The Country Director of International Alert Nigeria, Dr Kingsley Udo, has called on Nigerian youths to identify what they can do to improve their communities.

Udo said young people should move beyond asking who was holding them back.

He made the call at the Young Change Makers Summit in Abuja, with the theme,“Youth Leadership for Peace, Climate Resilience and Democratic Participation” organised by International Alert and sponsored by Irish Aid.

The country director urged Nigerian youths to take greater responsibility for driving positive change in their communities because they possess the energy and capacity to shape the country’s future.

He cited young people involved in drug trafficking and other criminal activities as examples of youths who had demonstrated initiative and determination, urging others to channel similar energy into productive ventures.

Udo said young people could choose to champion climate action, clean their communities, promote peace and contribute to democratic development.

“Youth is a stage in a lifetime that is a precious gift. It is a time when you are full of energy and passion. There is a lot you can do,” he said.

Udo acknowledged ongoing government initiatives and collaborations with development partners targeting young people, but said more needed to be done given Nigeria’s large youth population.

He called on the federal, state and local governments to intensify investments in youth development, adding that the existing interventions, though commendable, were not sufficient.

He explained that the summit was organised to ensure that young Nigerians identified with International Alert’s programmes noting that youth remained central to the organisation’s work on peace-building, social cohesion and climate resilience.

Also speaking, Agustin Ajijelek, Senior Technical Adviser to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs on Poverty Reduction, said young people should raise their voices against social problems while respecting existing laws.

Ajijelek said the ministry was implementing programmes designed to improve the economic participation of young Nigerians.

He disclosed that 18,000 youths had recently been trained in 14 skills across the country, including fashion design, welding and fabrication, electrical installation and agricultural technology.

He said the beneficiaries were also provided with start-up kits and financial support to enable them to establish businesses and become active participants in the economy.

Also, a Youth Policy Strategist, Dr Azeezat Yishau, said the summit was important because young people had a strategic role to play in addressing climate change, peace-building and democratic development.

Yishau said Nigeria had one of the world’s largest youthful populations and that youths should not merely observe development processes but take leadership in shaping the future they wanted.

She said insecurity, conflicts and clashes in communities could disrupt education, economic opportunities and access to essential services, stressing the need to empower youths as peace actors and community leaders.

According to her, young Nigerians must move beyond complaints and organise themselves to engage meaningfully with issues affecting their communities.

Also, Programme Manager, International Alert, Sunday Jimoh, said young people from different parts of the country had gathered to share experiences and develop practical solutions to challenges affecting their communities.

He noted that despite recent insecurity in several project locations, young participants from states including Sokoto, Benue, Zamfara, Rivers, Cross River and others had continued to engage in peace-building and community development activities.

Jimoh said the summit was designed around the recognition that young Nigerians, despite facing different social, economic and political circumstances, shared common aspirations for peace, dignity, opportunity and inclusion.

According to him, International Alert’s programmes have shown that youths are not merely beneficiaries of development and peace-building interventions but are already leaders and solution providers.

Jimoh said the summit had four key objectives: to facilitate dialogue between youths, government institutions and other stakeholders on youth participation in peace-building, governance and decision-making; promote peer learning

He said the summit was a collaboration among youth platforms; amplify the voices and leadership of young women in mediation, peace-building and community resilience; and develop a youth call to action containing practical policy recommendations and collaborative commitments.

He urged government and policymakers to listen to the experiences and recommendations of young people and reflect them in policies and programmes.