ABUJA – The Chairman of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), Mr Moses Siasia, on Friday in Abuja urged elderly among the politicians to give the youth the chance to take over governance.
This is contained in a statement issued by the National Secretary of the Forum, Mr Nuhu Atta, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The statement said that Siasia made the call at the launch of “Nigerian Elders Give Young People a Chance” campaign.
He explained that the campaign was in tandem with the group’s determination to engender a generational shift in governance.
According to him, the essence of the campaign is to drive down the message that time has come for old generation leaders to quit the stage for young people.
He commended President Goodluck Jonathan on his promise to support a Bill that would review laws that imposed age restrictions on young people seeking elective positions. [eap_ad_1] Siasia said that most problems currently bedeviling the country stemmed from same people who had remained in leadership since independence and were still there directly or indirectly.
“We are in a fast-paced world and any nation that does not create room for its young people to take over governance is living in the past.
“The tempo of global development today is high and only a young and vibrant leadership can cope.
“It is high time Nigeria’s young people were given a chance to assume leadership positions by both elections and appointments,’’ he said.
He pointed out that the population of Nigeria’s young people was over 80 million, representing more than half of its 170 million people.
He therefore said that such huge chunk of the population could not be neglected.
He claimed that the “movers and shakers’’ of world economy were below 35 years and that Nigerian young people could not afford to lag behind.
According to Siasia, if Gen.Yakubu Gowon was able to rule this country at 32, there is no reason why the youths should not be given a chance. (NAN)
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