Mene ne shirinku kan rashin aikin yi, rashin tsaro, da tsadar rayuwa, kuma ta yaya mutane za su iya shiga cikin ƙungiyarku?

But I cannot achieve that vision alone. No President, no matter how determined, can rebuild Nigeria without the active participation of its greatest asset—its young people. That brings me to the central message of my address today: The role of young Nigerians in building a new democratic Nigeria. The current political establishment often looks at young Nigerians and sees a restless population to be managed, manipulated or mobilised only during elections. I see something entirely different. I see the greatest national asset Nigeria has ever produced. I see innovators building world-class businesses from laptops and mobile phones. I see young farmers feeding communities despite enormous odds. I see creators, engineers, doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs, artisans and professionals proving every day that the Nigerian spirit cannot be defeated. Unfortunately, I also see enormous talent trapped by poor leadership.

Nigeria cannot continue asking competent young people to wait outside the room while their future is being decided inside it. MY COVENANT WITH YOU Our partnership must also mean something practical in the lives of young Nigerians. It begins with jobs and enterprise. Nigeria has millions of young people with ideas, energy and ambition, but too many cannot access the capital required to turn those ideas into businesses. We will expand transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people working in the creative economy. Your surname, political connection or ability to find a godfather should not determine whether a good idea receives an opportunity to succeed. Education must also change. We cannot continue educating young Nigerians for an economy that no longer exists. Our schools must place greater emphasis on science, technology, vocational education, agriculture, digital skills, critical thinking and entrepreneurship. And no brilliant Nigerian child should be denied tertiary education simply because his or her parents are poor.

If you want political power, you must organise for political power. Join your wards, attend meetings, ask questions, demand accountability and participate in choosing those who represent you. And while you organise, refuse the oldest trick in Nigerian politics: division. Do not allow politicians to persuade you that the unemployed graduate in Kano is your enemy because you come from Enugu. Do not believe that the struggling entrepreneur in Lagos has different interests from the struggling entrepreneur in Makurdi simply because they worship differently. The farmer threatened by insecurity in Zamfara and the farmer facing insecurity in Benue both want to live, work and raise their families in peace. Poverty has no tribe. Unemployment has no religion. Insecurity does not ask for your political party before it strikes. Our generation of leaders has a responsibility to leave you a country in which your identity is a source of pride, not a weapon politicians use against you.

Nigeria’s young people do not need a government that teaches them how to survive hardship. They need a government that gives them the opportunity to prosper. The cost-of-living crisis has stripped millions of Nigerians of purchasing power, weakened small businesses and pushed too many young people farther away from jobs, capital and economic independence. My commitment is to change that. We will restore purchasing power, reduce the cost of living and deliberately expand opportunities for young Nigerians, including through a $100 billion financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Our objective is simple: move young Nigerians from dependence to enterprise, from unemployment to productivity, and from palliatives to prosperity. It was against this background that I was pleased to receive, this afternoon, a nationwide delegation of N-Power beneficiaries who came to declare their support for my presidential candidacy.

Nigeria’s young people do not need a government that teaches them how to survive hardship. They need a government that gives them the opportunity to prosper. The cost-of-living crisis has stripped millions of Nigerians of purchasing power, weakened small businesses and pushed too many young people farther away from jobs, capital and economic independence. My commitment is to change that. We will restore purchasing power, reduce the cost of living and deliberately expand opportunities for young Nigerians, including through a $10 billion financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs. Our objective is simple: move young Nigerians from dependence to enterprise, from unemployment to productivity, and from palliatives to prosperity. It was against this background that I was pleased to receive, this afternoon, a nationwide delegation of N-Power beneficiaries who came to declare their support for my presidential candidacy.

My plan for you, Nigeria's young people, starts with this: you should not be asked to wait outside the room while your future is being decided inside it. It begins with jobs and enterprise. I know Nigeria has millions of young people with ideas, energy and ambition, but too many cannot get the capital to turn those ideas into businesses. I am determined to expand transparent access to finance for young entrepreneurs, artisans, farmers, technology founders and people working in the creative economy. Your surname, your political connections, or whether you can find a godfather, should not decide whether your idea gets a chance to succeed. As part of this, we will put in place a financing programme for start-ups and entrepreneurs, so that young Nigerians can move from dependence to enterprise, from unemployment to productivity