From Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi
The All Progressives Congress National Youth Leader Aspirant, Mr. Sufiyan Sahabi, has called on the leadership of the ruling APC to focus its criteria of leadership recruitment on competence, justice and fairness to bring the change agenda of the party into fruition.
Sahabi, while speaking with journalists on Wednesday over the agitation of power rotation/zoning between the North and South said that he is a “firm believer in equity and fairness. Even though I know rotational power arrangement is not written in the constitution, I believe if the majority agree that it should be followed, it is only fair that it is followed.
“Ideally, as a people in a country, competence should have been our focus but if there exists any feeling of marginalisation which surely does exist, then let’s respect the feeling of our fellow countrymen,” he said.
Sahabi further enjoined the party to give youth a clemency to run in the forthcoming elections. He added that one of the factors working against youths running for elective positions is finance for nomination form and campaign. “The nature of our politicking doesn’t in any stretch favour young people. The finance required to purchase nomination forms, conduct campaigns are not easy to come by. Also, self doubt is rife and a strong limitation for ambitions.
In searching for the next leaders of the country, he urged his party (APC) to look out for inclusive, pragmatic and a dogged patriot who won’t spare anything to get the country going in the right direction. “He should be adept at ideation and following through implementation at the right time.”
“I think the underrepresentation of youth is gross. Nigerian youths have shown that they have the capacity to hold their own at any level in the world, hence it is necessary they are given a more prominent opportunity to contribute to policy making, project delivery and the all round growth of the nation.
“When we come together and accept that we are all on constituency understanding that we are all in the same boat and we have to sink or swim together, we would get the impetus to band together and pull together in a unified voice ready to participate wholly in our developmental journey,” he said.
