Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, says Nigerian
youths will use the 2023 elections to change how politicians govern the
country.
Utomi spoke on Tuesday during an interview on Channels
Television.
Ahead of the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, presidential
candidate of the Labour Party, has been tipped as a strong challenger in the
race owing to his growing popularity among the youth.
However, some political analysts have argued that the former
Anambra governor does not have the required political structure to win the
presidential election.
Speaking on the chances of LP, Utomi, a chieftain of the
party, said the recent elections across Africa show that politicians who are
popular on social media can win elections.
The professor added that Africans, including young
Nigerians, are tired of how politicians are governing them, stressing that the
youths will prove a point in 2023.
“Look at what is happening in Africa in the recent elections
— Malawi, Zambia, Kenya and Botswana — all of the people that were ridiculed as
internet champions won,” he said.
“Africans are fed up
with the government that does not work.
“Politicians display this obsessive self-love and they do
trading off in transactions for their self-interest, forgetting the people.
This is what has kept Nigeria below par.
“The youths of Africa are saying this cannot continue. They
proved it in Kenya, Malawi and they are going to prove it in Nigeria.”
Utomi said Nigerian youths, who dominate the country’s
population, are now willing to rescue their country.
“We have a strategy
that is so clear. You know, elections in Nigeria have been producing low
turnouts yearly even though the population is growing. Why is that so?
“Traditionally, most of those votes (referring to previous
elections) came from rigging. Electoral law has made it more difficult to do
those things.
“Young people, who typically say ‘let them do what they want
to do’, have said ‘enough is enough, we cannot japa, we have to stay here and
save our country’.
“And these young people constitute a huge part of the
population. The strategy is to make those young people not just voters but
protectors of the votes.”
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