President of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) Ahmed Adamu has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for discriminating against young people in his cabinet appointments.

Adamu who is the first ever Nigerian to be elected to chair the Commonwealth Youth Council, said cabinet posts are increasingly being reserved for the much older generation and youths between 18-35 as per Nigeria’s Youth Policy, are being neglected despite being qualified and capable.

He said Nigeria, as a commonwealth country, was not upholding the charter it signed up on youth participation in politics.

He argued that the continued exclusion of youths will interrupt sustainability and cause disengagement and frustration among the rising number of youths in the country.

“According to the Nigerian constitution, a young person cannot be a senator, a young person cannot be a governor, and over 70% of the young people in the country cannot aspire to be members of the House of Representatives,” Adamu lamented.

He suggested the country’s constitution should be reviewed because failure to mix the opinions of the old and the new generation could hinder the country’s ability to adapt and progress with the changing times.

The recent appointments to President Buhari’s cabinet revealed that the youngest person is 48 years of age, more than 10 years older than the cut off mark for someone to be considered a youth, while the oldest person is 68 years of age.

This, Mr Adamu points out, is a poor representation of the current generation who are equally qualified.

Adamu said, “the history of Nigeria showed that young people have participated actively at the highest decision making level, and this record has been kept until the last administration in the country,” adding, “we, the youth, are disappointed that none of the nominated ministers in the country is a young person within this age bracket despite the apparent and unprecedented sacrifice made by the Nigerian youth in this year’s elections. Not to mention their undeniable competence and integrity.”

Meanwhile, it seems that trouble is not over for Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers state who is set to be screened by the Senate tomorrow, October 20. The Committee on Ethics and Public Petitions may have advised a stay of action on Amaechi’s screening.

http://www.nigeriadailynews.news/news/212088-commonwealth-slams-buhari-for-excluding-youths-from-cabinet.html

Old Breed Without New Breed, Breeds Break

By Dr. Ahmed Adamu

The definition of a young person in the Nigerian Youth Policy and African Youth Charter is someone between the age of 18 and 35.

In the history of this country, we have had many young people within this age bracket that performed well in Nigeria’s leadership. These include people like Yakubu Gowon who became Head of state at the age of 32 and Shehu Musa Yar’adua who became what is equivalent to Vice President at the age of 33.  Mathew Tawo Mbu became minister of labour at the age of 23, Nurudeen Mohammed became minister of state Foreign affairs at the age of 33 to mentioned but a few. In other Commonwealth nations, young people still play active role in the leadership of their countries.

Nigeria is an important Commonwealth country and it needs to take a cue from other Commonwealth nations in line with the Commonwealth charter and commitment to young people that emphasized on the importance of youth participation. The history of Nigeria showed that young people have participated actively at the highest decision making level, and this record has been kept until the last administration in the country. With the apparent and unprecedented sacrifice made by the Nigerian youth in the March/April, 2015 national elections as well as their undeniable competence and integrity, the youth must be included in the federal cabinet. We, the youth, are disappointed that none of the nominated ministers in the country is a young person within this age bracket. All of the nominated ministers are above 41, the age at which President Muhammadu Buhari became head of state in 1983, some 30years ago.

And if President Buhari could lead well as young person as he was, then the current young generation may even do better. The current young generation on average is more qualified, wiser, and more experienced than the then youth generation. This was made possible by the amazing improvement in technological advancement and education since then till now.

All over the world, young people participate in high level decision making processes, young people are beyond being subordinates, and we are active players and partners in sustainable development. If they say we are inexperienced, then how could one become experienced if s/he is not given the job? If you want to teach someone how to drive a car, you have to bring him inside the car, on the front seat, unfortunately, the youth in Nigeria are out of the car for now. The change agenda in the country must include actualisation of the larger proportion of young leaders, the change must not be the reverse of the past but improvement.

It is erroneous to assume young people do not have what it takes to lead. We have among young people in Nigeria, professionals and technocrats in all sectors of the economy. According to the Nigerian constitution,  a young person cannot be a senator, a young person cannot be a governor, and over 70% of the young people in the country cannot aspire to be members of House of Representatives. That is enough discrimination already for young people. Despite this discrimination, the young people are still left out of the federal cabinet. The country’s constitution should be reviewed to allow more participation of the youth to meet up with the drop of life expectancy rate in the country. If the youth are not prepared now, how can we in the future have a young president in the country? The country’s president himself has once acknowledged that his old age sometimes limit his performance to some extent, and this should have informed him of the needed vigour that young people will bring in his administration that they fought hard to make a reality.

The youth did not make the change possible because they want positions, but it's doesn't require rocket science to understand the importance of young people in leadership.  The elderly people who could not withstand the stress to protect the ballot boxes are now enjoying the change victory. Loyalty and friendship should not be the only yardstick in choosing the cabinet. If the ministerial selections were to be made through rigorous competency interview (like in corporate organisations), many Nigerian youth will beat some of the nominees.

The youth are not happy for being excluded in the ministerial nominations, and we always ask them (the youth) to be respectful and loyal, and if they become more agitated, no amount of persuasion will stop them. Of course, we need the old hands, but it has to be mixed with energy and innovation, and the youth can bring that in the country. So, old breed without new breed, breeds break. If youth are not mixed, there is going to be disconnect and interruption in sustainability of whatever legacy the All Progressive Congress (APC) administration might leave behind. The youth are the ones that may live to uphold the APC legacies and tell the stories to the country’s future generation, just like the way the current leaders tell stories of their ancestors who gave them the opportunities to became what they are now. So this chain must not be broken. It has to be sustained.

Therefore, we the youth are not happy for being excluded in the ministerial nomination, and we call on the Nigerian president and his party to appoint young people in the cabinet, and ensure that 30% of all political appointments in the country are given to the youth. For the ruling party in the country to enjoy further support from the youth, it has to show commitment toward youth participation in its administration, otherwise 2019 is around the corner. It may just be a game changer.

Ahmed Adamu

President, Commonwealth Youth Council

London, UK

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/youth-council-slams-buhari-for-excluding-youths-from-cabinet/115500.html

SPEECH DELIVERED BY AHMED ADAMU, PRESIDENT, COMMONWEALTH YOUTH COUNCIL DURING THE 55TH NIGERIAN INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, UK ON OCTOBER 2, 2015.

Nigeria is home to a quarter of the African population. After being colonised for over 60 years, the country gained independence 55 years ago. Young Nigerians of different generations have contributed to every remarkable milestone the country has achieved. The young people of 1960s fought hard to secure independent Nigeria. For instance, young people laid down their lives to preserve the oneness and unity of Nigeria during the civil war. The young people were brave enough to endure the military rulers and struggled for a true democratic nation. The young people are the propellers of the Nigerian economy, which is the largest in the continent. Young people were instrumental to the success of the recent historic democratic change of gaurd where for the first time in the history of Nigeria, a democratic transition from one political party to another at the centre was made possible. This is a sign of growing maturity of democracy in the country and sense of patriotism by the young people.

Change in political party is not the only change the Nigerian youth are seeking, but it is the gateway to achieve the real change, and that is what has motivated the Nigerian youth to vote for change in the last election. Nigerian youth didn't vote for a particular party, they voted for the vehicle that will drive them to the promised land. A promise land where access to quality education is equal and affordable to all within the Nigerian borders, a land where success is determined by how hard one works and how competent one is, a land where access to basic life requirements, power, health care, and potable water is equal for all economic classes. The promised land we dreamt of was the one where lives of young people sleeping in their dormitories or in worship places or in parks or market places or in their homes are safe and secured.

The road to the promised land could be steep, but with the same resilience, patriotism and sense of responsibility from the young people, Nigeria will get to the promised land. Young people’s role in achieving the real change is therefore inevitable, and the young people have all what it takes to make the real change happen. As we celebrate the 55th independence, we should reflect and assess ourselves to know how far away we are to the promised land. And what, individually, can we do to push the train a bit forward. Every single push matters, every person’s hand is needed. It moves faster with more hands, and this call for more inclusive governance and sense of responsibility.

Responsibility is what all Nigerian young persons need to have; everyone needs to think that he/she is responsible for the security of his neighbourhood. If you notice a suspicious stranger or movement, you have to take the responsibility to notify the relevant authorities. If you see your neighbour’s child not going to school, you have to feel responsible and help put the child back to school. If the waterways of your neighbourhood is dirty, take responsibility and clean it up or organise a local fund raising to seal off all sewages in your area. If you engage or allow little corruption, you have to take responsibility to stop it. If you see someone in difficult circumstance, feel responsible and offer a helping hand. We have to be our brothers’ keepers. Feeling and acting responsible are the initial pushes and necessary steps to the promised land.

Whatever we celebrate today as a nation, it is a celebration of collective individual success stories of citizens who became and felt responsible.  Talking about the size of the economy, the success of every economy or nation lies on individual success of the people who felt responsible and became entrepreneurs, who felt responsible for their unemployment and thought of a business idea to solve an existing problem. Economies and nations can never prosper when their teaming young generation think only of government's responsibility for their unemployment or other plights. People have the power to change government by changing their collective attitude and instilling an unyielding sense of responsibility.

This is the first independence celebration since that historical democratic change, and it was easy for the young people to make it happen, because they believed it should be different that time, and they took responsibility to make it happen. This has taught us that once we collectively believe in something and feel responsible for it, we can achieve it, and there is no time more important for the young people to strengthen the spirit of belief and responsibility than now, because the journey to the promised land just begun, and I have no doubt in my mind that we as young people will get there.

Most of us here are Nigerians, and we are here in a foreign land. Many of us are here to pursue our dream for quality education, and we feel proud and happy for that. For me, my coming here made me feel guilty and responsible, I always ask myself, what about my brothers and sisters in my community who could not have the rare chance of securing a foreign scholarship? Would this mean they will not have it even if they want it, because they can’t go abroad? Access to quality education should not be an optional, it is a necessity, and lack of it is the root cause of Boko Haram, cultism and kidnapping. While providing equal access to quality education, you are by extension tackling millions of issues. That is why in every religion, education is the number one priority, and it is through education that nations prosper. Nigerian educational institutions are not up to the standards because they are not the first and only option. 

Because, the rich people and people in government always have option of sending their children abroad to acquire quality education, they will always do that, but if they don't have that option, everybody will feel responsible and contribute toward making our educational institutions better. I think it is high time for Nigerian government to stop feeding foreign institutions. We create jobs for others at the expense of our people. We can do most of our learning back in our country. Going abroad to study should be for special courses or programmes only and when necessary. Let us build our institutions so that British people will also go to Nigeria to study. 

As we celebrate 55th independence anniversary, its been estimated that Nigeria's oil reserves will dry up in 53 years’ time. So, what are we preparing for our children? Nigeria must diversify its economy and we should enhance our agricultural and mineral resource sectors to cure the lingering resource curse. In 1960, one dollar was purchased at N0.71, and today it is purchased at N199 officially that is. In 1960, Nigerian external debt stocks was zero, and as at the end of last year (2014) it was around $44 billion (N7 Trillion). In 1960, inflation rate in Nigeria was 6%. It has now doubled (12%) and  in 1960 tooo, unemployment rate was barely 3%, and in 2014 it was 25%. So it is time for us to deeply reflect on why these indicators keep rising, and we can return to 1960 or even better. This is the purpose of this celebration; to reflect on the labour of our heroes past, and how we can strengthen unity and patriotism to maintain their legacies. 

We are confident that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will lead us to the promised land. General Buhari should never assume that the job will be easy. To make the job easier, Nigerian youth must embrace the spirit of patriotism and sense of responsibility and work together as a people to build the nation. However, to build the nation, the youth must be built. A youth-less development is a useless development.

The political fight is over. Nigerians must come together irrespective of political affiliations, ethnic and faith persuasion to fight for the country we all love and be ready to sacrifice for its success.

I enjoin every Nigerian to put the country first before any other interest, and let us all be champions of peace. As we celebrate the country's independence, let us do so with love, brotherhood and tolerance to enjoy the beauty of this nation.

Finally, I want to use this opportunity to call on President Buhari to actively engage more young people in his administration. With the reported first batch of ministers sent to the senate for confirmation, we look to see a young person, but we have not seen any young person within the defined youth age bracket. Therefore, we look forward to the second batch, and the youth must constitute at least 30% of political appointments at all levels. 

Happy independence anniversary Nigeria! Long live Nigeria!

Youth task Buhari on inclusive governance: http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/youth-task-buhari-on-inclusive-in-governance/113742.html