From Fred Itua, Abuja
A fiery Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, has called on Nigerian youths to reject old politicians in the 2023 general elections.
According to the priest, the older politicians have failed the country and therefore have nothing to offer again.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion organised by Development Specs Academy (DSA) at the Army Resource Centre, Abuja, the clergyman said politicians who said they will make one dollar equal to naira only for the exchange rate to rise to N580 to a dollar, should be rejected.
“Reject the old politicians,” Efisani said, insisting that the 2023 general election should be a turning point for the Nigerian youths.
“They have failed, reject those people who said they will make dollars to naira but the same dollar to naira has now risen to about 580,” he said.
Similarly, former president of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Professor Chris Ogbogbo, said one of the challenges confronting Nigerian youths is lack of a sense of history.
The professor who spoke on the topic: “Youth crisis”, said the youths have been damaged because they don’t have a good sense of history.
“You don’t understand where we are coming from, so if you don’t appreciate where we are now and as a consequence, your future would be bleak,” Ogbogbo said, adding that Nigerians often forget that those who occupied leadership positions before 1960 and the post colonial period were mainly youths.
According to him, “a good number of them made their mark on the national and international scene when they were under 30s.
“I know, when I was president of the Historical Society of Nigeria, my main mandate as President was to fight for the restoration of history in the primary and secondary schools’ curriculum for 34 years.
“The bulk of you who are here now did not study history in secondary school or primary school. At a senior secondary school level, it was up to 90% to know history.
“You don’t appreciate where you are coming from and that manifests the decision you’re making today, so it was in 2018 that several stakeholders said let us bring it back,” he said.
A TV personality with the African Independent Television (AIT) presenter, Dr Ameachi Anakwue, said if the youths want to make a difference, they should form associations.
“Form clubs or get your way into that club that will help you make decisions,”Anakwue said, adding that the youths can stand for a presidential election.
“You cannot run as an independent in Nigeria, you need a political party to present you as a candidate and if you can’t, like I said we are bystanders and for how long can we continue to be bystanders?
“If you take a look at the socio-economic indices, in Nigeria, we are faced with illiteracy rates, poverty rates, even open defecation. we are the most traumatized, most terrorized. It’s a precarious situation,” Anakwue said.