One of the popular sayings in Nigeria today is that youth are the leaders of tomorrow. But 60 years after the country’s independence, are they still the leaders of tomorrow considering the fact that the old brigade are seemingly not ready to leave the centre stage? TOPE SUNDAY asks in this report.
On October 1, 2020, fifty-nine days ago, Nigeria marked 60 years of its independence. But eight days after its independence celebrations, the now suspended #EndSARS protests broke out nationwide and recorded unverified casualties and wanton destructions.
But the development, according to observers, occurred because the youth were not given listening ears by the government’s officials. A public analyst, Comrade Halilu Abubakar, said the well-coordinated and peaceful #EndSARS protests had signaled that the youth were ready to organise themselves ahead of the 2023 general elections.
According to Abubakar, who spoke with Blueprint Weekend in Abuja, if the youth can replicate what they did before the protests were hijacked, they stand a better chance in 2023.
President’s, govs’ ages
Presently, the youngest governor in Nigeria is Alhaji Yahaya Bello of Kogi state, who is forty-five years of age. President Muhamadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be the oldest political office holder in the country.
He was said to have been born in Daura, Kastina state, on December 17, 1942. By December 17, 2020, President Buhari would be 78 years of age. Also, his challenger from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was born on November 25, 1946. He is 74 years old.
According to a report by Opera mini news, the average age of the current governors in Nigeria is fifty-eight (58) years, saying that the number of Nigerian governors from 60 years and above are fifteen. The report listed them to include governors of Ogun (60), Kaduna (60), Kwara (60), Nasarawa (61), Delta (61), Bayelsa (61), Imo (62), Bauchi (62), Edo (63), Ondo (64), Anambra (65), Osun (66), Taraba (66), Kastina (70), and Kano (71).
It added that 20 governors are in their 50s. They include governors of Borno (51), Zamfara (51), Cross River (52), Oyo (53), Niger (53), Yobe (53), Adamawa (53), Akwa Ibom (54), Sokoto (54), Lagos (55), Ekiti (55), Abia (56), Enugu (56), Ebonyi (57), Plateau (57), Rivers (57), Jigawa (58), Kebbi (59), Gombe (59) and Benue (59).
The oldest governor in the country today, according to the report, is the Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who will be seventy-one years on December 25, 2020. He is currently serving his second term in office after being re-elected in 2019.
What’s wrong?
The convener and national coordinator of the Not Too Young To Perform Leadership Development Advocacy, Comrade James Ezema, who spoke to this reporter in Abuja, said the youth were discouraged from holding political offices because of the antics of the elite class who, according to him, had the opportunity to rule at age 25.
He said: “From a better understanding of the Nigerian leadership challenge, I can say that at no time were the youth the leaders of tomorrow until a generation of people who ruled the country at ages ranging from 22 to not more than 35 years became leaders, constituted themselves into the ruling elite and began to propagate the concept of the youth as ‘leaders of tomorrow’ to perpetuate their generation in the country’s leadership corridor of power.
“Then to work on the minds of young people, they began to sell the concept and eventually captured the minds of young people such that for any young Nigerian to become a political leader, it must be by their permission; like a gift from a father to a son.
That was how the concept of political godfatherism evolved and they got entrenched as politically immovable that have continued to control the political space of Nigeria till date.
“One interesting aspect of the narrative is that when some of those political elites, who accumulated enormous wealth through the colonisation of the political space began to lose out, they invited their military friends to overthrow democratic governments.
It’s like saying if I can’t have it, nobody will. When the men in the military uniform tasted power, they began another political journey that has kept them in control of Nigeria’s corridors of power till date.”
Continuing, he said, “Yes, till date because they still control who gets elected as president of the country.
They have continued to recycle their friends and colleagues as our leaders and have continued to market the concept of youths as leaders of tomorrow until they began to lose grip of political control.
“It may be argued that the Not Too Young To Run Bill that sought to reduce the constitutional age to enable younger people to contest elections has been signed into law, but the constitutional age is still too high. If at less than 25, some military officers ruled Nigeria, why should the constitutional age not be 20 years or less than 25 years of age?
“We got it wrong when young people began to believe that they are leaders of tomorrow and left the political space for the proponent of the ‘youth’ are leaders of tomorrow ideology.”
Any way out?
According to Abubakar, there is still hope for the Nigerian youth, but with a caveat; their destiny lie in their hands.
“There is still hope for the Nigerian youth to take their place in the scheme of things. However, for them to take their possession, they should be ever-ready and willing to wrestle power from the present crops of leaders that we have.
Also, they should see themselves as the leaders and not as followers. They should be positive minded.”
On his part, Comrade Ezema believes that there is hope for the youth to take the centre stage and make use of the Not Too Young To Run Bill.
“There is not just hope for them but the youth as leaders of today are already activated from the signing of the Not Too Young To Run Bill into law after much pressure from young people who have since woken up to the reality.
“The way to go is for young people to sustain the gains of the reduction in age for political office contestants by forming groups, join political parties as we encourage our members and remain united as young people. It is time for the youth to get more organised.
It is not the time to agonise. Let’s move on with the struggle for youth participation in leadership.”
In his widely circulated article, “Are youths still leaders of tomorrow?,’, Comrade Alao Abiodun advocated what he termed ‘youth-o-cracy,’ which, according to him, means government of the people, by the youth and for the people.
He said: “X-raying the unfair sidelining of the youths over the years, it is not out place to clamour for a new system of government called ‘youth-o-cracy’ – a government of the people, by the youth and for the people, but sadly, our leaders of yesterday are still voraciously clinging on to the baton of power, leaving us to wonder when exactly is the future going to arrive for the youths.
“The leadership cadre across African countries is filled with aged politicians who are of the notion that nation building is their exclusive right and as such youth should not be given a chance. Perhaps, their stand explains why youths are said to be leaders of tomorrow which is yet to arrive.
“If we are to solve the most pressing issues of our time, we need to tap into the dynamism of the youths and young social entrepreneurs who are disrupting inertia with exceptional innovation and creativity. The youth make the biggest demographic bracket of every nation, therefore empowering them is the logical option.
“It is time for the youths to stop seeing themselves as too young. We all have something. In a society different strata and groups of people live; such as young, old, rich and poor; the most important and significant proxy of a society which plays a decisive role is the youth and fresh generation of that society.
“The youth need to understand that life is not just a series of calculations and a sum total of statistics. It is about experience and sacrifice.
It is something more complex. It’s about participation, contribution and making-a-difference.”
