…to ensure young people change narrative in governance
Ebriku John Friday
The Young Progressives Party (YPP), Monday, disclosed of embarking on ‘ballot revolution’ ahead of 2023 with massive sensitization of young people to change the narrative.
This was made known by the National Chairman of YPP, Hon Amakiri Bishop, while expressing dismay with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and the leading opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for not meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry, particularly young people.
According to Bishop, it is high time there is a paradigm shift in the political system where young people are in the saddle of leadership as seen in other climes and this will warrant the support of all Nigerians irrespective of their backgrounds.
He also explained that the ‘ballot revolution’ is not a bloody one but all about preparing the minds of young people in the country to get into mainstream politics and supporting themselves to take over political leadership at all levels through the ballot box with their vote card and determination to change the old guards.
He said: “We will need a multi-stakeholders’ approach of all of us. And for me I think it is time we put a stop to this gerantocrats that have brought us to where we are today.
“And if we want a departure from the ugly trend, all of us must be part of those critical stakeholders in the business of nation building.
“All these slogans of PDP’s Power to the people or Next Level of the APC it’s not true, there are mere political gimmicks. Let’s talk about a New Level. I don’t believe in the next level.
“So we in the YPP, we will start a ‘ballot revolution’ and not the one that resort to violence and bloodshed. We will go on ballot revolution in a legitimate manner in peace and harmony so that we can bring our young people on board because they have the intellectual capacity and also they have the political sagacity.
“The youths have the mental and numerical strength and we will tap into that resources and see how we can galvanize them. Instead of agonising, I think we can begin to organise ourselves.
“So we organise and reach out to all levels as well as the critical stakeholders and see how we can begin to provoke a conversation that will bring us together as a people in the business of nation building and take the nation to a new level that will be beneficial to all Nigerians.”
He also made it clear that young people should not allow themselves to be toyed and deceived by politicians who do not mean well for the country with evidence to show their actions towards young people.
“So I think that you and I have an obligation, I mean a sacred obligation to our generation to see how we can rescue our unborn generation. So please if responsibility has beckoned on us, let’s take advantage of the opportunity that we have now, while we are still alive. And that is why I am passionately driven about what contribution I will make during my life time.
“If you look at the founding fathers of the African black race they have all paid their dues, I mean the likes of Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, Julius Nyerere amongst other notable pan-Africanists that have championed the emancipation of our people at different times.
“What can we say that we have done in our time, even when we are going through today’s political brigandage and so on. I think we should all be critical stakeholders in this business of nation building.”
He also lamented that past and current sufferings of citizens in Nigeria have been appalling, hence need a shift from the old story.
“If you have political or democratic instability, as we can see, any country that experiences political instability, the people that bear the brunt are the citizens. And even among the citizens, those who feel the pain are the lower class.
“The upper and middle classes don’t feel the heat. So the people that feel the heat the most are those in the lower class.
“This is a call to us all to see how we can galvanize our interests and take our country back from the brink again.”
