The newly inaugurated President of the African Union Youth Council (Clubs), Amb. Louis Temisan, has urged African countries to amend their constitutions to peg the age limit for presidential candidates at 50 years.
He argued that older leaders are out of touch with contemporary realities and development trends.
Speaking in Abuja at the inauguration of the council’s executives, which coincided with the celebration of the United Nations International Youth Day, Temisan said the dominance of elderly leaders has slowed Africa’s political and economic progress.
The youth leader, who recounted contesting for local government chairmanship in Delta State in 2021 and for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2023, said his personal example had inspired more young Nigerians to seek elective positions.
Temisan said: “It’s a fact that the current group of leaders we have in Africa are old, and it’s something that is not good for the liberation of Africa, in terms of development and diversity.
“This set of leaders can’t actually match it because of the fact that their generation is far different from what we have today. So because of that, personally, I’m a strong advocate for young people to get involved in leadership.
As a strong advocate for young people in leadership.
On the bill before the House of Representatives seeking to stop anyone above 60 years from vying for election to the Offices of the President and Governor in Nigeria, he added: “60years is a little too much. They should take it down to 50. At least, everyone who wants to contest the presidency in Nigeria, if you are above 50, leave the office for people who are below 50 to run for the office as presidency.”
Noting that Africa is a continent on the rise with over 60 per cent of its people under the age of 25, he lamented that despite this, it is also the continent with almost 76 million young Africans not in formal employment, education, or training (NEET).
He observed that even as 10 to 12 million youths enter the workforce annually, only around three million formal jobs are created in Africa, leaving a significant gap in terms of job creation.
He unveiled plans for the AU Youth Council to partner with governments, private investors, and civil society to implement programmes such as Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (STED), designed to match youth skills with emerging industries..
Speaking, Nigeria’s representative to the AU Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), Dr. Tunji Asaolu noted that Africa’s youth, making up over 60 percent of the continent’s population, hold the key to bridging the historical development gap between the Global North and South.
He further noted that achieving the SDGs by 2030 and Agenda 2063’s vision of “The Africa We Want” would rely heavily on youth-led, locally driven actions.
Citing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a milestone, he warned that Africa’s intellectual potential has long been shaped by colonial legacies that promote dependency, and called for academic freedom that empowers Africans to think, create, and act for their own transformation
Special Envoy for Climate Diplomacy and Multilateral Policy Negotiations at the United World Congress of Diplomats, Prof. Hephzibah Suobo, charged African youth to take ownership of the continent’s transformation agenda and lead initiatives towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
He stressed the need to dismantle colonial legacies in education, advocating for academic freedom to unlock Africa’s potential.
Noting the achievements of Africans making global impact, from Philip Emeagwali and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to Amina Mohammed and Kofi Annan, the don said such successes should no longer be exceptions, but products of systems that enable millions of young Africans to thrive.
