Consumer Voice Takes Center Stage At December 4, 2025 Consumers Experience Summit


By Winifred BosaGeneration Unlimited Nigeria (GenU 9JA), UNICEF’s Public-Private-Youth-
Since its launch in 2021, GenU 9JA has successfully impacted over 11 million young Nigerians across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with a particular emphasis on young women and marginalized youth. The initiative provides vital access to digital learning, employment pathways, and civic engagement opportunities.
During the annual Steering Committee meeting in Lagos, co-chaired by the Office of the Vice President, UNICEF Nigeria, and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, representatives from government, the private sector, development partners, and youth leaders convened to review progress and set priorities for 2026 and beyond.
In 2025, GenU 9JA significantly enhanced its impact by forming strategic partnerships with Airtel, MTN, IHS Towers, Unilever, Microsoft, Jobberman, CISCO, AfricaRe, and ATC Nigeria, providing over 255,000 young people with access to mobile data and digital learning resources. The Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA) programme successfully connected more than 400,000 youth to skills development, livelihoods and empowerment opportunities, with around 20,000 young women acquiring technical and digital skills and over 85,000 receiving mentorships through the Future-X Campus Ambassadors Program. Civic engagement saw a notable increase, with over 665,000 youth participating in social impact initiatives, and more than 300,000 youth mobilised for environmental action through the Green Rising initiative.
According to Rimamskeb Nuhu, Special Assistant to the President, Strategy and Policy (Workforce Development), Office of the Vice President (OVP), “the mission of GenU 9JA aligns with the Government of Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI), initiatives that aim to open more pathways for youth employment and entrepreneurship.”
Ms. Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, announced that GenU 9JA has been institutionalized under the Office of the Vice President. “With over 11 million young Nigerians impacted in four years, we are on track to achieve our goal of supporting 20 million young people in their transition from learning to earning by 2030,” Wafa stated. “This step reflects the government’s strong commitment to creating opportunities for young people across the country.”
“The private sector, particularly young entrepreneurs, are the engines of Africa’s transformation. The Tony Elumelu Foundation will continue to provide Africa’s youth with the mentorship, resources, and networks that is required to build sustainable businesses through our partnership with UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited.” Added Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
Despite the progress made so far, GenU 9JA is looking to support 2.5 million youth with jobs, training, and entrepreneurship in 2026. This plan will include scaling YOMA from the current 400,000 to 2 million users, expanding Green Rising to universities, and offering grants to youth-led start-ups.
Shamiyah Umar, a member of the UNICEF Young People’s Action Team (YPAT) and the founder of the We Are Special Foundation, stated, “Being a part of UNICEF GenU 9JA has allowed me to make a meaningful difference in my community and positively impact the lives of people with disabilities. At GenU 9JA, young people are not just participants; we are leaders shaping the future we want, despite our diverse abilities.”
As the initiative enters its next phase, partners reaffirmed their commitment to collective action and investment in young people, recognizing them as central to Nigeria’s social and economic progress.



LarryBravo Nwaiwu
The executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida has said that for the country to reach the $1 trillion economy by 2030, it needs resilient network systems that can bend without breaking, recover quickly from shocks and keep the nation connected even in times of crisis.
By Fidelia Okafor
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to safeguarding the nation’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), describing it as central to Nigeria’s quest for a $1 trillion economy.
Speaking at the 2025 Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP) Conference in Lagos, themed “Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) and Building Industry Resilience,” Maida said Nigeria’s digital infrastructure is the invisible backbone driving every sector of the economy from banking and trade to education and national security.
“When we talk about a $1 trillion economy, we often mention oil, agriculture, or manufacturing. But the real backbone of all these sectors today is our digital infrastructure,” he said.
According to Maida, telecommunications currently contributes over 15 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, underscoring its pivotal role in national development. However, he warned that the sector remains under threat, revealing that more than 26,000 incidents of fibre cuts, vandalism, and theft were recorded across telecom operators between January and August 2025.
He noted that such attacks, coupled with cyber intrusions and ransomware threats, pose a serious risk to the economy and must be confronted decisively.
Dr. Maida in his paper presentation outlined a five-pronged strategy through his representative Babatunde Apeji that the NCC has adopted to protect CNII: regulation and enforcement, public awareness, collaboration with security and government agencies, stakeholder mediation, and when necessary deployment of security forces to deter vandalism and sabotage.
He disclosed that telecom infrastructure has been formally designated as a national security asset under President Bola Tinubu’s directive and the provisions of the Cybersecurity Act.
Beyond protection, Maida said the Commission is shifting its focus to resilience ensuring that telecom networks can withstand and recover swiftly from disruptions. This includes implementing disaster recovery guidelines, establishing a Sectoral Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and developing a comprehensive Cybersecurity Framework for the telecom industry.
Dr. Maida emphasized that resilience cannot be achieved in isolation, hence the NCC is collaborating with key institutions such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to secure mobile banking systems, and with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and power distribution companies to stabilize electricity supply to telecom sites.
Dr. Maida added that state governments and local communities are being engaged to protect fibre routes and telecom towers under the CNII Presidential Order. He therefore called on FiBOP to join the NCC in creating more awareness on Nigeria’s quest for a $1 trillion economy.
