Laide Raheem, Abeokuta

Nigerian youths at home and in the diaspora have been urged to participate and play more active roles in politics and use their numerical strength to take over mantle of leadership, with the desire to put the country back on track.

A member of the New Generation Leadership, (NGL) Gabriel Oguntoyinbo, stated this while speaking on the need to involve the youth in governance at a forum of the group organised via Zoom.

The forum was aimed at discussing and proffering solutions to Nigeria’s challenges at the present time.

Oguntoyinbo, while speaking on the theme, “2023 ELECTION: WILL TOMORROW EVER COME FOR NIGERIA’S YOUTH”, said the popular saying of becoming leaders of tomorrow was fast becoming a mirage as those leading the nation in the 70s are still there today.

He enthused that there was the need for the youth to rise and take the challenge to fight for what rightly belongs to them.

He noted that Nigeria is presently in a state of disrepair due to the previous dysfunctional leadership while the present administration has not fared well in including the youth, adding “older generation of leaders who have done their best in all capacities should now to take the back seat and be elder statesmen, assisting in advisory capacities and allow the younger generation to make a difference in the nation”.

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Oguntoyinbo, who said that there was a time Nigeria’s official currency was of higher value than several foreign currencies including American Dollars as well as high influx of immigrants into the country, declared that “bad leadership killed the momentum.”

“To correct these ills, this is the time for the younger generation to rally round and do the needful by positioning themselves to take the mantle of leadership, if desirous about putting the country back on track and make it the country we want it to truly be”, he pointed out.

On funding, he posited that the youth in the country with their numerical strength must rally round their fellow youth interested in contesting for elective positions.

“As people of the younger generation, it is expedient for us to keep the hope of making Nigeria a better country. This goes beyond hurling insults on one another on different social media platforms daily. This is a time to reflect deeply and ask, what difference can one make at this active age in making Nigeria better? It bothers me so much when I see youths canvassing for support on behalf of gerontocrats, whenever a presidential election, for example, is fast approaching!

“Why do we still rely on the same set of people who have stolen the nation blind, and who have caused the major decay in infrastructure, insecurity, unemployment, hunger, which we daily complain about and which has caused the emigration of many youths to western countries”? Oguntoyinbo submitted.

He, however, urged Nigerian youth “to create platforms where they can assess the credibility of youth who are interested in contest for political offices, looking at their antecedents, managerial capabilities and how knowledgeable they are in affecting the lives of the citizens positively, while proffering solutions to issues bedevilling the country among other qualities”.