Noah Ebije, Kaduna.
The North West zonal office of the Sule Lamido for President 2019 Campaign Organisation on Thursday condemned a statement by President Muhammadu Buhari indicating that Nigerian youths are not willing to work and expect free handouts.
Zonal Coordinator of the Campaign Organization, Hon. Sani Liti, while speaking with journalists in Kaduna, said the President’s statement was an indication that he has no development plan for the youths who constitute the largest number of the country’s population.
Liti also commented on the snatching of the Mace on Wednesday from the upper chamber of the National Assembly, saying that it was a bad omen that the path to the 2019 General Election is laced with landmines that may jeorpadise preparation for the election.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday in London made a remark suggesting that Nigerian youths are not willing to work to earn a living and expect free benefits.
Buhari, speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster said:
“About the economy, we have a very young population, our population is estimated conservatively to be 180 million. This is a very conservative one.
“More than 60 percent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil-producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education for free.”
However, Lamido’s Campaign Coordinator noted that with Lamido, no Nigerian youth would be shunned and embarrassed irrespective of educational attainment or working status since there are several socio-economic areas they could fit in to make the country great.
“Therefore, Lamido will work very closely with the youths to win the presidency come the 2019 General Election,” he said.
Lamido’s Campaign Coordinator advised Buhari to treat Nigerian youths as his children, develop them for future leadership, rather than writing them off.
He said, unlike Buhari, Lamido has already put a plan in place to carry Nigerian youths along in governance if he wins the 2019 presidency.
“I am indeed surprised at the unguided utterances of Mr. President, I never expected him to make such careless utterances against the Nigerian youths.
“As the President, he should encourage the youths with good words because they are the future leaders. Using harsh words on them may discourage them from contributing their own quota to the development of the country,” Liti said.