The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Nigerian Government and other strategic stakeholders have intensified efforts to develop a long-term framework aimed at improving the wellbeing of Nigerian children by 2050.

The commitment was reaffirmed on Monday in Abuja during the Child Foresight Analysis Roadmap Validation Exercise, a key engagement under the Anticipatory Governance and Foresight Capacity Programme coordinated by the Office of the Vice President in collaboration with the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), with technical support from UNICEF.

The initiative seeks to enhance Nigeria’s ability to anticipate future challenges and opportunities affecting children through the application of foresight tools that promote resilient, adaptive and evidence-based policymaking.

Speaking at the event, UNICEF Nigeria’s Chief of Planning and Monitoring, Wayne Bacale, explained that the programme was initiated following a request from the Federal Government for technical assistance in strengthening anticipatory governance and long-term planning.

He noted that the vision behind the initiative is to help shape a better future for Nigerian children by projecting development priorities towards 2050.

Bacale stressed that such planning is crucial because children account for more than half of Nigeria’s population, making it imperative to understand future scenarios and begin taking informed decisions that will positively influence their lives over the coming decades.

He added that the process places strong emphasis on inclusion by ensuring that children and young people actively contribute to shaping policies rather than leaving adults to make assumptions on their behalf.

According to him, the programme is government-led, while UNICEF’s role is to provide technical expertise drawn from global experience in foresight and anticipatory governance.

He also disclosed that consultations have already been conducted across different parts of the country, reflecting the nationwide scope of the initiative.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Office for Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE) and the National Early Warning Centre, Chris Ngwodo, said the exercise was designed to address the long-standing exclusion of children and adolescents from public policy formulation.

Ngwodo revealed that young people have been participating in the roadmap development process since last year, ensuring their aspirations and perspectives are reflected in government planning.

According to him, the ultimate objective is to produce a roadmap that supports policies that are more responsive to future generations, while also integrating ideas gathered from young participants into current government programmes.

The OSPRE boss further explained that the initiative aligns with both African Union and global development frameworks, describing it as a sustained engagement aimed at promoting intergenerational equity and ensuring young people remain active contributors to governance.

Also, Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties in the Office of the Vice President, Mohammed Ahmed, said the initiative has progressed from the analytical stage to implementation.

He explained that the next phase will focus on identifying practical entry points across different sectors through collaborative engagement involving government institutions, civil society organisations, academia and development partners.

Ahmed noted that the goal is to convert the findings from the past ten months into concrete actions that deliver measurable results.

He emphasised that meaningful development can only be achieved when intended beneficiaries participate in designing programmes from the outset, adding that children are being treated as genuine partners in shaping Nigeria’s future rather than symbolic participants.

According to him, the initiative reflects a new approach to governance that prioritises long-term planning by ensuring decisions taken today are guided by the realities and needs of future generations.