INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 2026: THE TIME FOR A NEW GENERATION HAS COME

 

My fellow Nigerian Youth,

Today, as the world marks International Youth Day, I speak to you not merely as a Presidential Candidate, but as a fellow Nigerian who has walked through hardship, rejection, struggle and uncertainty and who has refused to surrender to the belief that our circumstances must determine our destiny.

Nigeria is standing at a historic crossroads.

And I believe, with every fibre of my being, that God did not preserve the Nigerian Youth merely to inherit a broken system. He preserved us to rebuild it.

We are not the generation of tomorrow.

We are the generation of NOW.

For decades, young Nigerians have been told to wait: wait for opportunities, wait for leadership, wait for political inclusion, wait for a better Nigeria.

Our answer is: WE HAVE WAITED LONG ENOUGH.

The Nigerian Youth must no longer be treated merely as voters, campaign crowds, social-media warriors or political foot soldiers. We must become nation-builders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, innovators, public servants, legislators and leaders.

Our time has come.

I believe that Youth O’Clock is not a slogan it is a divine appointment with destiny.

The Almighty has placed extraordinary gifts in the Nigerian Youth: intelligence, creativity, courage, resilience and the capacity to dream beyond the limitations imposed upon us.

But destiny does not answer to wishes alone.

Destiny answers to courage, discipline, sacrifice, faith and action.

Therefore, on this International Youth Day, I challenge every young Nigerian:

Do not surrender your future to cynicism.

Do not allow poverty to kill your ambition.

Do not allow ethnic or religious divisions to make you enemies of one another.

Do not allow desperate politicians to use your anger while they steal your future.

And above all, do not believe that Nigeria is beyond redemption.

Nigeria is not finished.

Nigeria is waiting to be reborn.

That rebirth will require a new generation willing to rise above personal interests and place the Nigerian nation first.

This is why our mission is simple:

To birth a New Nigeria where your surname, tribe, religion, state of origin or political connection does not determine how far you can go.

A Nigeria where a young person from Biu can dream of leading the nation.

A Nigeria where a young woman from Imo can sit at the highest table of national decision-making.

A Nigeria where a child born in poverty can become a global champion.

A Nigeria where talent not connection is rewarded.

A Nigeria where leadership is a sacred responsibility, not an avenue for personal enrichment.

My dear Nigerian Youth, history is calling.

The question is not whether the older generation has done enough.

The question is:

What will OUR generation do with the Nigeria entrusted to us?

Let us rise.

Let us organise.

Let us educate ourselves.

Let us reject violence.

Let us reject tribalism.

Let us reject religious hatred.

Let us reject political slavery.

Let us embrace excellence, patriotism, innovation, unity and service.

And let us have the courage to build the Nigeria we have always prayed for.

I stand before you with an unwavering conviction:

The Nigerian Youth are not a liability to Nigeria. We are Nigeria’s greatest unfinished project and its greatest hope.

May God Almighty give us the wisdom to lead, the courage to confront injustice, the humility to serve and the strength to rebuild our beloved nation.

On this International Youth Day, I make this solemn declaration:

We shall not inherit Nigeria merely as it is.

We shall transform it into the Nigeria it was destined to become.

From the streets of our cities to the villages of our countryside, from the North to the South, from the East to the West, the Nigerian Youth shall rise as one.

The old order may have had its time.

Now comes a new generation.

Now comes a new consciousness.

Now comes a new Nigeria.

YOUTH O’CLOCK!

GOD BLESS THE NIGERIAN YOUTH.

GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

Amb. Aliyu Bin Abbas
Presidential Candidate, Action Democratic Party (ADP)
Aliyu–Ike 2027 — Birthing a New Nigeria