The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has challenged Nigerian youths to move beyond political discussions on social media and take the battle for political participation to communities and polling units ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adebayo gave the charge in Abuja while receiving executive members of the Young Professionals for Social Change and the Confederation of West African Youths, who visited the SDP leadership to discuss governance and policy reform.
He urged the young professionals to reject political apathy, religious divisions and elitism, arguing that Nigeria’s challenges should be treated as an opportunity for a new generation to take greater responsibility for the country’s political process.
According to Adebayo, political influence means little if it does not translate into engagement with voters at the grassroots.
“Go back to our own districts. Politics is done in the neighbourhoods—166,874 polling units,” he said.
He challenged young professionals to use their influence to engage voters in their communities rather than limiting political participation to intellectual debates or activities within elite circles.
Adebayo also pointed to the role of young people in Nigeria’s independence struggle, urging the current generation to draw inspiration from the West African students who mobilised around the demand for self-government.
He said the SDP was seeking to promote a common political philosophy centred on the welfare principles contained in Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution.
Adebayo, who said he joined the SDP at the age of 19, also linked poverty, insecurity and unemployment to what he described as failures of political leadership.
The SDP presidential candidate told the visiting youth leaders that Nigeria’s problems required active citizen participation rather than resignation to the status quo.
The party’s Vice Presidential candidate, Professor Usman Bugaje, similarly identified political will and leadership competence as major issues affecting Nigeria’s development.
Bugaje cited the post-war development experiences of Japan, South Korea and Singapore as examples of countries that, according to him, transformed their fortunes through purposeful leadership.
“We represent the change that you are looking for, and what we are trying to do is to put this country on a different trajectory,” he said.
Also speaking, SDP National Chairman, Professor Abubakar Sadiq Gombe, urged the youth organisations to mobilise non-voters across constituencies and help address voter apathy.
Gombe said young Nigerians should see political participation as an investment in their future rather than an activity undertaken solely for the benefit of political parties.
He cited low turnout in previous elections as evidence of the need for greater civic mobilisation, urging the visiting organisations to expand their enlightenment efforts nationwide.
The engagement comes as political parties and candidates intensify mobilisation of youths, professionals and organised groups ahead of the 2027 elections.
For the SDP leadership, the immediate task is to turn youth interest in governance into sustained grassroots political participation.