Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, told African youths the way to take over leadership positions from older generations.
He revealed this on Wednesday, August 12, during a virtual interactive session with youths to mark the 2020 International Youth Day.
Obasanjo said the older generation would continue to occupy the leadership positions until they were evicted from the stage.
The former president maintained that leadership positions would not come to the youths until they “squeeze older generation out of office”.
He also advised the youths to demand that affirmative action is encapsulated in the constitution of political parties, as part of strategies to ease out the old generation of leaders.
It was gathered that the programme was organised by the Youth Development Centre, an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Participants of the programme cut across Nigeria, Mali, the United States, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. “Unless you squeeze out those who are in office and those who want to remain in office perpetually, some after the age of 80, they will not want to be out. “The type of change I am talking about, that I believe we can all embark upon, is to subscribe into the constitution of political parties in favour of youth. Or if you like it, you call it affirmative action in favour of youths,” he said. The former president reiterated that no one will wrestle power for the youths if they don’t do it themselves.
