As governments at all levels in Nigeria and Nigerian security
agencies grapple with how to curtail rising youth restiveness, conflicts
and armed agitation across the country, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, has called for youth inclusion in
governance as a possible way of putting an end to them.
The
Speaker who said this at the second annual conference of Young
Parliamentarians Forum at the National Assembly, explained further that
involving young people in public decision making and economic
developmental activities offers important opportunities for
strengthening their political presence and enlightenment and also
developing their economic capacities.
He said, “a possible
solution should include greater involvement of young people in economic
and political affairs of the country to avoid anarchy and destruction of
our hard-earned democracy. Young people must embrace peace and eschew
violence as a means of settling disputes.
“We
believe that it is not just enough to say that the young people are the
leaders of tomorrow. To give any useful meaning to this maxim, it is our
stance that the young people must be given the requisite opportunities
to serve in leadership positions. This is a way of creating inclusion
and practically preparing the young ones for future leadership
challenges.
“The 8th House of Representatives under my
leadership, in its Legislative Agenda has set as priority the promotion
of “open parliament” and e- Parliament to encourage youth and public
participation in legislative processes and democracy at large.”
Going
further, Dogara emphasized that the Political and Economic inclusion of
young people is sine qua none to the success of any government;
especially in Nigeria and Africa where over 60% population is made up of
young people. Anything short of this, he added, will amount to
excluding the political majority in the mainstream of socio-economic and
political affairs of the Country.
The speaker explained that
it was in this vein that the House of Representatives passed 2
important Bills through Second Reading, namely, HB 544 and HB 556.
“While
HB 544 is aimed at reducing the eligibility age for elective positions;
HB 556 is aimed at creating opportunity for young Nigerians to be
included in the appointment of Ministers and Commissioners in the
States. These bills have been referred to the House Ad- Hoc Committee on
Constitution Review headed by the Deputy Speaker,” he explained.
He,
however, tasked civil societies and advocacy organisations to intensify
enlightenment campaigns on the bills to avoid a re-occurrence of the
defeat suffered by the proposal to reduce age for qualifying to contest
for elective office in the 7th Assembly when 306 voted against it and
only 50 voted in favour.
Dogara said the time for youth
inclusion is now, saying, “the need and the case for involvement of
young people in our economy and governance is underscored by the reality
that they can bring fresh and contemporary ideas to the table. Older
politicians can guide us with their experience. Younger people are often
endowed with radicalism and aggression but, experienced persons bring
stability and diplomacy. A balance of both young and old is very
necessary for a successful democracy. It was after all not such a long
time that Nigeria had a Head of State at 29, a Commissioner at 25 and a
member of the House of Representatives at 21
“Mark
Elliot Zuckerberg Co-founder of Facebook was only 19 years when they
started. He is now worth 52 Billion USD. Same applies to Microsoft’s
Bill Gates, Amazons Jeff Bizos, and Apples Steve Jobs and so many other
entrepreneurs. They were all in their late teens and twenties when they
founded their multi-Billion Dollar businesses.
Let us unleash the potentials of our young people and Nigeria will be definitely better for it.”
He
also noted that under the 1963(S.44) and 1979 (S.61) Constitutions of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the age qualification for membership of
the House of Representatives was 21 years.
“The reasons for
changing it to 30 years under the 1999 Constitution has not been
justified. We may need to revert to the provisions of the 1963
Constitution in this area. That way, bright young people would not have
to resort to forgery of their ages to participate and excel in the
political process!”
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