A group of young Nigerians has called on politicians in the country to pave way for the youth of the country to become active in bringing change and development through active leadership.
Appearing as a guest on Sunrise Daily, the convener, Nigerian Young Professionals Forum, NYPF, Moses Siasia, stressed the need for Nigerian politicians to step aside for the younger generation as there was a shift in the entire globe as regards leadership.
“If you are 60 years old, retire from active politics and serve in advisory roles,” he stated.
The NYPF leader insisted that the Conference would need to produce a constitution of the people to unseat the 1999 Constitution which he said did not protect the interest of all groups and tagged as undemocratic. “We are not a democracy yet because we don’t have our own constitution.” A new constitution, he said, would bring growth and development to the impoverished people, as well as serve as a platform to remove issues of injustice, morals, ethnic divisions, and values.
Siasia, who disclosed that the 8 million strong group has two of its members as delegates at the on-going National Conference, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for initiating the Conference and for ensuring that the youth were represented.
Despite criticisms from different quarters on the low representation of youth, Siasia said that the slots given were a start, adding that “we must start from somewhere” as the path to change “is a process.”
He further stressed the need to have the Conference, noting that many youths did not know the importance of the meeting owing to their unpatriotic disposition.
“It gives me great joy with the level of outcome concerning the cry for the National Conference. As a people it’s very important for us to have a national conference to bring about growth and a new constitution.”
He maintained that the group was carrying out advocacy activities to re-orientate the youths in order to bring about the ‘spirit of nationhood’ which according to him was missing.
On the many issues which have assailed the Conference, Siasia expressed hope that delegates would break through the current phase of controversies, adding that the message would be gotten from the mess.
He also expressed satisfaction with the composition of the meeting, noting that several interests were represented, adding that the issues being experienced were no surprise “because of the accumulated issues we have as a country.”
He called for unity and oneness among the youths of the nation as they would be custodians of the recommendations made at the Conference. He decried activities of different youth groups that only advocate change in order to gain the attention of politicians, stating that they were not futuristic in their reasoning.
He disclosed that the NYPF had been approached by different politicians for partnership but they refuse to work with persons with questionable character.
