By Nkechi Eze
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is set to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) to capture, analyse and organise ideas generated by young Nigerians at the maiden National Youth Conference, as part of efforts to translate their aspirations into policy proposals.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, disclosed this while delivering a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the conference in Abuja, describing Nigerian youths as a strategic asset to national development.
Inuwa said the initiative would provide a structured channel for young Nigerians to communicate their expectations, concerns and ideas directly to government, rather than relying solely on scattered conversations across social media platforms.
He noted that platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok had given young Nigerians greater opportunities to express themselves, but the huge volume of online content also made it difficult to distinguish genuine policy ideas from misinformation and other forms of online noise.
According to him, the conference would enable government to “filter the noise” and identify genuine signals from the conversations and aspirations of young Nigerians across different sectors of the economy.
“It is a deliberate step to make sure your voices, your aspirations, your ideas are brought closer to the heart of national decision-making. This conference is also for the administration to listen to what you want government to do in terms of the economy, job creation, technology, and creating a greater Nigeria,” he said.
The NITDA DG said the Agency, in partnership with the relevant ministry, would deploy technology to capture contributions from participants, while AI would analyse the submissions and organise them into thematic areas.
He explained that the resulting information would be presented to a committee to support its understanding of the issues raised and inform the development of policy proposals.
Inuwa further disclosed that technology would facilitate remote participation, allowing young Nigerians who were unable to attend the conference physically to contribute their views.
He assured participants that their contributions would be captured and preserved as part of a process through which their ideas could move from the conference floor into government policy.
“I want to assure you that all your discussions will be captured, and the technology will keep it, and we will present it to the committee, and government will use that to turn your aspirations into ideas, ideas into proposals, proposals into policies for government to build the policies you want,” he said.
Inuwa also pledged NITDA’s continued involvement in the initiative, saying the Agency would support the technology-driven engagement “end to end” while ensuring transparency throughout the process.
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, led other dignitaries at the opening ceremony, including the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier-General Olakunle Nafiu; National President of NANS, Akinteye Hafeez; members of the academia and representatives of Commissioners of Youth Development from the 36 states.
The National Youth Conference 2026 is focused on six broad areas, including governance and political participation; entrepreneurship and job creation; climate action and energy transition; education and future-ready skills; technology and digital innovation; and security and social cohesion.
The conference is designed to engage young Nigerians across the country’s 360 federal constituencies, the six geopolitical zones and the diaspora.
The six geopolitical zones are scheduled to hold dedicated virtual sessions from October 5 to 17, 2026, with technical support from NITDA.
