Stakeholders on Wednesday urged Gombe youths to actively participate in governance to drive meaningful change, with particular emphasis on the inclusion of women and Persons With Disabilities.
The call was made during a two-day workshop organised by the Foundation for Community Empowerment Initiative, with support from the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Benjamin Maina, FOCEI Team Lead, said the initiative is designed to promote inclusive governance by ensuring that women and PWDs are adequately represented in policy development processes.
“We hope to ensure that everyone is included in governance. Inclusive governance starts with empowered youth,” he said.
In her presentation titled “Introduction to Gender Equality and Social Inclusion,” Dr. Leah Iliya-Jalo, a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at Gombe State University, stressed the need for fairness and balanced opportunities in society.
“Youth are the future and drivers of progress. There is a need for fairness. Equality means treating everyone the same, while equity involves providing opportunities based on individual needs,” she explained.
Illiya-Jalo added that every individual possesses the potential for greatness if given the right opportunities, noting that societal narratives must shift to reflect inclusiveness.
Also speaking, Salis Abubakar, a member of the Gombe State Commission for Persons With Disabilities, identified key barriers limiting the participation of women and PWDs in governance.
He listed cultural and social norms, discrimination, stereotypes, poverty, and other economic constraints as major challenges hindering inclusive participation.
The Chairman of the Gombe Network of Civil Societies and Team Lead of the Advocacy Centre for Development, Ibrahim Yusuf, while highlighting the importance of policy frameworks in sustaining inclusion efforts, stressed that “This policy will guide our actions between now and 2030. By 2031, we expect to reconvene and assess the level of progress made.”
Yusuf further urged youths to take ownership of governance processes, emphasising that their voices must be heard in decision-making.
“We should get involved as youths because anything about us without us is not for us,” he maintained.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from the civil society organisations, the academia, government institutions, and youth groups to deliberate on strategies for strengthening inclusive governance in Gombe State.
