Opinion leader charges Southern Kaduna youth to participate in forthcoming elections

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By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
A respected opinion leader, Honourable Illiya Anthony Timbourk a revered youth politician from Southern Kaduna, has charged the youth from the Bajju Chiefdom in  Southern Kaduna to participate actively as we gear up towards the forthcoming elections.
Illiya who made the call during his paper presentation with a theme: “Youth participation in politics and voters education at the Bajju Youth Development Association national congress held in Zonkwa on Sunday, 16th April, 2017.
He said,”  If you are a young person interested in politics, start preparing yourself now if you’ve not started doing so already. When you feel you are ready, boldly declare it,”
According to him, people will scrutinise you, they will check up your educational background, judge your intellectual capacity, probe your antecedents, challenge the workability of your ideas, ask tough questions about what you can bring to the table, and even abuse you.
“But be serious-minded and decent in your approach. If they conclude you are just a noise maker, you’re going nowhere. If they feel you make some sense, there are people who will follow and support you with all they’ve got no matter what it takes just to challenge the norm, break the rules and make history together with you. Remember Obama. Also, remember to engage the traditional media and maximise social media.
As you pray and plan to jump into the political scene, ensure those without voters card in your communities present themselves to INEC to grab their voters card, this will give them the license to be able to challenge the status quo.
He further disclosed that,” voters registration has since on 10th April commenced Nationwide, stressing every body must ensure get himself or her registered,”
He commended the leadership of Bajju Development Association, Youth Wing for finding him worthy to talk to them on the timely topic Youth Participation in Politics, which he therefore describe it as timely.
“Come May 29th the leaders at the helm of affairs today must have spend half or 50% of their tenure, political activities will start in earnest, hence, the time for youth to decide whether to participate is now or never, early to bed, they say, early rise.
The young politician observed that,” while arguments continue in Nigeria and around the world on who really is a youth or what age is youth, there are those who say youth could be someone under 20, someone under 30, someone under 35, or someone under 40, depending on the context. There are those who say it must be limited to young people between the ages of 18 and 35. Because of the political context of this discussion, however, and our setting here in Nigeria, I will define youth as someone not more than 40 years old.
“The old brigade politicians care less about the Youths, your energy is best needed during elections after which you will be discarded like a used tissue. Both the APC and PDP are less concern about youths, before PDP were relegated to the background youth participation in governance was very low, today, after election defeat it is the youths that are working hard to ensure that they get back to power, our brother Danjuma Bello has been consistent in doing so,” He added.
He maintained that,” the APC led administration is a product of youths quest for change which they got, today, nobody within the age range of 18-40 is in Federal Executive Council, with the exception of Moh’d Sani Dattijo, no youngman is in State executive council.
“Our revered father James Bawa Magaji became a deputy governor in his early 30s during the Dabo Lere led administration.16 years ago when the military handed over power to civilians, Salisu Buhari, who became Speaker of the House of Representatives, was a young man in his early 30s. Ghali Umar Na’aba who succeeded him was a 41-year old at the time. Of course, the position of Speaker of the House of Reps is powerful and fourth in the country’s constitutional hierarchy after the President, the Vice-president and the Senate President. Former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, was voted into the office at 39 years old. Yakubu Gowon, who in 1966, at just 32 years, started leading Nigeria and was in power for nine years till 1975. At 41 years, Gowon was already a Former Head of State.
Many young people were elected or appointed into exalted offices, but they ended making the chances of other youths very narrow because of their monumental failure, inflated ego and lack of result to show. Salisu Buhari lost his seat because of falsified result, Dimeji Bankole was rejected by constituent because of corruption charges.
“Despite that, youths are doing extremely well in other areas such as entertainment, entrepreneurship etc. We recently rallied round Bally Balat in the just concluded Big Brother Naija, if we deploy such love in the next election, not just Bajju land but Nigeria at large would fall flat to the Youths,” Illiya declared.

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