World Youth Day: LP charges youths to gear up for leadership positions

As Nigeria joins other nations of the world to commemorate ‘World Youth Day,’ the Labour Party (LP) has challenged Nigerian youths to gear up to take leadership roles in Nigeria and beyond.

The chairman of the party, Julius Abure, who made the remark on Monday in Abuja while addressing the youth wing of the Labour Party, insisted that Nigerian youths have failed to take up leadership positions in Nigeria, unlike their counterparts all over the world.

He said, “The Nigerian youths have failed to be role models in Nigerian politics. The Nigerian youths should be able to show capacity and tenacity in the character of leadership.”

Abure, however, urged Nigerian leaders to make policies to harness the energy and potential of Nigerian youths.

He added, “By and large, it could only be the Labour Party that can achieve this, and we are not resting on our oars. But I still challenge Nigerian youths not to resort to being used as instruments of violence and destruction but viable tools for good governance.”

The 2023 Labour Party governorship flag bearer in Enugu State, Honourable Chijioke Edeoga, indicated that there is a need for youth idealism in Nigeria, pointing out that being a youth is a mental disposition.

“We need to define what youth stands for. So our support for the youths must be a project that equals building the next generation of our country. So identifying with the youths is a creation of mind which bothers on how the country survives.

“It also concerns those who have the capacity and energy to pilot the affairs of the country. I agree that the government and other agencies need to put up youth policies to drive youth focus in Nigeria, maximise their potential, and make it the main driver of the nation’s economy.

“We know that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe started as a youth, General Gowon also ruled this country as a youth, and General Muhammadu Buhari was also at the age of 30 when he ascended to leadership,” he said.

Hon. Edeoga, while admonishing the youths, warned that the Japa syndrome is not a solution to the immediate hardship being experienced in the country.

He said, “It is a sign of surrender; Nigerian youths should be able to stay back and fight for their rights and save their country. Do not surrender to a bad government; Nigerian youths must have hope and, above all, say no to drug abuse and other vices that mar your image.”

Also speaking earlier, the national youth leader of the party, Prince Kenedy Ahanotu, said that the days are gone when Nigerian youths were regarded as tools for political violence; it is now time for self-discovery.

He said that the 2024 International Youth Day, which has the theme ‘Harnessing the Energy of the Youths for National Economic Development,’ is apt as the energy in youths around the world is what drives national economies.

He said, “For us in Nigeria, we feel that the youths have not been given adequate opportunities to express themselves politically and to exhibit the potential that God has given them. For instance, I believe that Nigeria was at its best when the likes of Yakubu Gowon, General Muhammadu Buhari, and others were allowed to lead the country, and that was when the country was doing well. But today, the case is different. It is a situation where we have people who are supposed to be retired and watch their children lead the country, still agitating to be in government. I don’t see the reason why we have people aged 70 and above still in government, and the same people attend international meetings and have handshakes with the presidents of other nations between the ages of 30 and 40 years.

“I feel ashamed when our leaders at the age of 70 and 80 at international meetings have a fun time with youth leaders from other countries. So you can say that Nigerian youths have not been exposed to showcase their energy.”

Meanwhile, he said that his leadership seized this year’s World Youth Day to call on policymakers and all opinion moulders to think about how to begin to introduce Nigerian youths to leadership positions, stressing that there is no political position that a Nigerian youth cannot handle.

He said, “What they need is the opportunity, and I can tell you for free that they did not fail with the little opportunities given to them. What they need are opportunities to showcase what they have and exhibit their potential. And I think it is time for such, and I can say enough of using the youths for political thuggery.”