From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

The supporters of Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, from six states in the South West of Nigeria on Sunday stormed Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and flagged off subtle aware for him to become President of Nigeria in 2023.

The programme, tagged South West Benefit Conference under the theme: ‘Youths Own the Power’,  organised by the Afenifere for Collective Transformation (ACT), was held at the Banquet Hall, Premier Hotel, Ibadan.

The youth from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States as well as Kwara State were also joined by young people from Kogi State, including those that are serving the the government of Governor Bello.

The governor, who was represented by the Director-General, Research and Development in Kogi State and his speech writer, Moses Okezie-Okafor, commended the youth for their support for him.

Okezie-Okafor, however, stated that the youth in Nigeria, through the conference, called on Governor Bello to declare his bid to run for the 2023 presidential poll. According to him, Bello believes so much in merit and he is a detribalised Nigerian and a person, though a Muslim, that would not place one religion over the other.

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He stated further that if Governor Bello has the opportunity to become President of Nigeria, he would genuinely fight insecurity in the country, saying the governor, through quality and youthful leadership, has been able to decimate insecurity in Kogi State, and he would replicate hybrid of the tenacity to crush insecurity, such as kidnapping, banditry, and insurgency in the country.

The Director-General of ACT, Prince Tolu Ajayi, said the groups are advocating for youths to lead the country, which yahaya Bello is one of them.

Ajayi said; “ACT is a movement with the understanding that our generation and generation after us have been shortchanged, denied, abused, demoralised, cheated, assaulted, reprogrammed for evil, spiritually and physically, economically and politically maltreated by conditioning us to only do the bids in favour of the older generation, who have taken our space economically and politically in the name of godfathers, whose major sacrifice is loyalty.

“Youths in Nigeria are not the real people they are expected to be. Youths in Nigeria now have a branded image of irresponsibility by the same generation that messed up with our God-given initiative to fit into their robotic programme we unconsciously walk into.

“Youths are not born corrupt or fraudulent but intimidated through unnecessary show of wealth by the
generation expected to be custodians of the information we need to grow and engage positively with the society.”

Ahmadu Jubril Oludare, Special Adviser to Governor Bello on Youth and Students Affairs, also emphasised the reasons that his principal must hearken to the clarion call by the Nigerian youth to run for 2023 presidential poll, adding that Governor Bello has experience and all its takes to take the nation to a Promised Land.