2023: Group Mobilises Youths against 'Recycled Politicians'

An inter-ethnic pressure group, We2geda, has decried the poor accountability of past political leaders in Nigeria, “who only make promises but never fulfil them,” calling on electorate, especially the youths, to unite against such recycled politicians “who have never been accountable to Nigerians in 2023.” Addressing journalists during the official inauguration of We2geda in Jos, Plateau State, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the youth group drawn from across various religious divides, Alhaji Hussaini AbdulKarim, said it was unfortunate and disheartening that after elections, elected leaders would shun the electorate that voted them to power, and refuse to be accountable to them. He said the group was being inaugurated across all the geopolitical zones in the country to sensitise Nigerians against politicians that only abandon them to their fate after elections, adding that it was high time youths took over governance from these recycled politicians. The group leader added that the choice of Jos for the inauguration was made considering that it is a melting point for all Nigerians. AbdulKarim said: “If in every electoral ward, We2geda brings 250 persons of like minds, Nigeria will produce the best leaders, not the ones that will take us for granted.” In an opening remark, a lawmaker, Hon Shina Peller, said: “The official launch of We2geda is meant to mobilise youths and technocrats to have a rethink on electing political leaders in 2023, and to caution them to have a new way of seeing politics. Represented by Adebo Jonathan, Peller said: “Respect is reciprocal; our leaders do not expect us to respect them when they don’t live up to their obligations towards us. “Most of our leaders in government today benefitted from government in terms of free education, free healthcare, and the likes, but today, the same people have deprived the masses of these benefits because of their bad governance. We have, therefore, decided to mobilise against these leaders and ensure that they don’t make their ways back to power.” In his contribution, a member of the group, Stanley Akpa, warned that there was no better time for Nigerians to put their acts together to choose good leaders than now. He advised Nigerians to embrace We2geda with members cutting across ethnicity and religions in order to form a productive government that will benefit all Nigerians. The keynote speaker, Luka Pampe, said it was high time the electorate set agenda for politicians rather than allowing them to set the agenda, adding: “We have to be able to tell the politicians what we want and not the other way round. “We cannot continue to recycle politicians that have refused to work for our interest. They use money, religion and ethnicity to divide us. Since 1999 that Nigeria returned to democracy, how have our politicians made life better for us? All they’ve given to us is ASUU strike, power failure, fuel scarcity, insecurity and inflation. We are now saying ‘Enough is Enough!’