A Member of the 2014 National Conference and an Executive Director, Civil Liberties Organization, Comrade Steve Aluko, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to implement recommendations made at the Confab organised by the immediate past government, to end agitation for restructuring the country.
He acknowledged that the Confab was not an entirely perfect exercise, but stressed that the 600 recommendations were not entirely irrelevant so as to be thrown into the thrash bin.
Aluko stated this while addressing youths and other stakeholders during an inter-party youth forum tagged: “Strengthening Citizens Engagement in Electoral Processes” (SCEEP), organised by Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP) in partnership with Actionaid Nigeria, and BBC Media Action with support from UKAid held in Jos.
The CLO Executive Director maintained that implementing key recommendations made would deepen democracy and pave way for rotating Presidency in the six geopolitical zones.
He said the convention of the National Conference by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration was due to the cry from different sections of the country, who felt betrayed and marginalized in terms of revenue sharing and distribution of political offices.
Aluko who was a member of a Committee on Land Tenure and National Boundary at the Conference stressed that, the Confab proffered solution to militancy in the Niger Delta, kidnapping in the South-East, insurgency in the North-East and farmers/herdsmen clashes in the country.
On the issue of youths in politics, he lamented that, “Youths suffer double jeopardy, age discrimination while people with disabilities suffer discrimination occasion by societal prejudice.
“Women still suffer discrimination on the account of their sex. These issues were all addressed during the Confab”.
Earlier in his welcome address, Acting Executive Director of CAPP, Nelson Ananze, decried marginalization of youths and lamented that major political parties charged prohibitive cost as prerequisites for nomination and expression of interest form.
He urged Nigerian youths to key into the global trend of enthroning young and visionary leaders starting with the 2019 polls, just like other developed countries; saying, France and South Korea recently took the bull by the horn to achieve same feat in their elections.
According to him, the “Strengthening Citizens Engagement in Electoral Processes”, targets women, youth and Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) and seeks to strengthen their engagement in the electoral process in the country.
Nelson said, “It is important for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to join political parties or form their own political parties in order to influence the right decisions affecting society.
“Political parties should strengthen their ideologies in order to improve the electoral space.
“Youth leaders should be within youthful age; and youths should speak with one voice in order to prevent cracks on the Not-Too-Young-To-Run campaign.
He called on political parties to give space for youth inclusion in their selective process.
“There is need to deepen youth, Civil Society Organizations and political parties relationships in order to improve youth participation in the electoral process.
The Executive Director called on older politicians to mentor the next generation in order to get the best of youth inclusion.
“Opening up of the electoral space will deepen inter-generational dialogue and promote adult youth partnership in public governance; a model that most developing nations have adopted to spur democratic development”, he stressed.
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