A Security Expert and governorship aspirant during the 2019 elections in Kwara State, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Ajia has called on Nigerian Youths to prioritize the existence of the country in their undertakings.
He also urged them to shun being used as tools to destabilize the system.
Ajia expressed these views in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, North Central Nigeria while answering questions from newsmen as part of activities commemorating International Youth Day.
He ascribed the lingering secessionist agitation in parts of the country to bad leadership.
According to him, there wouldn’t have been any need for the sustained clamour in some geopolitical zones to be independent of Nigeria if those at the helm of affairs had fixed the problems bedevilling the nation.
Ajia urged young people not to be daunted in the face of the current challenges but unite for the purpose of making rectitude where those entrusted with the collective mandate had failed them.
Ajia, an Ilorin-born security expert, also enjoined parents to groom their children and wards for leadership as was the practice in the past through various stages of socialization.
The former gubernatorial aspirant also challenged the youth to be prepared to take over the mantle of leadership in the 2023 general election, regretting that the old political class had performed below the expectations of the citizenry.
He specifically mentioned that it would be in the interest of the nation to elect a President below the age of 50 years and State Governors in their 30s.
The security expert added that the 2023 polls would have to be prosecuted devoid of party affiliation, religion or tribal sentiment if the country must get it right.
“One of the things that have caused problem in our society is nonchalant of our parents. In those days, parents nurtured their children to become leaders, and leadership starts from all sectors. From schools, parents encouraged their children to become leaders even in classrooms. All those things are not there anymore” he added.
“We must ensure that existence of Nigeria is our priority. There is no need for any secession anywhere; it is as a result of bad leadership. So, I encourage every young people not fight or divide themselves. Rather, let us come together and take over from our leaders and do it the best way”, Ajia said.
“We should be determined from today that our destiny is in our hands. We have to wake up from our slumber and know that everything that we are complaining about, we can actually do them by ourselves. We should know that the coming 2023 election is our time” he stated further.
“We must be determined to ensure that in 2023 we have a President who is less than 50 years of age. We must ensure that we retire all old people in 2023. It is our time. We must let them know that if we don’t have a President that is less than 50 years in 2023, Nigeria might not exist again.
Ajia further enjoined Nigerian Youths to be determined wherever they are explaining that is not about party, neither tribe nor religion.
Nnenna.O
