28, February 2026 LAGOS, NIGERIA
A youth-led platform bringing together ideas, voices, and solutions shaping Nigeria’s culture, economy, and politics.
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The Citizen Townhall is Zikoko Citizen’s flagship event, organized in partnership with Luminate and Open Society Foundation. It serves as a platform to bring together stakeholders to discuss the pivotal role of young people in democracy and development.
Through this event, we aim to explore innovative ways to design initiatives for and with young people, using insights from The Citizen Report.
This gathering will convene key stakeholders from the development and media sectors, young change-makers, policymakers, thought leaders, and journalists to foster actionable conversations and strategies for inclusive youth participation in governance.
Interactive sessions for actionable strategies
Panels featuring leading voices in media and development
Launch of the citizen report
Networking opportunities
9:00 am
Welcoming attendees and setting the stage for the event. Speaker: Tomiwa Aladekomo
9:00 am
9:15 am
Speaker: Toyin Akinnyi, VP, Africa of Luminate
9:15 am
9:45 am
Focus: Historical context and accountability. It seeks to look at the following: How Nigeria’s social and economic conditions have shifted. What policy decisions mattered and which didn’t. Why context is essential for informed civic choices. Speakers: Busola Ajibola, and Mahmud Jafaar Moderator: Osaruonamen Ibizugbe
9:45 am
10:25 am
Focus: Women and youth in governance. It seeks to look at the following: What happens when women are visible in power. What youth participation has meant historically. How representation shapes budgets, priorities, and outcomes. Speakers: Samad Uthman, and Ope Adetayo Moderator: Chigozie Victor
10:25 am
11:05 am
This is the heart of the Townhall. It is an immersive, interactive exhibition built from insights in The Citizen Report and the event’s theme. As participants walk through the space, they should confront the idea that the Nigerian life is shaped by systems, decisions, absences, and pressure points, not abstract politics.
11:05 am
11:35 am
This is where the theme becomes human. This session should explore how a single life has been shaped, and reshaped, by Nigeria’s systems, and how that individual learned to navigate, challenge, or change them. It should feel intimate, reflective, and honest, offering vulnerability rather than performance.
11:35 am
11:50 am
Focus: Civic action and accountability. It seeks to look at the following: Where pressure actually works in Nigeria’s governance system. What citizens can realistically demand and how. The role of media, culture, and collective action. Speakers: Titi Fadare, and Gbemi Adebowale Moderator: Zubaida Baba Ibrahim
11:50 am
12:30 pm
Open floor for reflections, key takeaways, and audience
12:30 pm
1:00 pm
1:00 pm
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Ganiu Oloruntade
Ganiu Oloruntade
Senior Editor at Techcabal
<table> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Ganiu Oloruntade is a Senior Editor at TechCabal, Africa’s leading technology publication. In his current role, he leads a team of talented reporters covering important stories across five key verticals: Money, Policy and Enterprise, Life and Work, Startups and Emerging Technologies. </span></p> <p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>He joined TechCabal as a Reporter and wrote about startups, policy, and government.</span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
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Douglas Kendyson
Douglas Kendyson
Founder & CEO, Selar
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Douglas Kendyson is the Founder & CEO of Selar, Africa’s leading platform for digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>entrepreneurs. He worked at Flutterwave and Paystack, two of Africa’s most successful </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>billion-dollar fintech startup. He brings deep experience in fintech and online payments. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Since launching Selar in 2016, he has helped over 2 million users monetise digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>products, paying out more than $10 million to African creators. Douglas is passionate </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>about empowering entrepreneurs to build sustainable online </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>businesses and is shaping </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>the future of work across the continent through digital commerce.</span></p>
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Oswald Osaretin Guobadia
Oswald Osaretin Guobadia
Senior Policy Adviser and Digital Strategy Leader
<p><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Oswald Osaretin Guobadia is a senior policy adviser and digital strategy leader with over 25 </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>years building infrastructure and shaping transformative policy across Africa. In his career on </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>the continent and now as Managing Partner at DigitA, Oswald has guided projects and policy </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>innovations that have created impact in countries across Africa, helping to set the pace for </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>inclusive digital development and entrepreneurial growth. He has led the rollout of innovative </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>platforms, such as the UNDP Africa timbuktoo Policy approach and national innovation and </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>entrepreneurship strategies. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Oswald’s advisory reach includes serving presidential offices, leading government agencies, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>collaborating with multilateral partners, and forging public–private partnerships to help build </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>resilient infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. As Senior Special Assistant on Digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Transformation to the President of Nigeria, he steered Nigeria’s largest startup policy rollout, </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>including the acclaimed Nigeria Startup Act—widely recognized as a benchmark for digital </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>economies. </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>He has shared his insights at TEDx, the United Nations General Assembly, BBC Africa, CNBC </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>Africa, and the Wharton Africa Business Forum, and has graced numerous influential panels </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>and stages globally. Oswald is also an entrepreneur, board member, published author, and </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>tireless champion for African innovation. He believes, “the next startup to impact the world will </span><span style=”font-weight: 400″>start in an African village.”</span></p>
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CEO, Luminate
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