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Olakunle Olafioye and Henry Okonkwo
Ahead of next weekend’s presidential election, Nigerian youths have given insight on what will influence their voting decision.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had cleared over 70 candidates for the February 16 Presidential poll with the incumbent President and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Muhammadu Buhari, and the candidate of the leading opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, considered as frontrunners.
Ability to stem insecurity in the country, the need to sustain the anti-graft war and create job opportunities for the youths as well as convincing will to restructure the country among other expectations are some of the indices those who spoke to Sunday Sun considered as pressing need of the nation.
Comrade Toyin Okanlawon, founder, World Youth League International (WYLI), said his paramount desire is to see Nigeria win the war against corruption just as he expressed the desire for peace to reign in the country.
“My choice of candidate would be determined by a candidate’s ability to calm the tense socio-political situation in this country, continue the war to stamp out corruption and reduce the alarming youth unemployment. Again, I would vote for a candidate that I trust would put our commonwealth into good use for the benefit of the citizens.
“Whoever wins the February 16 election should brace up because a lot needs to be done to overhaul the sociopolitical system. The youths need to be more engaged and employed to reduce robbery and insurgency. The National Orientation Agency (NOA) should be reinvigorated to start propagating the message of unity and love to the populace,” Okanlawon said.
For Ruby Ike, a student of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, the ability of a candidate to hit the ground running, in order to better the lots of Nigerians remains his major desire.
“I will go for a candidate that has the prospect to make things better for Nigerians. The sociopolitical condition in the past few years has been bad. Things are getting worse everyday and I cannot say that I am better off now. So I expect the winner to hit the ground running towards turning things around.
Expressing her view on the presidential election, Mrs. Chinelo Ugwu, a post graduate student, said she would queue behind any candidate who could sufficiently convince her with his or her programmes in the areas of anti-corruption crusade, job creation, transparency in governance, among others.
“There is a lot of tension and anxiety about the forthcoming election with permutations about possible rigging. So I need and want a leader who will walk his talk. It has been tough for Nigerians; the unemployed population is growing everyday and our national economic indices are not looking good with the heavy foreign debt. The All Progressives Congress (APC) government came in on the platform of goodwill from many Nigerians but has failed woefully in meeting our expectations.
“So the winner must hit the ground running if he wants to make any impact. The problems on ground are humongous and will require all hands to be on deck. Transparency in governance, job creation, unabridged communication with the citizens, synergy with the National Assembly and prompt passage of bills are some of the things I expect,” she said.
Convener of Raising New Voices Initiative (RNVI), Jude Feranmi, said a candidate with radical and innovative approach for institutional changes and reforms would possibly get his support at the poll.
His words: “Nigeria faces tough times in the days to come irrespective of who wins the presidential election. With our population growing faster than our GDP and with our educational system having been of low quality in the last few decades, what we face is an army of unemployed youths complicating the insecurity situation in the country. Most Nigerians are not better off than they were four years ago. Millions have lost their jobs and millions more are under-employed with no hope of a better standard of living and then the population of people living in extreme poverty continues to increase (about 83 million). Without radical institutional changes and reforms, it’s bound to get worse.
“My expectation is very low to be honest, or even non-existent. But if I’m to answer the question of what needs to be done for Nigeria to get better, it will be four things: wholesale constitutional reform that determines the parameters of our unity as a nation, removes the excessive discretionary powers of the president and ministers and actually ensures that the fundamental human rights of Nigerians as enshrined in the constitution are justiciable.
“Secondly, I expect to see a fundamental restructuring of the nation that includes reviewing the roles of the federal government and the states, resource control and the Land Use Act.
“Thirdly, justice reform which starts with ensuring that innocent citizens, who are arrested are charged before a court and tried instead of the catastrophe that we have in our prisons, where there are suspects that have been held for up to eight years without seeing a lawyer or a judge. A justice reform that continue to bring in efficiency to the judicial process through technology so that justice is not delayed and judges are transparent with their proceedings.
“Finally, an open government where all transactions, processes and dealings of government are transparent and can be held accountable – from civil service records of employees to public procurement processes to ownership of assets to even the electoral process. I believe these are the fundamentals for any attempt at moving Nigeria forward in the long run. Institutions matter and without them, what we will have is just the same elite coming to dominate elections with promises and plans that will fail,” he submitted.
Ernest Lawrence, a student of Mass Communication at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said: “My choice of candidate would be a detribalized presidential candidate who would work to cure the nation of the ill of tribalism and nepotism.
I look forward to a Nigeria where the youths are considered and given adequate opportunities.”
In his contribution, Paul Oshunkeye of Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) said he would support any candidate with focus on youth empowerment and without what he described as baggage.
“What would determine my choice of candidate at the forthcoming presidential election would definitely not be political expediency. As much as it would be tempting to fall into the trap of voting corruption in order to kick out incompetence, it would be more strategic for me as a young Nigerian with an eye on the future to begin to take a stand for excellence and meritocracy that I would like my society to be built on. My ideal candidate is one who has displayed an understanding of the veritable importance of Nigeria’s under-utilised youth bulge and that is willing to empower it with clearly favourable policies.
“My ideal candidate has no unnecessary baggage and is not beholden to any cabal but the electorate who would be solely responsible for his victory at the polls. My ideal candidate has built a track record of excellence and accomplishments in both public and private spheres. My ideal candidate would command the respect of international leaders and would immediately project a positive image of Nigeria in international circles.
“What I expect from the next president is to break Nigeria permanently away from the anchors of poverty and underdevelopment. I want the next president to develop a world-class society and civil service, forge a united nation out of the rubble of ethno-religious divisions, unhealed, un-forgiven and hurriedly buried bitter histories. I want the next president to draft an inclusive society built on meritocracy and abolish nepotism,” he said.
Another Nigerian, Miss Aminat Shodiya, also lent her voice to need for Nigeria to relentlessly mount rigorous campaign against corruption in the country.
She said: “I am anxious to participate in this election for two major reasons. First, the only way Nigerians can make their votes count is to come out en masse and cast their votes. So, I don’t want to be found wanting in performing this crucial civic duty in order to not to give room to riggers.
“Secondly, I want the ongoing war against corruption sustained. The bane of Nigeria’s development is corruption and until we successfully fight this monster, we will remain stagnated. I won’t dispute the fact that Nigerians are going through a very difficult time; this is just part of the pains that come with change. I’m very optimistic that we are approaching the end of the tunnel where the light will shine on us again.
A teacher, Mrs Hassan Mariam, said she would cast her vote for continuity, maintaining that a single term of four years was inadequate for any administration to extend its impact to every nook and cranny of the country.
“The need for continuity will decide who gets my vote. I believe that a single term of four years is too short for this administration to complete the good job it is doing. We have seen some of the projects the government is currently executing; some have been completed, some are not. So, I am of the opinion that Nigeria should support continuity so that some of these projects don’t become abandoned projects,” she said.
