Delivering a keynote address at the 2025 Harvard University African Development Conference, held at Harvard Law School on April 12, former Nigerian central bank deputy governor and President of the African School of Governance (ASG), Kingsley Moghalu, cautioned that Africa’s much-touted youth population boom, often described as a “Youthquake,” will not automatically translate into prosperity for the continent without deliberate and strategic investment in human capital and governance.
Moghalu emphasized that unless African governments make massive and sustained investments in education, technology, skills development, and access to capital for young people, the youth bulge could worsen unemployment and deepen poverty rather than drive growth. He pointed to the gap between population growth and job creation, warning that the current pace of job generation is far too slow to meet present and future needs.
“African countries must also tackle population growth, especially by educating women in rural areas to overcome cultural stereotypes,” Moghalu said. “That’s a key lesson from Asia’s development story.”
He criticized “feel-good” narratives about Africa being the “Next Big Thing” without the policy groundwork to support such ambitions. “Is it the 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, for example, created by Boko Haram and other terrorist insurgencies, that will create The Next Big Thing?” he asked pointedly.
Referring to previous buzzwords like “Africa Rising,” Moghalu argued that such narratives, often driven by Western media and scholarship, lack substance unless backed by real ambition, planning, and competent governance on the continent.
Highlighting the mission of the African School of Governance, he said the institution aims to build a pipeline of competent leaders who can drive sustainable development. “It’s time to end the worship of the gods of small things,” Moghalu concluded, calling for bold, future-focused policymaking rooted in the realities and aspirations of African societies.
