Don’t use youths for political violence in 2015 –Temitope Adewale, President, YACOON

A youth leader, Temitope Adewale, founder and president of Young Achievers Campaign Organisation of Nigeria (YACOON), has urged politicians not to induce the youths to commit violence during the 2015 elections.

According to Adewale whose organisation played a major role in sensitizing, galvanizing and mobilizing the youths to perform their civic responsibilities during the past elections, he is deeply concerned about how the 2015 elections will turn out, because of the desperate acts of desperate politicians. “One re-occurring desperate act has been the recruitment of youths as tools of electoral violence. As 2015 elections approach, let me warn desperate politicians not to use the youths for political violence because that will fast track the doom we are trying to avert in Nigeria.
“Let me also warn politicians of stomach infrastructure who have starved the youths of the dignity of feeding themselves to refrain from playing with this terrible tragedy and shame of our nation by inspiring violence. Desperate politicians bent on using the youths for violence are eager to start an inferno that they neither know the magnitude nor end. Nigeria is like a dry bush and the strike of a matchstick may set twhe nation of tired and frustrated youths ablaze. God forbid,” he said.
Adewale said further that violence has always robbed the country of peace and stability. “Nigerian youths are no tools to be used for violence, and over time, the youths have showed their capacity to evolve. Evidence suggests that Boko Haram which members are mainly youths, were used to achieve political agendas and dumped. Today, thousands of innocent Nigerians have met their untimely death as a fall-out of politicians using youths for political violence,” the youth leader stressed.
Adewale, however, urged the youths to create the needed change with their votes in the 2015 elections. “The over 46 million youths registered by INEC in 2011, between the ages of 18 and 35, are expected to be the bedrock of change in Nigeria. It is not only for the political leaders to decide whether positive or negative change will be inspired, but also for the youths to take charge and stand for the change they believe in.
“I am concerned that for many years, especially after our return to democracy in 1999, when we all expected positive change, it has been otherwise. Most Nigerian youths are unemployed, frustrated and broke. Any nation with proper insight ought to have noticed this time bomb that, God forbid, may soon implode on our nation,” he stated.
The youth leader emphasized that the 2015 elections will be different in many ways.  He noted that most youths are coming to terms with the fact that the federal government and many politicians have no real plan for their welfare. Adewale reiterated: “The recruitment by the Immigration, which was coordinated by the Ministry of Interior, showed the state of confusion in our nation. Nineteen youths died, over 710,000 unemployed graduates were extorted and those under whose watch this happened are still in office and may contest in 2015.
“The federal government has failed to see what is building up and sadly desperate politicians are likely to strike a match to the volatile nation as we approach 2015. The ‘You Win’ and other youth empowerment schemes such as SURE-P are clear examples that the government lacks insight on how to create employment. Half-baked solutions to symptoms are celebrated with the disease completely ignored. I believe most youths can now see this clearly. Even, if they are blind, their dusty certificates, empty stomachs and pockets serve as a rude reminder. Sadly, the youths are robbed of the most important thing they can have: hope. This is what will make 2015 elections a decisive moment for Nigeria’s future.
“About three decades ago in Nigeria, the son of a hunter and that of the permanent secretary met in a government college as equals with equal opportunity. Today, due to poor leadership, the gap has so widened that the children of the poor after labouring through higher institution are faced with stark reality: There are no jobs for them”.
To the tired and frustrated youths out there, Adewale urged them not to despair and challenged them to be part of the process now that there is a strong opposition, as this will give the masses an option to choose from. “As we work towards leading the nation from 2015, I urge youths to ignore ambassadors of ‘stomach infrastructure’ and refuse to be used to destroy their future and heritage. Yes, you are the heirs of this nation and you have come of age to demand what is due of a son. As God and generations unborn will hold you accountable, you must resist,” he concluded.