Obasanjo To Youths, Send Old Generation Out Of Power

Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo has asked Nigerian youths to dispossess power from the older generation in leadership.

Obasanjo stated this on Wednesday while delivering a keynote address at an interactive session held virtually to mark this year’s International Youth Day.

He encourage the youths to also participate actively in the  activities of political parties with a view to taking over the structure from them.

“Unless you squeeze out those who are in office and those who want to remain in office perpetually, some after the age of 80, unless you squeeze them out, they will not want to be out,” said the former president.

“The type of change I am talking about, that I believe we can all embark upon is to subscribe to the constitution of political parties in favour of youths. Or if you like it you call it affirmative action in favour of youths. For instance, if you say, in the constitution of a political party, not less than 50 per cent of those who hold executive office within the party will be less than 40 years.

“You can  even go  beyond that and say that people who will be put up for election, not less than 50 per cent of them will be less than 40 years of age. That’s affirmative action. That’s positive discrimination in favour of youths.”

The programme was organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta and had participants drawn from Nigeria, Mali, USA, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.