REMARKS BY DR ADEWALE KOLAPO KAREEM,AKK AS CHAIRMAN OF THE 2026 PROGRESSIVE YOUTH AMBASSADORS SUMMIT, THIS DAY, JANUARY 22ND 2026 AT THE Y-ARENA MULTIPURPOSE CENTRE, AWOLOWO ROAD, IKOYI, LAGOS.
Distinguished guests, esteemed leaders, fellow progressives, and the vibrant young people of our great country – good day to you all. It is a profound honour to serve as Chairman of this Progressive Youth Ambassadors Summit that has been themed “Strengthening Grassroots Participation in Advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda.” Today, we meet at a critical juncture in our national journey, in a city that is both the cradle of our progressive struggle and the engine of our future.
It is sacrosanct that we all must recall the roots of our democracy. Nigeria’s democratic experiment began in the colonial era with limited legislative councils in the 1920s, but it was the independence in 1960 that marked our first republic, a period of parliamentary governance marred by ethnic tensions and ending in military intervention in 1966. The second republic in 1979 brought a presidential system, yet it too fell to coups in 1983. The third republic was aborted in 1993, but the fourth republic, renewed in 1999 after years of military rule under generals like Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, among others, stands as our longest uninterrupted democratic era. Since then, we have maintained the longest stretch of uninterrupted civilian rule in our history—over 26 years of testing, failing, and ultimately persevering. This democratic renewal in 1999 set the stage for the ideological battles that would eventually define our progressive identity.
This renewal in 1999 was no accident; it emerged from the struggles of democracy advocates who faced imprisonment, exile, and loss of life. Figures like Chief MKO Abiola, whose 1993 election victory was annulled, symbolised the fight against authoritarianism, while activists in NADECO and civil society pressed for civilian rule. The build-up of political parties in Nigeria has been a story of evolution—from the NCNC, AG, and NPC in the first republic to the SDP and NRC in the third, and now the multiparty system dominated by the APC and PDP. These parties have been vehicles for ideological battles, with alliances shifting to address regional imbalances and power sharing.
The formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013 was a political miracle that defied the predictions of skeptics. It was the first time in African history that major opposition parties—the ACN, CPC, ANPP, and a faction of the APGA—voluntarily dissolved their identities to form a formidable fortress for the people. We must pay homage to the “Founding Fathers”; visionaries like our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his predecessor, Late President Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Bisi Akande, Ogbonnaya Onu and others, whose resilience, focus, and intellectual depth forged a bridge across the Niger. Over the past decade, our party has weathered internal storms, resolved somewhat bitter differences, and transitioned leadership with the grace of a united family. We have stayed as one because our bond is not built on the spoils of office, but on a shared progressive ideology.
As I noted, the APC’s founding fathers displayed remarkable determination, resilience, focus, and hard work to build the alliance we enjoy today. They negotiated through nights of debate,
reconciled differing visions, and built a platform that promised progressive governance. Since then, the party has sustained itself through these same attributes: navigating leadership changes
from Chief John Odigie-Oyegun to Adams Oshiomhole, Abdulahi Ganduje, and now Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda; enduring internal contests like the 2014 primaries; resolving disputes through dialogue, as seen in post-2019 reconciliations; and bouncing back from losses, such as in 2015 state elections, to win the presidency in 2015 and retain it in 2023. Through it all, the APC has remained one absolute family, proving that unity in diversity can overcome division.
In these struggles over the past decade and beyond, young people have been a fundamental and significant component, often the engine driving our victories. From participating in campaigns by canvassing door-to-door in rural villages to running sensitive errands like delivering messages in high-stakes negotiations, the young people have been indispensable. They have led and organised youth forums, mobilising thousands for rallies, and stayed up late in secretariats drafting letters, communiqués, and policy briefs for committees and subcommittees. I particularly cannot undermine those efforts, never will. I know they stem from your commitments, daring spirit, and can-do attitude, also fuelled by a genuine love for the party. Young APC members have coordinated voter registration drives reaching over hundreds of thousands in 2022, and nationally, youth wings have contributed to electoral successes.
Today, young and old people, but more so the young, are redefining governance and capacity in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope administration, making waves that show youth are worthy of time, opportunity, and space to operate. The narrative of leadership is being rewritten by a generation of young, high-flying technocrats and visionaries. Look at Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, a 46-year-old tech innovator launching the 3 Million Technical Talents program to train youth in digital skills. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior at 41, has streamlined passport issuance, reducing wait times from months to weeks. Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, and Creative Economy, is revitalising the creative industry with policies supporting Nollywood’s growth. Ayodele Olawande, Minister of Youth Development at 36, is empowering young entrepreneurs through grants. Khalil Halilu, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI at 35, whose institutional reforms have turned the agency into Nigeria’s premier technology transfer hub. The same is in Ms. Olu Verheijen, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, whose strategic brilliance has already unlocked billions in foreign direct investment for our oil and
gas sector. We also have young people populating the media and strategic communication office of Mr President doing wonders in communicating policies and programs. These leaders demonstrate that youth bring fresh ideas, efficiency, and results to the table.
Globally, young people are claiming their place in discussions through bold efforts, a trend that aligns with our local realities in the APC where youth are increasingly at the forefront. In Sweden, 34-year-old Magdalena Andersson became Prime Minister in 2021, pushing green energy policies that cut emissions by 20%. In Finland, Sanna Marin at 34 led as Prime Minister from 2019 to 2023, guiding the country through the COVID crisis with a 70% approval rating for her transparent handling. Zohran Mamdani, 34 years old, has in this month of January 2026, sworn in as the 112th Mayor of New York City in the United States. In the APC, young leaders like those in President Tinubu’s cabinet are mirroring this by driving digital innovation and youth programs, showing how effort opens doors. I feel truly humbled and honoured to witness your groundbreaking effects, but there is more to be done. We must move beyond being “campaign foot soldiers” to becoming “intellectual architects” of the grassroots. The world is watching how Africa’s largest democracy integrates its most vibrant demographic into its development plan.
The Renewed Hope Agenda cannot succeed in Abuja alone; young people within the APC must deepen their grassroots appeals to the people, stepping into communities to listen, participate, and canvass with genuine intent. This means going door-to-door in neighbourhoods, sharing stories of how the party’s policies have impacted lives, and building trust through consistent presence. Participation is key; you must be, more than before, be ready to join local ward meetings, volunteer in voter registration drives, and organise forums where residents voice their concerns. Canvassing requires persistence, like the 2023 efforts where APC youth registered over 500,000 new voters in the Southwest alone. You must build layers of effort, forge new friendships, and preach the Renewed Hope gospel with conviction. We need a grassroots structure that is so robust that every Nigerian feels the pulse of the government in their daily lives. You are the ambassadors; you are the translators of this vision to the common man. This works through partnering with community leaders, religious groups, and even opposition sympathisers. Preaching the Renewed Hope gospel means highlighting real successes, not just slogans—talk about the Student Loan Scheme that has, so far, disbursed N161.97 billion to 864,798 students since 2024, reducing dropout rates by 15% in universities. Or the Consumer Credit Scheme, which has provided N100 billion in low-interest loans to 500,000 Nigerians, boosting small businesses and cutting inflation by 2%. Economic reforms around the bold removal of fuel
subsidies and the unification of the forex market, while painful, have already seen Nigeria’s revenue-to-debt service ratio improve significantly, with over N1 trillion saved in just the first few months for social interventions.
As well, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s wit and brilliance have championed reforms like the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative, converting 30,000 vehicles and saving N200 billion
in fuel costs annually, reducing transport fares by 50% in pilot states. The Agricultural Enhancement Program has distributed 2 million bags of fertilizers and 10,000 tractors, increasing crop yields by 25% and creating 500,000 jobs. The iDICE fund has invested N100 billion in digital innovation, training 100,000 youth in tech skills, while the 3MTT program has equipped 3 million with technical talents, lowering unemployment by 5% among graduates.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, spanning 700km, will boost trade by N1 trillion yearly. These are tangible wins that show the agenda works when we amplify them at the grassroots.
This push must begin from the Southwest, not solely because the President hails from Lagos, but because this region birthed the APC through pre-major activities—meetings in Ikoyi homes, think tank sessions in Abeokuta, and conventions in Lagos that merged ACN, CPC, and ANPP in 2013. We have always been the “brain box” of the progressive movement. We must not fall short or relent now. Our region has a historical responsibility to lead the intellectual and grassroots charge. We must be relentless, for the success of Nigeria depends on our stability and brilliance.
My young friends, I look into your eyes and see the fire of a thousand suns. You are the generation that will see Nigeria reach its $1 trillion economy target. The future is not a distant promise; it is the ground you stand on today, waiting for your hands to shape it. You are the pulse of this nation, the energy that turns vision into victory, and the voice that echoes through history. Our founding fathers have laid the foundation; it is now your duty to build the skyscraper. History is calling your name. The Renewed Hope Agenda as your banner— let it fly high, let it unite us, let it transform Nigeria. The time is yours; seize it with courage, and together, we will build a legacy that generations will applaud. Stand tall, act now, and watch our nation soar!
Thank you. God bless the Progressive Youth Ambassadors. God bless the APC. God bless Southwest. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
© Dr. Adewale Kolapo Kareem 2026
~ Dr. Adewale Kolapo Kareem (AKK)
Oyo State APC Gubernatorial Aspirant
APC… PROGRESS!
Oyo 2027
AKK 2027
Governor 2027
AKK! Aseyori ni tiwa
AKK!! Ajọṣe, Ajoje
AKK!!! A Task That Must Be Done
Thursday, January 22, 2026.
