By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA — Presidential aspirant on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, has declared that Nigeria’s worsening hardship and insecurity were ‘stealing’ the future of young people, urging youths across the country to rally ahead of the party’s May 25 presidential primary.

His remarks came amid ongoing efforts by opposition figures to position the ADC as a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress, despite lingering tensions and competing interests within the broader opposition coalition.

Speaking at a Youth Townhall held at Novare Mall, Abuja, the economist and former chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group said many young Nigerians had been left disillusioned by years of economic hardship, unemployment and insecurity.

“Right now, the future of young Nigerians is being stolen. Two-thirds of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 35. So whenever politicians talk about Nigeria’s future, they are talking about young Nigerians,” he said.

Hayatu-Deen argued that Nigeria’s crisis stemmed largely from leadership failures, saying successive governments had failed to invest adequately in education, jobs and long-term development.

“The problem has never been the young people of Nigeria. The problem has been leadership, leadership that failed to plan, leadership that failed to invest, leadership that normalized suffering and then told Nigerians this was simply how things are,” Hayatu-Deen said.

He lamented that more than 18 million Nigerian children remained out of school while many graduates were unable to find jobs, insisting that governance failures, rather than lack of talent, lay at the heart of the crisis.

The ADC aspirant, who completed the party’s presidential screening process, also challenged the party to present what he described as a fresh candidate capable of rebuilding public trust and mounting a serious challenge against the APC in 2027.

“The ADC will decide whether it is truly serious about winning, whether it is prepared to offer Nigerians a real alternative, and whether it is ready to present a candidate who understands the pain people are living through every day,” he stated.

Hayatu-Deen used the event to outline parts of his economic and security agenda, including a proposal guaranteeing 100 days of public work annually for eligible low-income Nigerians.

He also proposed tax incentives for businesses employing NIN-verified workers from vulnerable communities, arguing that employment remained one of the most effective ways to reduce violent crime, banditry and extremism.

“Jobs are not just economic policy. Jobs are security policy. Every young Nigerian with a job is one less recruit for crime, extremism, banditry and violence,” he said.

The event took a more emotional turn when Hayatu-Deen spoke about how kidnapping had personally affected his family.

“My own sister was abducted and held for three years. So when I say this issue is personal to me, I mean it in a way very few people in public life can understand,” he said.

He pledged that a Hayatu-Deen administration would aggressively pursue terrorist financiers and strengthen regional security cooperation with neighbouring countries.

Hayatu-Deen also warned that the ADC risked losing credibility if it embraced what he described as ‘the same old politics,’ insisting that only a fresh candidate could defeat a ‘fatigued APC.’

He urged young Nigerians and ADC delegates to mobilise ahead of the presidential primary, saying the election offered an opportunity to reshape the country’s political direction.

“I carry no baggage. I owe no political godfathers. I am not a product of factional wars,” he added.