Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says deliberate efforts must be made to prepare the children and youth of Nigeria to become the desired leaders of tomorrow.
Such efforts, he stated, must include involving them in governance and expanding the democratic space to accommodate many young people.
Gbajabiamila, made the remarks at the National Children’s Dialogue on Saturday in Abuja to mark the 2021 Universal Children’s Day, explained that this was the reason he led an amendment to the Electoral Bill, 2021 for the use of direct primaries by political parties as a method of choosing candidates for elective offices.
The dialogue had the theme, “The Nigerian Child and the National Unity Project.”
He stated that with direct primaries, a youth with leadership qualities has equal chances of becoming a candidate for an elective office just like any other person.
The speaker noted that this was one of the surest ways of securing the future of Nigeria, by giving people with multiple ideas the opportunity to be at the very top of governance.
“That debate on direct primaries, which I championed, is about the future of our country,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his media adviser, Lanre Lasisi. “Our position in the 9th House of Representatives is that everyone must have equal opportunities to participate in governance and the democratic process…
“Our young people must have a seat at the high table, and we must create the enabling environment for them to be in leadership such that a young man with bold ideas can come out to vie for any position, be it legislator, governor or any other office.
“That can only be achieved through direct primaries, which will give a fair chance to the youth of this country to be involved in governance.”
Gajabal called for huge investment in youth education, particularly technology, which he said had transformed the world from what it used to be into a global village, delivering services and innovations at an unprecedented speed.
“Technology has changed our world. We no longer exist in communal or national silos but as part of a broad fabric of humanity in a global village where opportunities and challenges abound.
“In this new world where a child with a computer and internet connection in Lagos can compete for jobs in Texas or Bombay, our job as leaders is to ensure that every Nigerian child is educated and empowered to compete in and succeed in this global marketplace of ideas and talent,” he added.
Biggest Threat
The speaker told the session that to deliver on this obligation, all hands must be on the deck to make Nigeria a peaceful place to live.
According to him, securing the future means tackling the myriads of security challenges bedevilling the country squarely to bequeath a safe nation to our children.
“Peace is a necessary condition for development and progress. The present insecurity and the rampaging uncertainty it creates across the land represent the single biggest threat to the wellbeing of our nation’s children and the security of their future.
“We must wage the battle for peace with a warrior’s resolve because everything depends on our victory over the forces that threaten our country and risk the future of our country,” Gbajabiamila stated.
To this end, the speaker informed the audience of the resolve of the House to continue to make legislative interventions that would help the executive to overcome the security challenges.
