Hope Is a Youth Wearing the Colours of Change — The Ayodele Olawande Story

There are moments in a nation’s story when change doesn’t come with thunder, but with quiet, persistent steps — the kind that ripple into transformation. For Nigeria’s teeming youth, the past year under Ayodele Olawande, the Minister of Youth Development, has been one such moment.

Appointed in October 2024, Olawande stepped into office at a time when hope among young Nigerians was a fragile thing. The air was thick with frustration — unemployment, disillusionment, and the heavy silence of unfulfilled potential. Yet, one year later, there’s movement in the air. There’s conversation. There’s belief.

And belief, when it returns, is powerful.

The Ministry’s recent performance review is not just a list of numbers; it is a testament to the quiet power of consistent reform. The initial target was to train 10,000 youths in digital skills — the ministry reached 14,509. The goal for mentorship, internship, and career development stood at 80,000; 97,212 young Nigerians benefitted.

Even in peacebuilding — an often-neglected front in youth policy — 5,023 youths were trained, more than double the set target. Each figure here is more than data; it’s a story. It’s a young person who found a new direction. It’s the sound of possibility returning to the rhythm of youth.

Through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), over 250,000 young people have been engaged across its four pillars — NiYA Academy, NiYA Gigs, NiYA Jobs, and NiYA Community. NiYA is fast becoming the new digital agora where Nigerian youths meet opportunity halfway.

For years, one of the loudest complaints among Nigerian youths has been the feeling that government doesn’t listen. Olawande’s establishment of the Nigerian Youth HelpDesk flips that narrative. With over 5,700 cases received — 60% resolved and 27% still active — the HelpDesk is proof that government can be reachable, and more importantly, responsive.

It may not yet solve every problem, but it signals a shift: governance as dialogue, not distance.

Then came Yo! Health — a name that sounds like a youthful greeting, but carries a serious vision. Launched in May 2025, it’s a national youth health programme designed to place well-being at the heart of development. Its six pillars — Mental Health, Alcohol/Drug Abuse, Communicable Diseases, Health Insurance, Non-Communicable Diseases, and Sexual & Reproductive Health — spell out a holistic understanding of what it means to empower a generation.

Through Yo! Health, Nigeria has not only started a new conversation around youth wellness but has positioned itself as a continental leader. The initiative’s domestication of the Africa CDC Youth Engagement Strategy made Nigeria the first African nation to do so — a quiet but defining diplomatic victory for youth development.

Olawande’s creation of a new Department of Youth Health, Mental, and Psychosocial Affairs further institutionalises what many ministries often treat as temporary projects. It’s a reform with roots — and roots matter when you’re trying to grow something lasting.

It is easy to be cynical in Nigeria. Decades of promises without performance have left scars. But for the first time in years, the Ministry of Youth Development seems to be more than a bureaucratic stopover; it’s becoming a movement space.

Olawande’s leadership shows that public service can be people-centred — not through empty slogans but through measurable outcomes. And perhaps more importantly, through empathy.

The youth don’t just need opportunities; they need to be seen. They need to be heard. And in this one year, the Minister’s work shows a government arm trying — truly trying — to make that happen.

As Nigeria grapples with unemployment, insecurity, and migration, the youth remain both its greatest challenge and its greatest hope. Olawande’s first year has lit a candle in that space between despair and drive — a reminder that reform is possible, that governance can inspire again.

The work is far from done. But if the first year is any indication, Nigeria’s youth may soon stand not as spectators but as authors of their nation’s next chapter.

Because hope, as we are learning again, is not abstract. Hope is a youth — learning, creating, healing — and wearing the colours of change.

Segun Adeyemi writes from Abuja