Nigerian youths have been advised to desist from complaining about different happenings in the country, rather, they should join and take an active part in the nation’s political activities to jointly find lasting solution to the challenges.
The duo of Hon. Segun Sowunmi and Chairman, Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), Barr. Babatunde Osibodu gave the advice at an event organised by the “Ogun What is Next” group to commemorate the 2021 International Youth Day with the theme: “The Role of Youths in Electioneering Process,” held in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
Sowunmi, who was the former spokesman of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, said Nigeria is in bad shape because the youths stayed away from the nation’s political environment.
The PDP chieftain advised the youths to join political parties and contest leadership positions, saying “you need to get involved. We need quality people to get involved in leadership, it is your life, do not allow older politicians to bully you out of political activities”.
Sowunmi, who described youths as being “indolent” on issues that concern them and who leads them, lamented, “the youths are so disconnected from political and leadership activities, that they no longer pay attention to things that concern their immediate and future growth”.
Sowunmi said, “They (youths) are absentee landlords in the discussions that concern their lives. It is worrisome that in a democratic dispensation, we have a generation who is passive, not hungry for power and who are rather comfortable with their present situation, they are only interested in tokenism.
“We cannot continue like this. It is your legitimate right to participate in political activities. You are so angry with the leaders yet you are not joining any political party to effect the changes you desire. We are where we are today in Nigeria because of the passiveness of the youths in politics.
He called on Nigerian youths to resist every attempt by older politicians to bully them out of political space, insisting that, it is their fundamental right to participate in politics.
On his part, the OGSIEC Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu enjoined the youths to form themselves into pressure groups, join political parties and demand for reasonable percentage in their various political parties, saying, the greatest advantage of the youths was their numerical strength, which must be harnessed and leveraged on to create the much-needed change they clamour for and make an impact.
Represented by a Commissioner at OGSIEC, Ayodele Bankole, Osibodu emphasized the roles and responsibilities of Nigerian youths in electioneering, as there was a reawakening of the youth to national consciousnesses, maintaining that they remain unarguably, Nigeria’s greatest asset.
“The greatest asset Nigeria possesses is a vibrant and ebullient youth population. The African Youth Charter identifies youth as people between the ages of 15 and 35. Demographically speaking, half of the 210 million people are under 19 years old. The largest export outside crude oil is the human capital, comprising largely the Nigerian youths. In 2019, figures of diaspora remittances stood at $23.5b second only oil revenue of $34.2b”.
‘’It’s not surprising that at the last Olympics in Tokyo, so many Nigerian youths represented other countries and won significant medals donning other nationalities’ colours. The Nigerian youth is a strong force anywhere in the world and competitiveness globally is never in doubt”, he disclosed.
According to him, “one way you can actively contribute in the electioneering process is by getting involved. For a very long time, the political space and by extension, the electioneering processes have been occupied by the aged because the youth, with their intellectual acumen and agility, prefer to wail over obnoxious government policies, rather than fight for access into the main polity of the nation to contribute their own quota to the developmental process. I am, however, hopeful that this trend is gradually being subdued as attested to by a large number of youths that contested either as chairmen or councillors in the last election”.
The Commission Chairman called on the Nigerian Government and critical stakeholders in youth development to reassess the dormancy and the latent force of the Nigerian youths, adding that, concerted efforts were required to reverse the trends in igniting the latent youth energies in education and digital skills, employment, mental health, equality and inclusion, peace and security and political and civil education.
The convener of the Ogun What is Next Group, Olamigoke Ogayemi, in his address disclosed that the group was set up to provide a platform for youths to engage, learn from older politicians and provide solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the country.
Ogayemi called on youths in the country to stop complaining about bad leadership, but rather start participating in political activities and recognise that voting is their civic responsibility.
He said youths, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic affiliations must come together and build the country by participating in electoral processes.