THEME: SAFEGUARDING OUR DEMOCRACY AHEAD OF THE 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS

VENUE: TRANSCORP HILTON ABUJA.

DATE: 14TH JANUARY 2014.

 

ATTENDANCE: Over 200 Young Nigerian Professionals comprising Young Political leaders, Civil Societies

SPECIAL GUESTS: Prof. Chidi Odinikalu- Chairman NHRC, Mr Timi Frank- APC youth leader, 

 

 

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, The Chairman of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum Mr Moses Siloko Siasia organized a one day roundtable meeting of young political leaders in the Nation’s capital, Abuja with the theme ; Safe Guarding Our Democracy Ahead of The 2015 General Elections.

 

The event had in attendance young political leaders from different political groups, civil societies amongst others. There was a huge turnout of voices yearning for change and for proper inclusion of Young People in governance in the Nigerian project.

The main aim of the event was for Young People sit and to unanimously agree on policies that would move our country forward and enable the masses to speak with one voice as regards the 2015 general elections.

It was cited at the meeting that the Nigerian youth has been relegated to the backseat for too long and as the 2015 elections draw near, a vote for any candidate will be based on its/his clear cut agenda for Young People so therefore, Nigerian youths should only vote for a candidate with a favorable youth friendly program.

              Speaking at the event, the National Secretary of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum Dr. Nuhu Atta set the ball rolling for the meeting by welcoming all dignitaries present which included Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Chairman NHRC, Mr Timi Frank APC, youth Leader, amongst others.

 

Speaking Dr. Nuhu Atta said that it was a fact that everywhere in the world individuals that champion change are Young People who are of the same age as the Young Leaders gathered at the event. His speech:

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“I will love to start with the basic issues of life which are still lacking in our dear country and this is a big shame to a country such as ours which has young vibrant minds. From our political aspirants to our incumbent leaders, no one is telling us their plans on how to tackle the numerous problems we face every day. All we get is blame trade without a road map for change and this is the reason why we are here today; we need to discuss these issues and offer a solution. We are the worse hit by a generation of broken promises and we have to take a stand as young people in this country; 75 to 80 percent of Nigerians are young people. We have the voting strength, and we control the instrument of propaganda which is the social media. We need to use the social media constructively to fight the issues in we face this country; we need to select leaders that will transform our country. What has happened to our morals, values and ethics? What has happened to choices? Can we confidently go to the polls and vote our leaders and be sure that they were the ones we choose? What is happening to opportunities? Everything we see today in this country is sheer hard work of young people. Personal interest has over crowded the fight for national interest and this has affected our psychological structure.”

 

He concluded by saying that it wasn’t about any political party, but about the future of Nigeria. The indices must change and the only solution to the nation’s problems is the injection of vibrant young people in politics that will bring about the much needed change that will transform this country.

 According to the convener Mr. Moses Siloko Siasia,

 

“Nigerian youths have been neglected for too long and this is a wakeup call to Young People all over the Country to decide to come together and speak with a common voice to form a formidable force and demand for a blue print which clearly shows the inclusion of Young People in governance. We have decided to bring young minds together to brainstorm on methods we can adopt that can be used to positively and objectively move the nation forward. There are a lot of young people that are ready for change, ready for leadership but the older generation has decided to segregate us. A nation that will not engage its youths has plans to fail and we do not want our country to fail. That is why we will continue to tell our leaders that it is our future that is at stake and because of that we will not fold our arms and watch our future jeopardized. A demand must be placed on the potential political candidates to tell us their plans for young people. We want them to come and strategically explain how it will be achieved alongside timelines; it is all about time, how long it will take you to achieve all this. We need the older generation to step down and allow us take center stage. As we move towards the general elections we will place a demand on the political ruling class for proper inclusion of young people in governance”.

Also speaking at the event was the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission NHRC Prof. Chidi Odinikalu who said;

 

“Going through the history books one thing emerges that young people are always at the helm of leadership and they have taken the mantle of leadership all over the world. A lot of young people have emerged in the past as leaders and no government has had a monopoly of it, but in this day and age we are not having a lot of it so therefore we need to ask ourselves why. We cannot continue to blame those in power but we have to ask ourselves these questions; are young people doing the right thing? This has nothing to do with the age of a person but the age of the values of which we have to make timeless values which will make good leaders”. 

 

He further cited some Nigerian leaders who were of young age while in office, the likes of Gen.Obasanjo who was 36 years old as a 3-star general , Ibrahim Gambari became foreign minister at the age of 28,Prof Bolaji Akinyemi became the DG Nigerian Institute of International Affairs at the age of 34 amongst others.

There afterwards, the youth leaders of all the political parties that were present at the event took the podium and proposed various ideas and insights into the policy changes that their parties have meade an effort to resolve and what can be done to continue this policy reforms.

 

At the end of the meeting it was agreed that every Nigerian youth must rise up and demand for a change even as we cast a vote of conscience and youth inclusion in the forth coming elections.

 

ACTION TAKEN

A communiqué was published and released to the general public through various print and broadcast mediums.