Expert charge youths to impact the Nigerian polity with their power

By Aderoju Noah 



Co-founder and Director of Programs, YIAGA Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu has charged young Nigerians to impact the politics in their states with their powers of number and energy.

The Lawyer cum human and gender rights advocates at the Town Hall Meeting organised by the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF) under the Campus Civic Media Campaign supported by OSIWA charged participants from campus media/journalist groups in tertiary institutions across Lagos state present at the event to not only sit down and observe the turn out at the coming polls but also impact it by voting in their large numbers.

Mbamalu who noted that the youth population accounted for the highest percentage of participants in the 2019 general elections with 51.1% to them alone said, Lagos state, even with its high population has one of the lowest youth participation percentage during the election.

She said the generation known to be the "sorosoke" generation is running from the best solution to their problem (voting en masses) to inviable means like protest and demonstration.

Mbamalu described protests as a potential tool when used strategically. Mentioning the 'Protest Vote" context which means going in mass to vote out bad and unfit elements in government to replace them with the deserving and capable candidates for the posts.

"If votes do not count, why then do politicians buy vote" This was her question to dissolve the argument and generally conceived notion of Nigerians that the votes of electorates do not count.

She said the systems being enforced continuously in the electoral system of Nigeria is already making it difficult for politicians to single-handedly influence election results thereby forcing them to use a decentralised method of buying ignorant or susceptible electorates' votes and this is still favouring them because the number of conscious voters are not much. If the number is as much as it should be, with the turn out rate of just the youths alone increased, it will be very difficult to influence election outcome anymore.

She however urged young Nigerians to be patient and strategic in their struggles and movement, alluding to the story of the Not Too Young To Run Bill which started in 2009 but wasn't achieved until 2018 after so many consistent trials and countless iterations.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad

Image
  This is a joint review of Nearly all the men in Lagos are Mad by Tolulope Johnson, Abiola Olarogba, Adeseun Adesina and Ayobami Oladunni Damilare Kuku's  Nearly All The Men In Lagos Are Mad is a collection of 12 fascinating stories that would keep you glued to your seat until you're done reading. From the first story titled "Cuck-Up" which is about a married woman who was been encouraged and cheered on by her husband to engage in extra marital affairs in order to fend for the family financially. Kuku's start out with the first sentence "One night, you will calmly put a knife to your husband's penis and promise to cut it off." would definitely have you engrossed to read further. "The Gigolo from Isale Eko" centered around three best friends who were not only party riders but also promiscuous; going from one marriage to the other for gratification of romantic and career needs. The "Anointed Wife" which is the third story, is more...
Read more

NIJ SRC Thrills Students With Inaugural Sports Hangout

Image
By Olajumoke Ajayi, Gbolahan Adegbite, Olamide Bamidele, and Oyindamola Lamidi As part of efforts to boost student participation in sports activities, the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) on Wednesday, December 8 held the first ever NIJ Sports Hangout.  The event which was held at the main field of the school featured varieties of sports and games from football to chess to card games even traditional games were not left behind.  Staylites Defeat Freshers 3-0  One. Two. Three was the count on the score board as Staylites team made up of Higher National Diploma II and National Diploma II students beat the Freshers team made up of Higher National Diploma I and National Diploma I students.  After a goalless and dull first half, the game picked up towards the climax when HND II player, Ubani Raymond with a swift play with his coursemates, Adedapo Adesanya pulled the first goal into the back of the net.  This weake...
Read more

SRC Encourages NIJites to get PVC, explains processes

Image
By Asabor Gloria, Esther Olaifa, Blessing Edet, Igwejiakwu Mercy, Queen Alfred, Bamidele Olamide and Osadebe Precious The Student Representative Council has encouraged students to get their Permanent Voters Card by explaining the processes involved. In a WhatsApp message signed by the SRC President, Adesanya Adedapo, the process of registration and collection which has the online physical phase was duly explained and students were advised to do it as soon as possible. There is the online and physical phase of PVC registration. For the online, visit cvr.inec.org and fill in the necessary information. Then pick an area close to your respective houses to do the final registration. He stated. Adedapo said It's very important that every member of the school that are above 18 years of age do this and having PVC gives opportunities and power to decide how things will go come 2023."We are one of the major institutions of the society and If we cannot take decisions that affect us now, ...
Read more