The White Elephant Social Development, in partnership with Connected Development (CODE), has called on the youth to unite towards building the country and work in synergy ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The call was made in Abuja on Saturday at a public dialogue and the launch of an educational intervention programme to aid students as part of activities to commemorate International Youth Day.

The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages’.

Hamzat Lawal, founder and CEO of the group, said, “My message to young people is to continue to work to provide value and service to humanity, but before they can do this, they must get the right skills and the right mindset. 

He further stated, “I believe that young people of today are part of the solution, and the old people of today are also part of the solution because the theme of this year’s Youth Day talks about intergenerational solidarity.

“So let’s stop the blame game and work together to take Nigeria to where we all want it to be.”

Ismaila Babatunde, the group’s national coordinator, said there was a need to leverage the full potential of all generations.

“Youths face a lot of challenges like ageism, unemployment, education, politics, difficulty in business areas, among others. We need governments, religious and traditional rulers and the older generation to carry youths along and include them in policy-making processes,” Mr Babatunde stressed.

He further mentioned that the youth would need an enabling environment to hone “our skills and be able to compete at the global level just like our peers.”

“We, as youths, also need to wake up and realise that change begins with us. Don’t be an instrument of social vices, don’t be induced by any politicians to cause mayhem because you are also qualified to contest the same position that the candidates are vying for,” Mr Babatunde added.

(NAN)