osei-Kuffour, said many young people no longer believe democracy is delivering meaningful results, making them increasingly vulnerable and disengaged from governance processes.
According to him, there is an urgent need to examine strategies, tools and mechanisms that can encourage greater youth participation in democratic processes across West Africa.
“The conversation today basically highlights the critical challenges that young people are facing. They are facing a lot of exclusion, they are facing a lot of marginalisation, and they are becoming very vulnerable. Young people are also very disillusioned with the fact that democracy is not delivering results,” he said.
Osei-Kuffour called for greater support to mobilise young people, sustain their engagement and encourage them to remain consistent in holding institutions and governments accountable.
He said the outcomes of the symposium would be documented and used to strengthen a community of practice involving young people mobilised across the 15 countries of West Africa.
“We need to support young people to mobilise. We need to support young people to sustain their engagements, and to also remain very consistent in engaging institutions and their governments,” he stated.
He also stressed the importance of building cross-border collaborations among young people, saying such partnerships would help them achieve shared democratic objectives.
Osei-Kuffour expressed concern over what he described as democratic backsliding in parts of West Africa, noting that young people have historically played a central role in advancing good governance and democratic growth across the region.
He challenged participants to revisit those traditions of civic engagement and collectively explore practical actions that individuals, organisations and communities can take to strengthen democratic governance.
A panel discussion featuring Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, Dr. Chris Fomunyoh and Ms. Vera Addo highlighted what participants described as systemic failures fuelling youth disillusionment across Africa.
The panelists pointed to rising poverty, widespread corruption and a severe lack of post-graduation opportunities, noting that young people are often excluded from critical reform decisions despite constituting the majority of the population.
They argued that many political systems remain disconnected from citizens’ realities, with politicians focusing more on winning elections than delivering sustainable development and improving living conditions.
Addressing growing scepticism among young people, the panelists described such doubts not as a weakness but as a sign of political awareness and consciousness.
The panelists emphasised that recognising weaknesses in governance systems should inspire strategic action rather than apathy.
“To effectively challenge institutional failures, young people must master the specific levers of power,” the panelists agreed.
Stressing that engaging a parliament requires a different approach from engaging the presidency while they called for stronger regional solidarity and sustained civic participation to advance democratic governance across the continent.
The panelists stressed that the struggle for job creation, affordable housing and transparent governance is a shared African and global challenge, citing recent cross-border youth-led protests as evidence of a growing pan-African identity.
They maintained that democracy and good governance would not be handed down freely, but would require young people to remain engaged, utilise digital tools and consistently occupy leadership spaces to drive lasting reforms.
The symposium brought together youth leaders and democracy advocates from across West Africa who extensively discussed challenges confronting democratic governance while exploring ways of strengthening youth participation in shaping the region’s political future.
