By: Kelvin Oluseyi Eleta

As the largest country in Africa with a vast number of youths amounting to over half of the entire population of the country, the aged within the range of 65 and above, as at the year 2020 has an estimate of 2.74% which can be said to be statistically insignificant compared to that of the youth population.

It is then has become a sad and lugubrious tale to have a country blessed with life and youthfulness being governed by strata of people who can hardly stand straight on both feet without causing a quake. It has then even become more painful, to see groups of able youths canvasing for these aged folks to remain in power instead of rallying around one of their own to see to an exchange of power-baton from the aged to the young.

When Yahaya Bello of Kogi State started making rounds in the news of his possible presidency ambition, we have youths within and below his age group talking down on him. This is a youth who has been opportune to lead his state two consecutive times at a prime age of 47, succeeded in business even before he became the Executive Governor of his state, not indebted to any godfather because his election was self-funded, and has successfully dredged the lives of countless youths in his State through youth development initiatives.

Yahaya Bello then becomes the first and only Nigerian politician whose doings is far beyond the norms of youth empowerment but metamorphosed the system for rewarding youths into youth development initiatives. The reason you cannot see a Yahaya Bello of Kogi State giving out the regular supposed youth empowerment materials such as; tricycle, sewing machine, and even bags of rice. But you will see his establishing a Youth Development Commission, for the youths and managed by the youths to foster rapid development and stability in the youth constituency.

I am not out to condemn youth empowerment schemes in totality, but to state the fact that Nigeria should have moved beyond such schemes or rather stop making it a judgemental parameter for performing Leaders in the country’s corridor of power. 

The irony of it all is that in a country of over half of her population being youths, it is the youth that is meant to be empowering the older generation and not the other way round. This is not to slap the aged Leaders, but to state categorically what is happening in other developed and even developing countries like ours across the globe.

In 2023 when Nigerian Youth must have taken over the mantle of leadership, the first point of call should be to create a functioning Aged Development Commission to cater for the timid 2.74% of our population that shall be eminently bullied out of power through legal means and right approaches via the pool.

My advice then to the bad eggs who are not yet tired of the bad system of governance and wuruwuru this 2.74% age strata has inflicted on our good country, to have a rethink and team up with the sanitized youths to achieve this common goal. Just as Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is doing, politicking for 2023 is way beyond youth empowerment and handouts from a statistically insignificant age group that has looted the country not only of her resources but also of our glory as a nation.

In as much as Governor Bello is yet to officially declare his intentions to run for Presidency, I must commend the audacity and tenacious spirit of Governor Yahaya Bello, for daring to challenge the status quo and sociological perspectives of having only some appointed and glorified individuals leading our country in turns like a compensation package. 

We as youths have to prove the aged ones wrong. Especially the one who said a youth can only be President after he must have ruled the country. The time is now, the future is here!

Signed:

Kelvin Oluseyi Eleta,

4th March 2022.