Atiku Abubarkar, Nigeria’s former vice president stirred the hornet’s nest in a recent Facebook live chat where he described his return to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a calculated move to save the future of Nigeria by creating jobs for the teeming youth population, should he become president come 2019.
No sooner had he began to speak in a tempered voice that barrage of comments filtered in from young people. A Facebook user, Excellent Emechebe, threw a salvo at the presidential aspirant asking why the famed politician couldn’t pass his presidential ambition to a younger person. “You are too old, this is another Buhari in disguise,” Emechebe commented. Following in line was another young man, Aziza Uko Douglas who fired a retort; “if you care about the youths so much, at 70, you wouldn’t want to run for president. You would look for a much younger person who is qualified with a vision and put your support behind that person”.
As the 10-minute, live session which generated 9004 comments progressed, it became glaring that the youth population in Nigeria is frustrated with the marginalization in the democratic process. Agitations appear to be growing among young people who are protesting the unwritten rule that defines their role in the electoral system simply as voters with handed down roles of election riggers or bag carrying personal assistants.
When the National House of Assembly passed the #NotTooYoungToRun bill in the middle of this year, it was greeted with excitement. However, the snail pace of the constitutional review committee, which took some months before forwarding the bill to the state houses of assembly soon created doubt. It was not until some weeks back that the bill was forwarded. Following the transmission to the 36 state House of Assembly, a minimum of 24 state houses of assembly must sign their approval before the bill would be signed into law. Kwara and Adamawa have signed the bill into law. Youth Initiative for Advocacy and Advancement (YIAGA), a civil society group which has been putting youths in the heart of participation in the political process stated on its website that it has sent 991 personalized letters to legislators in the 36 state houses of assembly in Nigeria.
Hamzat Lawal, an activist who is one of the front man of the campaign for young people in governance in Nigeria is of the opinion that failure to pass the bill before the 2019 elections may lead to voters’ apathy from the youths’ bloc.
“I believe that come 2019, if this bill sees the light of the day, we should aim at having a young president of the federal republic of Nigeria. I and my friend have started a campaign called TPC which is The People’s Candidate which is about taking power back to the people”, he stated.
Also, as the campaign for young people to run for public office gathers momentum, Hamzat is also quick to condemn people who believe Nigerian Youths are not capable of being good leaders.
“The civil society, the entertainment and tech sectors are being led by young people. I think it is just a conspiracy to limit the potentials of young people to say that they are not ready? if you don’t even give them the opportunity, what yardstick would you use to measure their readiness?
“If you are 18 and you are eligible to vote someone into office, you should be eligible to be voted into office. Mankind is meant to aspire and the worst thing that has happened to our generation is that we are not even allowed to aspire.
Recalling the turn of event at a national day of action where thousands of youths marched peacefully in Borno in support of the #NotTooYoungToRun bill, Hamzat also affirmed that the eagerness with which the youths have pushed for the implementation of the bill is a sign that they are ready to take charge of leadership.
Credit: The Nation
