WhatNext Conversations

1997@30 INAUGURAL TOUR: HOME SAFE!  From Reunion to Responsibility - Five Engagements, One Enduring Mission. After an eventful journey across Nigeria, I am grateful to be safely back home, bringing to a close the inaugural tour of the 1997@30 / Global Reach-Back Legacy Initiative . What began as a call to reconnect generations has increasingly become a practical exploration of how alumni networks, educational institutions, youth-development programmes and economic partnerships can help raise a worthy successor generation. The journey took me through five significant engagements, each contributing a distinct dimension to this evolving mission. 📍 1. ENUGU | FEGOCOMOSA 38th Annual General Conference (1 - 4 October) Intergenerational Mobilisation The journey began with reconnecting alumni across graduating generations, strengthening existing relationships and establishing new ones. Bey...

At the NES #32 venue, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja | 27 October 2026 The 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, held on 26–27 October 2026 at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, provided a timely opportunity to reflect on a question central to our work at WhatNext Africa : How do we translate promising ideas and worthwhile social initiatives into sustainable, measurable and replicable impact? Ideas Become Impact | NES #32, 26 October 2026 The summit's theme, Growth That Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity , resonates strongly with our mission of supporting young people through critical educational, career and life transitions. The summit’s growth framework | NES #32, 26 October 2026 Through the emerging Global Reach-Back Legacy Initiative , we are exploring how established generations, alumni networks and institutional partners can work together to support succeeding generations. Ideas Become Impact | NES #32, 27 ...

THE CLASS THAT NEVER WAS: The Unintended Consequences of Policy Change In Honour of the Missing Generation - 1987@40 By Temitope S. Ogunnusi 23 October 2026 Every generation has a story. But what happens when a generation is missing from the record? This morning, on my way to the venue of tomorrow's 50th Plenary of the Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA), I wore a facecap bearing an unusual inscription: 1987@40 . In 2027, forty years after 1987, many secondary school alumni will commemorate their fortieth graduation anniversaries. But at my alma mater, Federal Government College Maiduguri, something is different. We have graduating sets from 1986 and 1988, yet no corresponding Class of 1987 in the graduation sequence as we presently understand it. This apparent gap is more than a historical curiosity. It offers a compelling illustration of how well-intentioned...

THE BIGGER WORLD BRIEF | CLASS OF 2026 TRANSITION SERIES 21 October 2026 Ninety days ago, the examinations ended. The school gates closed behind another generation of young Nigerians. The Bigger World began. Today, an important question confronts us: What has happened since then? On Thursday, 23 July 2026, the National Examinations Council (NECO) concluded its Senior School Certificate Examination, bringing the 2026 secondary-school examination season to a close. For WhatNext Africa, that date became a common reference point for the Class of 2026's transition from secondary education into the next stage of life. Today, Wednesday, 21 October 2026, exactly 90 days have elapsed. Three months of possibilities, decisions, expectations, disappointments, opportunities, discoveries and, perhaps for some, uncertainty. For a generation that spent approximately six years in secondary school, 90 days might seem insignificant. But transitions have a...

From Reunion to Responsibility: Reflections from FEGOCOMOSA 38th AGC, Enugu 2026 The FEGOCOMOSA 38th Annual General Conference in Enugu became more than an alumni gathering. It opened conversations across generations, institutions and networks around what it could mean for old students to deliberately reach back to the generation coming behind. By God’s grace, the FEGOCOMOSA 38th Annual General Conference, Enugu 2026 provided a valuable opportunity to reconnect, renew relationships and explore fresh possibilities around alumni responsibility. The conference brought together old students of Federal Government College Maiduguri from different generations and locations, alongside wider members of the Unity Schools alumni community. For me, the experience became particularly significant because it offered a live environment in which to test and advance a simple but increasingly important proposition:...