By Simeon Mpamugoh
youths from the South West recently gathered at Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos, for an inter-party dialogue on advancing youth participation in elections.
The programme was organized by the International Press Center, (IPC). Its director, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, represented by Sanmi Falolu, said: “Youth boast of large percentage in the voting process as well as persons living with disability. At the last count, there are about 25million persons living with disability. This set of people should be involved in our democracy. It is our target to bring them to engage in the process at all levels of governance.”
Administrative Secretary, Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Dr. Mustapha Mudashiru, represented by Ijeoma Okey-Igbokwe, said: “One of the problems we have with youth is setting agenda for themselves and channeling their energy right to fulfill destiny, especially in the political space.
“The need for youth participation in an election cannot be over emphasized because report shows that youth constitute more than 60 percent of the voting population in any election. Since democracy is a game of numbers, the numerical strength of the youth makes them indispensable ingredients in the democratic scene but sadly, it is easier to bring them to the other negative sides of thuggery, ballot box snatching and electoral malpractices.”
Director General, National Orientation Agency, (NOA), Mike Omeri, represented by Waheed Ishola, said: “If you don’t believe in yourselves, you will not have the gut to present yourselves for any political office.”
Rights activist, Hassan Soweto, stated that the country has had certain tribe of people who had constantly ruled her at different point in time, citing Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, who was in power decades ago and also among the present APC-led government.
He spoke on the lead paper: “Advancing an Enabling Environment for the Participation of Youth in Governance.” He said: “Statistics showed that we’ve had in the past youths leading the country such as General Yakubu Gowon who was 29 years old and a bachelor when he took over reigns of power, August 1, 1966.
“General Olusegun Obasanjo 39 years as at February 13, 1976 when he took over power after the assassination of Genaral Murtala Mohammed. Alhaji Shehu Shagari was 54 years old when he was elected in 1979. Our current president Mohammadu Buhari was 41 years old as at December 31, 1983, when he took over power in a coup that ousted Shagari. General Ibrahim Babangida was 44 years old as at August 27, 1985 when he took over power in a coup d’état.
“It shows that the age of people who had governed this country has not always been this high as we find in recent times. Obasanjo became president of Nigeria in 1999 at 62. He must have left office at 70 because he ran two terms. Buhari was 73 years as at May 2015.”
survive.
In her paper; “Advancing Gender Consideration in Electoral Positions: Women as Catalyst for Development,” Executive Director, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Hamsat Abiola, tasked young women on the need to understand that the leadership space was also open to them: “That it was a space everyone had a stake.
“We expect men to also show leadership traits at the level of their home and community which can be carried forward to a larger society and in bringing up upcoming leaders.”
Speaking on the “Role of Local Governments in Governance and Human Development: Why Youth Should be Involved,” Rotimi Sankore restated that youth demographics were important in Nigeria because 60 percent of the current population of Nigeria was under 30 years old: “Any governance that does not reflect the society is fake, and that youth have been excluded signifies that women has equally been excluded.’
One of the participants, Deji Sotinwa, who represented Ifako Ijaiye LG, Lagos State, described the programme as an eye opener, which promoted the aspiration of youths to governance and how they can participate.
In a draft communiqué issued at the end of the event, young people were asked to organize themselves and converge at a cross- cutting political party conference to address the issue of proper and adequate youth participation in elections.