A Non Governmental Organisation, Face of Liberty International has called on young Africans to take greater responsibility for solving developmental problems bedeviling the nations instead of depending solely on governments and political institutions.
Its Executive Director, Leonard Ogunweide made the call during the virtual graduation ceremony of the first cohort of its 2026 Free Market Fellowship held in Lagos State.
The 10-week programme was designed to inculcate leadership and civic education training in the next generation of leaders, featuring participants from several African countries.
Ogunweide said Africa’s development would require citizens who could transform ideas, skills, knowledge and available resources into productive value.
He argued that the continent’s large youth population and abundance of natural resources would not automatically translate into prosperity without individual freedom, effective institutions, entrepreneurship and responsible leadership.
Ogunweide noted: “Potential alone is never enough. A large youth population does not automatically create progress. Leadership is a decision to take responsibility for making something better.”
He further stated that prosperity could emerge only when people operated within an environment that enabled them to build businesses, exercise property rights and take responsibility for improving their lives.
The programme also challenged the assumption that governments should provide every solution to the problems confronting citizens.
Ogunweide stressed that the government has important responsibilities but limited in capacity to manage every aspect of social and economic life, saying graduates need to recognise the role they could play in advancing development within their communities.
“It is easy to complain about what is wrong. It is harder to organise people around a solution. It is easy to criticise institutions, but it is difficult to build better institutions,” he added.
A participant, Rashid Baba, a Ghanaian special educator, focused his capstone project on inclusive education and the challenges faced by children with special educational needs.
Baba said the fellowship strengthened his confidence to communicate with education authorities and organisations working in the disability and education sectors.