Expert Urges Africa–EU Leaders to Reframe Partnership Around Youth, Local Impact

Funmi Ogundare 

Software developer and Global Policy commentator, Godson Nmesoma Ozioma, has urged African and European leaders to reimagine the Africa–EU partnership as a collaboration anchored on youth empowerment, sustainability and mutual interdependence, rather than a traditional donor/recipient relationship.

 Ozioma, in a statement, warned that decades of communiqués and investment pledges risk being reduced to abstractions unless they translate into daily opportunities for farmers, entrepreneurs and students across both continents.

“The future of the Africa–EU partnership lies not in Brussels or Addis Ababa, but in the hands of Africa’s youth. Demographics alone demand it, Europe’s average age is over 40, Africa’s is under 20,” he said.

He stressed the need to move from summit declarations to youth-centred strategies and practical investments in education, digital infrastructure and green innovation, arguing that young people must be seen not as passive recipients but as co-architects of the partnership.

While acknowledging the European Union’s €150 billion Global Gateway Africa–Europe investment package as a historic commitment, Ozioma said its credibility would depend on whether communities on the ground feel its impact.

According to him, Europe’s strength lies not in competing with China’s infrastructure or Russia’s arms, but in delivering a values-driven model based on sustainability, democracy and human dignity.

“The Africa–EU partnership is no longer about aid or goodwill, it is about shared survival in an age of pandemics, climate disruption and global competition. If both continents can embrace youth as the strategic anchor, the partnership can become a model for 21st-century cooperation,” he added.