A university lecturer and some youth leaders have called on Nigerian youths to wake up to their responsibilities and get involved in politics, if they want to see positive changes in the country, as the future of the nation depends on them.
The call was made during the Southwest People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Colloquium, organised by the Southwest PDP Youth Alliance, held at the Mapo Hall, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The youths were also admonished to work towards becoming selfless politicians who are ready to serve and contribute positively to the betterment of their immediate society and the nation at large because they are not offering as much as is expected of them.
At the colloquium with the theme: The Importance of Youth Participation in Emerging Political Progress, the Keynote Speaker, Dr Saheed Adetunbi, a university lecturer, charged youths to be united in their doings, as much could be achieved if they are united, urging them to identify and pursue who they want to be early in life.
Adetunbi said: “We came to charge them that the success and the future of this country depends on them and much is expected from them than what they are offering presently. They should be politicians with dignity, pride and sanity, that is the hallmark. Just be a politician that is ready to contribute positively, not one that is after money or paraphernalia of office but one that is ready to deliver and serve the society.”
The Southwest PDP Youth Alliance leader, Seyi Bamidele, disclosed that the purpose of the event is to synergise the youth leaders of the PDP at different levels and encourage them to get more involved in the activities of the party.
Bamidele stated: “The agenda is to bring them together, synergise them, so they can relate with themselves. We also want to use the opportunity to emphasise reasons why they all need to get involved at different levels, do proper mobilisation to ensure that our party wins elections at different levels and also to do proper familiarisation within ourselves.”
On his part, the Oyo State PDP Youth Leader, Michael Ogunsina, affirmed that the state, being a PDP state, is working with other states in the Southwest to actualise the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in 2023, asserting that the 2023 election in Oyo State is an affirmation of Governor Seyi Makinde’s victory.
Ogunsina noted: “We will not do anti-party in Oyo State. Every body and power in Oyo State is queuing behind Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for us to ensure that we win the election and take Nigeria back to the summit where we truly belong. I don’t think we have an opposition in Oyo State, what we are doing next year is a referendum, it’s an affirmation of four year of excellent work. It’s more like a re-election of good works.”
At the end of the colloquium, the meeting presented and adopted a communique in which it declared its commitment to the success of the PDP at the 2023 general elections and charged youths to go and collect their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in order to defeat the APC, among other points.
N.O
