IYD: YJF task African Youths to engage politicians on specific development

Comrade Chukwuma Nzeh, with Her Excellency Pirjo Suomela-Chowdhury the Ambassador of Finland to Nigeria, when the latter hosted members of the Young Journalists Forum, in her office in Abuja recently.

The Young Journalists Forum,YJF, organisers of the monthly Youth Dialogue with the Embassy of Ecuador, in Nigeria, has called on African Youths especially those in Nigeria ahead of the 2019, general elections to engage the political class during the campaigns to include specific developmental projects that would positively affect them and their communities directly.



This is contained in a statement by the Coordinator, Comrade Chukwuma Nzeh and Secretary, Ene Okon to commemorate the International Youth Day, today, with the theme: Save Spaces.

He said Youth people can only get save spaces when they constructively engage politicians on pressing developmental needs that would bring out the best in them and their communities, as campaigns commences ahead of the 2019 elections.

He urged young people to take advantage of the "Not too Young to run" law recently assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, as it is a strategic way the Nigerian government has created save spaces for young people in politics, to aspire for leadership positions at all levels of governance.

We should consciously build up capacity for leadership, so that when called upon we would be able to positively impact on society and the people, in a quest to bequeath a sound Nigeria, to posterity.

We call on government to enhance the mechanism to identify the young people who genuinely need soft loans to consolidate, expand their small businesses, and subsidize alternative energy sources to also grow technology, in Nigeria.

We celebrate the young girls of Regina Pacis, college Onitsha, who amidst all odd distinguished themselves in the International sense. We urge government to take from there and enhance their capacity to do more to promote the image of Nigeria.

Irregular Migration is a scourge in our country with several, deportations of Nigerians abroad and several others sacrificing their lives in the desert and the Mediterranean Sea. This desperation should stop, young people should learn to start small.

The 2019 general elections would ones again expose many of our young people to desperate politicians who will use them to perpetuate violence and disrupt the electoral process to their favour. We urge discerning young Nigerians to join the campaign to make Youths less vulnerable during the forthcoming elections by informing the uninformed and at least 'Save one Youth from Violence'.

We call on agencies of government, corporate organizations and individuals to support credible Civil Society Organizations, to compliment the effort of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to promote advocacy towards a credible, free and fair elections.

We would commence the Youth Election Awareness Programs, at the Nigeria Labour Congress, Auditorium,Labour House, Abuja, with the theme: The Role of Youths in Enhancing the electoral process, on Thursday,13th of September 2018, from 10:00am, prompt.