Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa (rtd), has declared that Nigeria's greatest asset is not its oil wealth or natural resources but its youthful population, stressing the need to mobilise and empower them for national development.
General Musa (rtd) made this statement in Kaduna during the inauguration of the Musawah for Youth and Development Initiative (MUSAWAH 4 Y-D), a socio-political and development-oriented platform established to promote youth empowerment, civic participation and grassroots mobilisation, on Monday.
Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Intelligence and Security, General Bala Isandu (rtd), Musa described the initiative as a movement designed to harness the potential of young Nigerians and women for national development and democratic participation.
“It gives me great joy to stand before you today at the inauguration of the MUSAWAH for Youth and Development Initiative. Today is not just the birth of another support group. It is the formal activation of a movement — a movement of young Nigerians and women who believe in service, in development and in the future of this nation,” he said.
The minister commended the hundreds of support and interest groups affiliated with the initiative, noting that they represent farmers, students, artisans, professionals, women groups, faith-based organisations and community associations from across Kaduna State.
According to him, MUSAWAH was founded on the principles of equality, inclusion and shared responsibility for development. “We called this initiative MUSAWAH because it speaks to equality, inclusion and shared responsibility for the development of our dear country.
“Our country’s greatest asset is not oil or land — it is our youth. Over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s population is under 30. If we do not engage them, empower them and give them direction, we have failed,” he said.
Musa said the initiative was created to mobilise young people for civic participation, support grassroots development efforts and deepen support for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani.
He charged members of the organisation to return to their communities and polling units to mobilise support, register voters and promote issue-based political engagement. “Reject politics of bitterness. We will campaign on performance, not propaganda. The road to 2027 starts today and it starts with all of us together,” he said.
Earlier, the National Coordinator of MUSAWAH 4 Y-D Initiative, Polycarp Gankon, disclosed that the organisation had built an extensive grassroots structure across Kaduna State. According to him, no fewer than 266 support and interest groups have formally registered with the initiative, while mobilisation structures have been established across the state’s 255 wards and thousands of polling units.
“As of today, we have 266 support groups registered with MUSAWAH. These include farmers’ cooperatives, student unions, women associations, artisan groups, faith-based organisations, community development associations, professional bodies and political groups.
“There is no group that has less than 50 members. We don’t compromise standards in MUSAWAH. We go for the real figures and anybody can come and verify our records,” he said.
Gankon said the initiative currently has 2,295 ward mobilisers and was on course to deploy more than 24,000 polling unit mobilisers across Kaduna State. “By the special grace of God, by the end of this month, we are going to have 26,446 active grassroots mobilisers strategically positioned to engage communities, influence public opinion and drive political participation at a large scale,” he said.
He added that beyond politics, the organisation had undertaken several empowerment and development programmes, including artificial intelligence training for youths, support for National Identification Number (NIN) registration and public enlightenment campaigns. “We organised free AI training for youths across the state, including university students and lecturers. We also support NIN registration and sponsor radio programmes aimed at sensitising citizens on governance and development issues,” he said.
Representing Governor Uba Sani at the occasion, the State Commissioner of Justice, James Kanyip (SAN), said youth development remains critical to addressing insecurity, poverty and social instability. According to him, most security challenges confronting the country are linked to youth unemployment and lack of economic opportunities.
“When we talk about youth development, we are not just talking about politics. Development transcends politics. We must begin to look at the economic value of youth development.
“A lot of bandits we have today are not old men. A lot of kidnappers are not old men. A lot of those engaged in insurgency are not old men. More than 90 per cent are youths because they have not been engaged,” he said.
Kanyip said the Kaduna State Government had continued to invest in skills acquisition and human capital development through vocational training centres established across the state. “When you engage youths through education, skills acquisition and human capacity development, you take them away from poverty, insecurity, radicalisation and criminality,” he added.
While congratulating the organisers, he urged them to ensure the initiative outlives political cycles and remains focused on sustainable youth and community development. “This should go beyond politics. Tomorrow, General Christopher Musa may not be Minister of Defence. What sustainability plans do we have? Youth development must become a permanent programme and not something tied to individuals or political offices,” he said.
The highlight of the event was the formal inauguration of the MUSAWAH for Youth and Development Initiative, with participants pledging to support youth empowerment, grassroots mobilisation and community development across Kaduna State and beyond.
