Many young Ghanaians are ready to lead, but structural and legal barriers continue to limit their opportunities, says Timothy Aposiyine Nsoh, Director of Integrated Youth Needs and Welfare (INTYON).
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Equal Voices programme on the topic Youth in Development, Mr. Nsoh highlighted the United Nations’ definition of youth as people between the ages of 16 and 35, describing this period as critical for personal growth, career formation, and leadership development.
“That is the period where you find yourself, your inspiration, your skills, your work, and what you truly love to do,” he said. “It is the stage where a career is actually formed. Within that period, you have the liberty to try a lot of things, to be a risk-taker, but it should be guided risk, not just anything that comes your way.”
According to him, Ghana has yet to create sufficient structures to guide young people effectively. Although guidance and counselling coordinators exist in senior high schools, many students go through school without benefiting from their services. Even at the university level, he said, students often do not know how to access career guidance or mentorship.
“Most universities have guidance and counselling, but it’s not functioning well. People don’t even know where to find the office or the professors in charge,” he noted.
Civil society organisations, including INTYON, have tried to fill the gap. Mr. Nsoh cited initiatives such as Barcamp Bolga, a Ghana Think Foundation programme that brought together between 200 and 500 participants, and Youth Without Borders, which engages community leaders to empower young people.
“We go into communities and meet traditional leaders to push for young people to start leading now. We don’t have to continue saying youth are the leaders of tomorrow. They can lead today,” he said.
Challenging the notion that youth are only future leaders, Mr. Nsoh pointed to examples from other countries where presidents and ministers are in their early 30s.
“In Ghana, it is difficult to imagine even a Minister of Youth being 25. We are always looking for experience, but how do young people get that experience if they are never given the opportunity to start?” he asked.
He also noted that constitutional age limits and entrenched leadership structures further hinder youth participation in governance.
“We are working to push for changes so young people can even contest for presidential positions. Right now, the system is designed in a way that disadvantages youth,” he said.
Mr. Nsoh warned that excluding young people from leadership is risky, especially as they make up more than 60 percent of Ghana’s population.
“They have the energy, strength, and zeal to build the country. If we don’t start building them now, we are planning to fail as a country,” he said.
He added that the lack of opportunities has driven many young people into politics as a perceived route to success.
“If we are all politicians, who will save lives? Who will build our communities? Who will work in other sectors? We need young people in all sectors,” he said, emphasizing the need to nurture leadership potential across society.
Source: A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Keziah Porepaya Nsoh | Bolgatanga
