Dorcas Silas, 21, HND Accounting student, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna
Nigeria needs young people who would get us out of our situation fast. Younger people are proactive and that makes them more capable than the older ones. More so, older people have been tested and things don’t seem to be going right.
Rukayya Lawal Gwamna, 50, Civil Servant, Ungwan Kaji, Kaduna
We need younger politicians but they should not be younger than 35, because at that age, they are mature enough to understand what it means to lead a people. It will be good to have more young people in politics because they will bring in new innovations and ideas into politics.
Muhammadu Sabiu, Student, Bauchi State University.
Nigeria’s problem has nothing to do with the age of their leaders. It’s a matter of collective responsibility, which requires both members of the elite and the masses to work together in an attempt to halt nepotism, bloodshed, corruption, impunity and so on and so forth. If, for instance, Nigeria’s next president is as young as Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, nothing will change until all, or a greater percentage, of Nigeria’s population serve their country sincerely. Leaders alone can’t heal the pains of Nigeria.
Ikeogu Oke, Poet, Abuja
There are Nigerians who think we need younger politicians. It is a valid expectation. But there are older ones already entrenched in the system. They don’t necessarily have to leave the scene for the young to be involved in the political process. All of them are Nigerians.
Fatima Bala Brigade, 35, Teacher, Gwamna road, Kaduna
It is a welcome development. Young politicians have new and better ideas than the people being recycled, as if they are the only Nigerians who can be in politics. Young Nigerians need to be mentored by renowned politicians who have, in one way or the other, excelled in their careers so that they can steer the affairs of the country in the very near future. Nigeria also needs to bring back mentorship programmes that was obtained in the past where elders in the society mentor upcoming youth on leadership and other aspects of life so that they can continue to run the community, state or country when the elders are no more.
Aliyu Khaleed, Lecturer, Makarfi, Kaduna State
Our nation only needs true nationalists and patriotic citizens. It is essential to note that leadership is all about wisdom and not age. There is a saying that “age is nothing but a number”. We can see clearly that young Nigerians in government are performing below expectation. Let’s just try and look for better aspirants in any age group, provided they are intellectuals, technocrats and true democrats. It’s good to give anyone the opportunity to dispatch his civic responsibility by aspiring for an office.
Barrister Haruna Yusuf Aliyu, Kaduna
We need a combination of both the old and the young. We need the old for their foresight and experience and the young for their youthful exuberance and strength to carry out policies vigorously. Specifically, we need representation of the youth in governance, not necessarily having a youth as President or Governor. Let them be involved in the decision-making process and implementation.
Salamatu Ladan Shuni, 35, Interior Decorator, Abuja
In politics, age isn’t a criteria and leadership isn’t about age. We need to try young politicians to see what they can achieve and they would probably win where the older ones failed. From Nigeria’s political history, it has always been the same set of individuals ruling and interchanging positions. If young politicians are given a chance, they might do better.
Zainab Aminu, 34, Business woman, Malali, Kaduna
Are they ready? It is not enough for youth to always complain about bad leaders. They needed to break the status quo by going for electoral positions and create the transformation they need. I advise them not to sit down, fold hands and lament over bad leadership or politicians. It is a gradual process, from the ward to the local government level, and to state before the presidency.
Zainab Mukhtar, Student, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
What Nigeria needs is responsible politicians regardless of their age. Majority of the so-called young politicians have no experience. They have not been allowed to get it. The campus politics many of them start from is nothing to write home about. They loot the little funds they get their hands on. They are no better than their ‘fathers’ at the helm of affairs, because given the same opportunity, they could do worse.
