The Osun youths have called on the State and Federal Government to empower more youths through education, skills development, and entrepreneurship.
This call was made on Wednesday during the Osun Youth Summit 2025, hosted by OneForAll Youth Development Initiative, held at the Oasis Conference and Event Centre in Osogbo.
The summit, themed “Youth-Led, Youth-Driven, Youth-Focused,” aimed to foster collaboration and amplify youth voices.
Speaking with newsmen, the Convener of the Osun Youth Summit and Team Lead, OneForAll Youth Development Initiative, Babawale Jamiu Popoola, said the summit is a youth-led and youth-driven initiative that is being set up to empower, amplify youth voices, and influence access to youth-focused opportunities.
He also noted that every relevant major stakeholder on youth affairs in Osun State attended the summit, which included people from the government, civil society institutions, media, and academia, among others.
Jamiu affirmed that the summit analyzes youth issues from policy, legislation, engagement, and empowerment perspectives.
According to the convener, “OneForAll Youth Development Initiative will actively support the implementation, operationalization, and effective functioning of the Osun Youth Development Commission by facilitating stakeholder engagement and providing technical assistance.”
In his own remarks, the CMD of UniOsun Teaching Hospital, Babatunde Afolabi, appreciated the organizers of the summit for the new development initiatives.
He urged the government to focus on more empowerment, identify the strengths of youth, and work together to make the best out of them.
“They are our future, our tomorrow. With what I see here today, I believe we have a long way to go, and God will see us through to the end,” Afolabi added.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the World Institute For Peace, Lamina Omotoyosi, implored the Osun government to be concerned about youth employment, noting that empowering youth who have an interest in self-reliance should be part of their primary assignment.
He also stated that not every youth wants a collar job, urging the government to train them to be self-employed.
The one-day summit had in attendance 298 participants, including youth leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and stakeholders, all focused on addressing the challenges and opportunities facing Osun State’s youth.
During the summit, Participants pledged to mobilize grassroots awareness campaigns and submit collaborative project proposals for funding, while calling on State Government to allocate 15% of the 2026 budget to youth-focused initiatives.
It was also raised that Federal Government should resuscitate and rehabilitate the National Youth Development Centre in Osun State.
Present at the event were the Commissioner for Youth Affairs, Osun State, Hon. Olagunju Moshood Olalekan who delivered a keynote speech highlighting the importance of youth participation in governance and nation-building, and Hon. Adéyemí Adewumi Irekandu, representing Obokun State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, among others.
Leave a Reply