By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
Senior Programme Officer, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Kabiru Saidu Dakata, has called on youths in the country to close rank and fight a common course to proof relevance in the nation’s political lexicon.
Speaking yesterday at a one-day sensitisation workshop organised by the Centre in Kano, Dakata said Nigeria as a developing country, was in the past ruled by youths, who at their tender ages had performed wonders to the satisfaction of everyone.
Citing the example of Gowon, Maitama Sule, Shagari, Tafawa Balewa, Mbu and others to buttress his point, the CITAD Programme Officer maintained that both men had achieved greatness by proving their mettle, while on their teens and wondered why the youths of today could not persevere to achieve a similar feat.
He pointed out that nothing was “impossible in the current drive to achieve the goal of an all encompassing inclusion in the business of politics and governance by youths taking the gauntlet, if they widely agreed to close rank in achieving a common goal”, adding that the spirit of patriotism and nationalism was what had inspired youths of the yesteryears to make considerable headway.
He said the issue of godfatherism and certain legal impediments had been the major albatross in the struggle by youths to prove their relevance and indispensability in the business of politics and governance.
Dakata said this was pushing them to the lower rung of the ladder in the nation’s scheme of things, stressing that the youths themselves had lacked the self-confidence and unity to face the challenge squarely.
He, however, stated that in countries like France, United States, South Africa and other notable African countries, youths had considerably enjoyed the legal leverage to participate in politics and be voted into prominence positions.
Speaking earlier, a Programme Coordinator, Centre for Information Technology and Development, Malam Isiyaku Garba, said the one-day sensitisation workshop, was conceived to expose youths and notable political actors to the nitty-gritty of changing the status quo in the quest to make the business of politics and governance dominated by youths.
