The passage of the Not Too Young To Run Bill and its eventual signing into law on May 31, 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari led to the unprecedented participation of young Nigerians in this year’s elections with some being elected as national and state legislators.
The young parliamentarians met in Abuja for a 2-day conference, organised by the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement, to interact and learn from the experiences of seasoned speakers…
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, delivering the keynote of Tuesday’s conference tagged; “The Convergence 2.0: Leadership, Power and Politics for Democracy Renewal”, in Abuja said Nigeria’s leadership model only benefits godfathers and not the people.
He also said the nation’s real problem was lack of leadership and not corruption as is mostly believed and young lawmakers must shun the arrogance of power and be prepared to stand for the truth against all odds.
According to him, Nigeria is plagued with a lot of challenges ranging from being ranked as the third most dangerous country in the world due to terrorism, banditry, unemployment and dearth of healthcare facilities, among others.
“Nigeria’s real disease is lack of leadership, I disagree with all those who say our major national disease is financial corruption rather the real disease. There has been the absence of true leadership which in turn breads moral corruption and wickedness. Get a true leader that solves moral corruption and wickedness, when that happens, you will search for financial corruption to no avail.
“Unfortunately, the leadership model we have practiced so far is the kind of leadership that produces sycophants who are expected to serve their political godfathers and not the people. Our so called leaders have mastered the art of political witchcraft so much so that if you are independent minded you are automatically disqualified and if for any reason you are picked then you have to surrender your soul to them to eat in small bites until you become their worshipper,” Dogara said.
He insisted that Nigeria needs leaders who would lead citizens to build the nation and serve others, not godfathers who demanded that they should be worshiped and served rather than serve the people.
“Character is not only that your word is your bond but that you are actually what you pretend to be. While godfathers always pretend to be something other than who they really are, leaders do not. Imagine where we will be as a nation if all these godfathers that litter the political landscape become what or who they pretend to be,” he added.
…Clamour not just about having youths in offices -Itodo
In his remarks, the Executive Director, YIAGA AFRICA and Convener, Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement, Mr. Samson Itodo, said the clamour for youth inclusion is not just about having youths in offices.
He said the point is that Nigeria is in dire need of excellent public leaders, legislators who would consult with their people and represent them well.
According to him, it is also about legislators who would hold the executive to account and do quality oversight to improve all sectors to provide the leadership the nation needs.
“The burden is on you the young parliamentarians, that is why we celebrate you today and to remind you of that burden that as you become members-elect be reminded of the fact that you went through hell to get the votes of people and you are accountable to those people,” Itodo said.
He said the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act brought in young people into governance with and the youngest being 25 years old.
The Act opens chapters for young politicians -Mbamalu
One of the conveners of the movement, Ms. Cynthia Mbamalu, noted that after signing the Not-Young-To-Run bill into law, youths came enmasse to vie for elective positions.
According to her, in the 2019 elections, 41.8 percent of youths contested for seats in the state assemblies and 27.4 percent in the House of Representatives.
She however decried the dearth of females in elected positions and urged the young parliamentarians to change the narrative with legislations to empower more women leadership.
UK spent £795, 000 on NotTooYoungToRun movement-Envoy
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, said at the event that the United Kingdom spent £795, 000 to support the #NotTooYoungToRun movement.
She said, “We supported the NotTooYoungToRun movement with £795,000 to be precise and we will continue to support you. It is outstanding that 75 percent of those we supported won the election. What matters is the future of Nigeria.
“I am extremely proud to be here, looking at nearly 300 young political representatives, reflecting the wave of energy and exuberance that has entered the Nigerian political space. Last December when UKAid supported the original convergence, there were over 400 candidates. Approximately 75 percent of that first cohort was elected, which is a remarkable feat,” she said.
She however lamented that the elections did not favour women. She said the UK government believed in a government of inclusion so it supported Nigeria on that and charged the newly elected parliamentarians to embark on positive legislations that would bring about remarkable changes in Nigeria.
She urged them to stand firm and respect their own values and be true to themselves, adding that people made the law for them to be able to participate.
“You were supported in the 2019 elections but come next elections you will have to run on your own achievements so think about the legacy you want to leave behind. I want to encourage you to support others, particularly the relatively few females among you.
“You now hold a special place in Nigeria’s history, but you need to decide whether you are content just being the first ‘young group of representatives’, or you would rather be the first wave of change that brought a new dimension to Nigerian politics,” she said.
Act’s implementation must be strengthened -Nyako
One of the sponsors of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run bill at the senate, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako, said with the bill having been passed, there is need to strengthen its implementation for its full manifestation.
Nyako said with the act, Nigeria’s institutions would get stronger and people would come to offices based on their character without having a godfather anywhere.
“The newly elected young parliamentarians must be good legislators and represent their people. To be good legislators, you require courage to do this because there will come a time when you will face serious decision making whether to vote for this or that but when that time comes vote your conscience,” he said.
US envoy tasks parliamentarians on justice, inclusiveness
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Stuart Symington, speaking on the second day of the conference, urged young parliamentarians to be instruments of change by fostering justice and inclusiveness in governance.
He said every democracy and electoral official derives strength from citizens and this can only be maximized when there is synergy between them.
According to him, the answer to the challenges of insecurity, poor education, poor infrastructure, prosperity and opportunity laid with the people.
“My suggestion is that all these elected officials should lift their reach beyond their supporters and engage with the people because they ran the race not for themselves, their friends and family but for their country.
“Now that they have won the first part of the race, the hard part begins, this is not to be driven in what they do by those who come to them seeking favour but to turn to all. They have to by the power of their own integrity and character show what kind of work Nigerians can do when they work together as one. The challenge is this, when it comes to security, everybody knows that every bad actor has family, friends and neighbours and they know who are doing those things,” Symington said.
He also urged them to ensure that in a few years from now every Nigerian would be able to read because it is hard to ask citizens to read between the lines and know what really matters when they cannot read at all.
He said education is not just about building schools and training teachers but using all powers as youths with imagination of apps, innovations, internet, and mentors to help people who don’t know how to read.
Other speakers included Hon. Nnenna Ukeje, Hon. Tony Nwulu, Hon. Raphael Igbokwe (Chair, Young Parliamentarians Forum), Hon. Luke Onofiok, (Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly), Hon. Desmond Elliot, Eugenia Abu, Udo Jude Ilo, YIAGA-AFRICA board member, Ezenwa Nwagwu and Oladayo Olaide of the Mc Arthur Foundation among others.
