Olusegun Obasanjo charges Africa’s youth to unite in rebuilding continent

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo has called on the youth in Africa to come together in building the future of the continent.

The eminent fellow of the African Youth and Governance Convergence (AYGC) made this call when he graced what has been termed as the biggest convergence of Africa’s youth on economic recovery.

Addressing the youth as the keynote speaker, for this year’s AYGC, the former President preached a message of hope to the youths of over 32 countries in Africa and the Diaspora on the effects of Covid-19.

At the just-ended 12th, but First Virtual Edition of the convergence, under the theme: ‘Covid19 Recovery: Building Partnerships for Youth-Led Community Development in Africa’, Obasanjo recognized the key role of History in humanity’s evolution.

He emphasized that History is the memory or repository of any human organization. In his assessment, Africa is in need of a historical perspective since according to his deduction, Africa is losing its way.

“I cannot fathom whose terrible idea it was to remove history from our school curriculum. I can only hope that, this woeful mistake will eventually be rectified because they that do not value History, will not only fail to learn from it but are essentially like a people without a compass.

To accomplish permanent solutions to our continent’s problems, we, Africans would have to unite in the interest of one another,” he said.

Taking a historical perspective on Covid-19, the former president, in closing reminded the delegates that just as Spanish flu never really went away, so too we must not live with the attitude of waiting for Covid-19 to cease before intervening to implement recovery plans.

Initiated and convened by the Youth Bridge Foundation (YBF), the African Youth and Governance Convergence (AYGC), since 2009 has served as an important platform for grooming young people in Africa and beyond the continent in the areas of Leadership grooming, Cascade of mentorship, Community Impact and Networking & Exchanges.

This year’s Virtual Convergence brought together over 100 African Youth from over 30 Anglophone, Francophone, and for the first time Lusophone countries.

Delegates participated in Plenary Sessions, Committee work, and Deliberations, made possible through the long-standing relationship between YBF and the Youth Development Center of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPLYC).

This year’s AYGC was supported by the Open Society Foundations (Support for the participation of Lusophone countries) and partners;

Youth Bridge Foundation, Youth Development Center of OOPL, USAID Ghana (Office of Economic Growth), Dalhousie University, University of South Carolina, Xlive, Magichands, Empowerment Squared, and International Decade of the people of African Descent.