Young people are
pushing for change in France, can the same be done in Nigeria in 2019?
On Sunday, April 24, 2017, the front
runners of the first round of the presidential elections in France emerged.
They are 39-year-old Emmanuel
Macron of the En
Marche! political
party and Marine Le Pen of
the National
Front. Le Pen is 48 years old.
The emergence of both candidates in the
general elections indicates that the French people are tired of mainstream
politics and are in search of something new and fresh. It's not only French
people that are in search of something new, young French people want something
better for themselves.
Both candidates,
Macron and Le Pen, are very popular among young voters in France. The former is
seen as a young outsider who could break into the dreary world of politics and
galvanize it, like Obama pre-2008.
The latter Le Pen who has very nationalistic views is popular among French
youths also.
The result of the first round of
election in France has a clear message, young people are breaking the structure
of old politics. Macron is way too young to challenge for President of France
but here we are. Polls indicate he would win the run-off with Le Pen.
This political change in France proves
that if young people get their acts right, they can determine their own future
on their terms. Young people in Nigeria can learn from the French. We groan,
rant on Twitter about the old men in politics mortgaging our lives but we never
do anything about it.
At the age of 39, you would be expected
to be a personal assistant or the errand boy of a politician who has been in
the game since the 2nd Republic. The political scene in Nigeria kills the
spirit of young women who want to seek change and make the country better.
Politics in Nigeria is an 'either you join them or gerrout'
from here business. It's a place of bitterness and frustration.
We are now woke to the situation at
hand, political parties are the same irrespective of their acronyms. It's the
same old politicians with the same old agenda, empty the treasury. We need
something new, something vibrant, something that has purpose and urgency. The
old cargoes can't do it.
It's two years to 2019. What needs to
be done now is for a youth-based political party to emerge that will do away
with the old way of doing politics. It should be a grass-root, mainstream
political party that will embrace all and shun meaningless speeches and
catchphrases. We need this party to map out the future of Nigeria and its
citizens. This cannot be done by the cabal of corrupt and backward thinking
politicians. We need young and the young at heart to do this.
Unfortunately, the young people
involved in politics are caught up in the matrix. If they are not part of
inefficient power structure as behind the scene 'boy-boys', they are
'Twitter warriors' defending the corrupt and incompetent.
Where do we go from here? We can no
longer abandon our future for bants and trending topics. Young people in
Nigeria need to have a sense of purpose and direction for anything meaningful
to happen. We need to be actively involved in politics which is beyond voting
on election day. We need to go for town hall meetings, hold our senators
accountable and challenge the system. If we continue to fold our arms, nothing
will happen.
Young people all over
the world have shown that they can make things change. It is possible. Will
this ever happen in Nigeria?
Story courtesy: Pulse
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