Nigerian youths have been challenged to toe the footsteps of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state and vie for political offices to contribute their quota to national development rather than blaming the elders for not transferring power to them.
The Public Relations Officer of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), Comrade Noah Agada, in a statement made available to Journalists in Lokoja on Friday, challenged youths to take their political destiny in their hands.
He counseled that waiting for the elders to hand over to them would be a mirage, stressing further that powe will not be given on the platter of gold.
Comrade Agada, averred that Governor Bello, who is one of the youths, did not wait for any elder to endorse him before he ventured into the governorship race in 2015 which he eventually won, and now a foremost contender to the office of the presidency in the forthcoming general election.
He added that, had Governor Bello waited for the time the elders would considered ripe to hand over power to the youth, he would have waited endlessly which would have put paid to his political aspiration.
The NAPS spokesman revealed that there is no where in the world that power is handed over because some persons are of youthful age, rather, the youths themselves are determined to wrestle power from their older generation, since power is a game, and those with better strategy wins.
He pointed out that the first generation leaders were not also not ready to transfer power to next generation, until some young men in military – who are mostly dictating the shots today – seized power through coup, although, not recommending the method, but it was a competition for power.
According to the spokesman for the NAPS, “even in advanced democracies, no country would voluntarily hand over power to a segment of the population, just on the basis of demography.
“For instance, the youths of Europe and America in the 1930 seized both political and economic space through organised intelligence, energy and commitment to change the narrative of their countries.
“So, if we have to move forward, we should be ready to emulate those before us that dare the system and at the end got rewarded for the struggles.
“My challenge to my generation is for them to take over power in politics, economy, technology and in fact, all aspects of our national lives.
“The older generations have had their hay days and regrettably refused to quit when the ovation is loudest.
”What we need to realise our aspirations have already been provided in the #NotTooYoungToRun act, Freedom of Information act, and recently, President Muhammad Buhari’s assent to the electoral law amendment bill, which have opened up political space for the youths of this country.”
Comrade Agada, however, called on the youth to queue behind one of their own, Governor Yahaya Bello who is vying for office of the president, while encouraging them to brace up to face the uphill task of challenging the old order.
