Participate In Politics, OgWN Group Tells Youths

At an event organized by the “Ogun What is Next” group to commemorate the 2021 International Youth Day with the theme: “The Role of Youths in Electioneering Process,” in Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigerian youths have been told to actively participate in politics noting complaints alone cannot effect positive changes.

Several speakers at the event including Hon. Segun Sowunmi, Former Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Titi Oseni and Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), Barr. Babatunde Osibodu said Nigeria is in bad shape because the youths stayed away from the nation’s political environment.

On his part, Segun Sowunmi, a former spokesman of the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, advised the youths to join political parties and contest for leadership positions, saying “you need to get involved. We need quality people to get involved in leadership, it is your life, do not allow older politicians to bully you out of political activities”.

“They (youths) are absentee landlords in the discussions that concern their lives. It is worrisome that in a democratic dispensation, we have a generation who is passive, not hungry for power and who are rather comfortable with their present situation, they are only interested in tokenism.

“We cannot continue like this. It is your legitimate right to participate in political activities. You are so angry with the leaders yet you are not joining any political party to effect the changes you desire. We are where we are today in Nigeria because of the passiveness of the youths in politics.

In the same vein, Former Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Titi Oseni said youths needed to make sure that adequate support is given to one another, and they give what it takes to make Democracy work.

“Youths are our tomorrow and they must be seen as being actively involved in politics.” She added.

Hon Oseni also stressed the need for youths to be well behaved and to ensure that they contribute to the development of their immediate communities one way or the other in their own capacity.

She said, “We must carry the “Omoluabi” attitude everywhere we go.

She, therefore, encouraged women who have political aspirations to live up to expectations and be responsible in any position they find themselves because all eyes are on women the more.

The OGSIEC Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu enjoined the youths to form themselves into pressure groups, join political parties and demand for reasonable percentage in their various political parties, saying, the greatest advantage of the youths was their numerical strength, which must be harnessed and leveraged on to create the much-needed change they clamour for and make an impact.

Represented by a Commissioner at OGSIEC, Mr Ayodele Bankole, Osibodu emphasized the roles and responsibilities of Nigerian youths in electioneering, as there was a reawakening of the youth to national consciousnesses, maintaining that they remain unarguably, Nigeria’s greatest asset.

“The greatest asset Nigeria possesses is a vibrant and ebullient youth population. The African Youth Charter identifies youth as people between the ages of 15 and 35. Demographically speaking, half of the 210 million people are under 19 years old. The largest export outside crude oil is the human capital, comprising largely the Nigerian youths. In 2019, figures of diaspora remittances stood at $23.5B second only Oil revenue of $34.2B”.

‘’It’s not surprising that at the last Olympics in Tokyo, so many Nigerian youths represented other countries and won significant medals donning other Nationalities’ colours. The Nigerian youth is a strong force anywhere in the world and competitiveness globally is never in doubt”, he disclosed.

According to him, “one way you can actively contribute in the electioneering process is by getting involved. For a very long time, the political space and by extension, the electioneering processes have been occupied by the aged because the youth, with their intellectual acumen and agility, prefer to wail over obnoxious government policies, rather than fight for access into the main polity of the nation to contribute their own quota to the developmental process. I am, however, hopeful that this trend is gradually being subdued as attested to by a large number of youths that contested either as Chairmen or Councillors in the last election”.

The Commission Chairman called on the Nigerian Government and critical stakeholders in youth development to reassess the dormancy and the latent force of the Nigerian youths, adding that, concerted efforts were required to reverse the trends in igniting the latent youth energies in education and digital skills, employment, mental health, equality and inclusion, peace & security and political and civil education.

In his speech, Ogun What is Next Group convener, Hon Olamigoke Ogayemi, said that the group was set up to provide a platform for youths to engage, learn from older politicians and provide solutions to the myriad of challenges confronting the country.

Ogayemi also called on Nigerian youths to start participating in political activities and recognise that voting is their civic responsibility, instead of lamenting about bad leadership.

He further added that youths, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic affiliations must come together and build the country by participating in electoral processes.

Other eminent personalities present at the event included MR Micheal Abimboye – Senior Editor, Opera News, Mr Timi Olagunju – Founder, Youth in Motion, Comrade Abdul-Jabar Ayelagbe – Chairman National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Ogun State Chapter, Prince Farooq Adenugba – SSA to the Ogun Governor On OPIC, Mr Odetola Abiola – SA to Ogun Governor on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, Mr Seyi Awolowo – Actor, Youth Advocate, Serial Entrepreneur, former BBNAIJA Housemate, Mrs Anuoluwapo Akinhanmi – OgWN Secretary, Mr Habeeb Whyte, and others.

See Photos From The Event Below