On-the-need-for-the-federal-government-national-assembly-state-governments-and-state-assemblies-to-encourage-the-appointment-election-of-the-younger-generation
September 7, 2020 | News
ON THE NEED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, STATE GOVERNMENTS AND STATE ASSEMBLIES’ TO ENCOURAGE THE APPOINTMENT/ELECTION OF THE YOUNGER GENERATION
With regards to the move by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, by setting up a Panel to screen and verify records of the Delta State Civil Service, so as to screen-out those who by their real age ought to have retired and left the service, and create room for the younger generation to come in, is a step in the right direction, which we strongly believe should be adopted by the Federal Government, the Federal Civil Service, the National Assembly, other State Governments and their State Assemblies’ and State Civil Services. Considering the fact that the Youths are regarded as ‘the building blocks of a nation, and the role of the youths in ‘nation building’ occupies the central place; for the country which utilizes its youth in a right direction are more developed, then we would not be mincing words when we say that a lot of us are fed up with the saturation of the Nigerian political and leadership space by the ‘country’s elders/older generation’ whose ideas have become senile in today’s world - thereby retarding growth and development. Also, the energy, agility and brightness of the minds of the youth act as a torch bearer for a nation, on the contrary, the country which fails to realize the importance of the youth lags behind in every department of life. That is why the more vibrant and politically-aware and involved the youths are, the more developed the nation is.
It is in the light of this that we praise the above stated move by the Delta State Government, which we believe others in Government at different levels, should equally emulate. The Delta State Governor was said to have constituted a 10-member Committee with the Terms of Reference to investigate the dates of birth and mode of employment of public office holders in the State. It is an ‘open secret’ that there are indeed workers in Federal and States’ Civil Service/Public Offices who have under-devalued/reduced their real age by falsifying relevant documents, to the extent that their Primary School leaving certificates are older than them from the date obtained. And a lot of workers in the nation’s public Offices space have adopted this ‘age falsification’ strategy to remain in the system after their retirement age, thereby depriving the younger generation from the opportunity to be in the system.
There are so many Public Officers at various levels of the Nigerian public space whose presence and stay in Office, are long overdue for retirement. But they have kept ‘altering their files’ to prolong their stay in the service. Even with the introduction of biometric screening exercise in some public institutions at different levels, these corrupt-minded elements of the older generation still find a way to boycott and scale through such screening to remain in Office. But with such rigorous screening like the one introduced by Governor Okowa, where serving public officials are screened from their Primary School Leaving Certificate background, it will introduce sanity into Nigeria’s public space by ensuring that those who falsify their age, or have dual jobs or were employed through the back door amongst other things, are shown the way out of the system. Thereby creating room for the younger generation to be engaged more.
As we have reiterated severally in time past, we believe it is about time to allow the enlightened youths of this country with the RIGHT ATTITUDE TO BE ON THE DRIVER’S SEAT AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS. While the older generation that have been in government for donkey years, should quietly quit the stage. If civil servants can be made to retire at a certain age or by a certain number of years in service, it will not be out of place for politicians/political leaders to also quit the scene at some point in time to give the younger ones a chance. If we look at it very closely, we will observe that some of those personalities who were at the helm of affairs either at independence in 1960 or after the Nigerian civil war between 1970 and 1985, are still around today calling the shots in various positions of political leadership at all levels of government across the country. This, to us, is an anomaly that does not give room for innovative growth and development, which the nation so dearly needs.
The truth is that the first generation of political leaders of this country were very young and vibrant, and the political space of the country back then gave them the chance and opportunity to serve, in spite of their young age. The Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Aminu Kano, Tony Enahoro and others were young, strong and vibrant when they were very active in government. And they had great visions and dreams for this country. Even Agwuyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, David Ejoor, Usman Katsina, Joe Garba and their military junta were equally young and well-disciplined men. We can psychoanalyse that era, and indeed the eras after it, to understand how these young political leaders who fought for Nigeria’s independence, were truly remarkable and, if you like, a lucky bunch. They were first among so many of their equals, as they started quite young.
A public affairs analyst, economist and entrepreneur, Mr. Tope Fasua, noted in one of his articles how someone like Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was known by the whites as the ‘Golden Voice of Africa’. And he did not only have a commanding guttural voice and control of the English language, but outstanding intelligence. “He was on top of global political affairs, and was quite erudite. Videos of his visit to the USA in 1961 still make the rounds, and make us proud. Those who have watched it discovered that Tafawa Balewa may remain, till date, Nigeria’s most eloquent national leader. Nnamdi Azikwe was an orator par excellence, and Obafemi Awolowo was reputed for his intelligence. But after the truncation of that era, what happened really? Nigerians have been complaining about the scrapping of history in our secondary schools. But what do we know as history? Are we talking about rehearsing what the colonialists bequeathed to us (the Mansa Musa stories and Songhai Empire, Mungo Park, Mary Slessor and Landers Brothers), or can we try something else; perhaps examining, debating and documenting the way we ourselves have evolved?
“The next generation of leaders after the nationalists were a mixed bag of military men and politicians. The politicians had a checkered journey as the military constantly heckled them. But overall these were even more privileged leaders. Then we had a civil war. And after the war came the oil boom. At the Nigerian end, it was all good and bright. Not that people did not suffer. But the newly urbanized Nigerians had a great time, while rapidly leaving the rural farmers behind. That era was captured by great writers like Cyprian Ekwensi, in his book Jagua Nana, among other literary works of the time. It was a heady time, full of hope. Nigerians and most Africans thought they had arrived; that independence was all it took. Agriculture collapsed. Crude oil reigned. There was money to be spent. And before we know it, they laid the foundation for unsustainable profligacy. To make matters worse, the military leaders of that era were even luckier; where they were able to escape being shot for planning coups. A few were not very lucky because they lost their lives. This generation has felt quite entitled over time. They awarded themselves rapid promotions into Generalship due to the coups. Many of them were running entire states in their early 30s, and were national figures in their mid-30s or early 40s, by which time there were senior Generals or the equivalents of this rank. Alas, they are still very much on the scene as we type this. Our current President for instance was a State Governor at 32 and that State (North East) is now six states today at least. He became Minister for Petroleum at 33, and Head of State at 39. He has come back at 74, and there is the possibility that he may come back again at 77, and perhaps to quit at 81. Who can convince someone like that to leave political power?
“With ‘lucky’ but now old political leaders who can hardly open their own emails, and simply get tired and bogged down by all these fast-evolving technologies, how does Nigeria find itself in a crazy, globalized world? Can Nigeria get anywhere with political leaders who have to dictate letters to clumsy secretaries who wear coke-bottle ‘recommended’ glasses, or worse still, as is now embarrassingly our case in Africa, rely solely on some archaic speechwriter to plagiarize and put other people’s words in their mouths? It is on that note, that we believe Nigeria needs younger, eloquent leaders who are also futuristic thinkers, not those who are in the typewriter generation mentally, thinking of manufacturing jobs and agricultural exports when the world is in the milieu of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have never heard contemporary intellectual issues being discussed among our current or past political leaders. They just mouth stuff about industry and infrastructure and remain in the past, while Nigeria engages in reverse.
“If in this country one can no longer vouch for any political process, we believe it is because of those ‘old guys’ that have refused to leave the political scene. They abhor transparency. We can imagine this, of all the many registered political parties in Nigeria presently, only about seven or eight have (active) websites, simply because they do not want the public to see or know what they do…These are the ideas of old politicians who lived in a lucky era. They think electronic voting or any such innovation will lead to rigging. We can recall how Prof. Jega spent hours tallying the last Presidential votes in 2015, using calculator, wasting hours on a job that could be done in nanoseconds on Microsoft Excel? Prof. Jega did not finish until 3.30am in the morning. It is not a sin to be old; the problem is the age of their ideas. Prof. Jega even tried his best. Many of Nigeria’s archaic politicians took him to court for introducing biometric card-readers into the political process. Such ‘leaders’/politicians will NEVER agree for votes to be tallied with Microsoft Excel! They are scared of technology and the transparency it brings. Not for the old politician any innovation. They abhor improvements and embrace darkness.”
Well, it is high time in this 21st century for the older generation of this country to give up power to the younger ones. The old brigade of military politicians and civilian politicians have failed the Nigerian masses and it is time to allow the younger people with the charisma, character, vision and integrity to lead our country at the local, State and Federal levels. Let them quit honourably for the younger ones. We don't see any reason why those above 60 years should still be holding executive positions in the Nigerian government at all levels, whether elected or appointed in Nigeria. The retirement age in Nigeria is sixty. The best for the older people to do is to guide and play ‘advisory roles’ and allow the younger Nigerians with the right attitude and 21st-century-innovative-ideas to lead the country forward. Why should a person of above 70 years still be in power in Nigeria? They should quit for the younger generation of Nigerians who have the strength and intellectual capabilities to lead.
Some have even distorted their dates of births to below 60 just to remain in office. What is a man of 70 years and a man of 65 years doing in the public sector, or being in the judiciary, academics or what have you? There is more than enough manpower in Nigeria. Every person above 60 years should quit the public sector of Nigeria and give our vibrant youths the chance to be in the driving seat in all public sectors and the organized corporate private sectors. to this end, we advise that the National Assembly should enact and pass a law that would open the doors of opportunity for our younger generation to be more involved in the political scene. They should also ensure that such passed law is implemented to the latter. There are lot of unemployment gaps across the country which can also be addressed with the older generation quitting the stage to allow the younger Nigerians to take over the affairs of this country fully at all levels, including the organized corporate private sector. Our young vibrant youths with the right potentials and attitude are roaming the streets of the country looking for jobs that are not there. While the old generation are holding on to the good jobs available. This is not right.
Having said that, the younger generation must also be careful and start bracing up to take-up the challenges ahead. They must exhibit the ‘maturity’ and develop the ability to defer gratification and not react to years of deprivation by selling their loftiest dreams for a mess of pottage – a few dollars. They should not be too taken by material things still. It should not be all about Moet, Hennessy, Champagne, fast cars, huge mansions, and faster women. We see these things in the songs they sing and dance to. Immorality is becoming them, and a majority of them just don’t bother to think. Those who do, are concerned with the self. They want to game the system, cheat and take undue advantage of everyone else. But ultimately, they will be shooting themselves in the foot. It is no surprise when a former Nigeria's military head of state describes them as unfit and unprepared for leadership. A senator once said that all an average Nigerian youth cares about is watching foreign league football. So, he simply used part of the huge constituency allowance, given to him for tangible projects that could benefit people, to build a football-viewing centre. The sad part is that the youths praised him for that. It is sad enough that most Nigerian youth are so disconnected from political happenings and government's activities they do not know or care how they are being governed. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Eskimi, 2go, etc. show obviously that Nigerian youths are "very low in quality". The way youth argue blindly with whatever, insult and attack each other on salient national issues shouldn't be the reason for pride.
The reason this country is moving a step forward then four steps backwards is because we lack vibrant and informed youth. The youth are supposed to be the center of gravity of the society. The youth should be the 'life' of a society. The youth should be the hope for a better and brighter future of any society. And we believe that, despite the above noted prevailing circumstances with our youth, they can create the change we all so desire, if given the opportunity to do so. So, while there is need for the younger generation to inspire the older generation the ample confidence in them to lead this country above the 21st century, there is need for the older generation to honourably quit the stage for these young ones to be given the benefit of doubt. And if they do not quit, the system should screen them out like it is being done in Delta State presently. They should be asked to provide their Primary School Leaving Certificates to ascertain their true age before getting appointments as Ministers, Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers of Corporations, etc. We need to move from “the spanner age to digital age” in this country.
If they refuse to bring their Primary School Leaving Certificates, then the screening committee concerned should go to their Primary Schools to get their true age records. It is sad that Nigerian politicians have turned our vibrant youths to nothing but Personal Assistants (PAs), Senior special Assistants (SSAs) and all sorts of nonsense jobs. Those youths with the right potentials should be given more demanding Executive positions and other rightful positions in Government. That is the way we see it.
Zik Gbemre, JP.
With regards to the move by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, by setting up a Panel to screen and verify records of the Delta State Civil Service, so as to screen-out those who by their real age ought to have retired and left the service, and create room for the younger generation to come in, is a step in the right direction, which we strongly believe should be adopted by the Federal Government, the Federal Civil Service, the National Assembly, other State Governments and their State Assemblies’ and State Civil Services. Considering the fact that the Youths are regarded as ‘the building blocks of a nation, and the role of the youths in ‘nation building’ occupies the central place; for the country which utilizes its youth in a right direction are more developed, then we would not be mincing words when we say that a lot of us are fed up with the saturation of the Nigerian political and leadership space by the ‘country’s elders/older generation’ whose ideas have become senile in today’s world - thereby retarding growth and development. Also, the energy, agility and brightness of the minds of the youth act as a torch bearer for a nation, on the contrary, the country which fails to realize the importance of the youth lags behind in every department of life. That is why the more vibrant and politically-aware and involved the youths are, the more developed the nation is.
It is in the light of this that we praise the above stated move by the Delta State Government, which we believe others in Government at different levels, should equally emulate. The Delta State Governor was said to have constituted a 10-member Committee with the Terms of Reference to investigate the dates of birth and mode of employment of public office holders in the State. It is an ‘open secret’ that there are indeed workers in Federal and States’ Civil Service/Public Offices who have under-devalued/reduced their real age by falsifying relevant documents, to the extent that their Primary School leaving certificates are older than them from the date obtained. And a lot of workers in the nation’s public Offices space have adopted this ‘age falsification’ strategy to remain in the system after their retirement age, thereby depriving the younger generation from the opportunity to be in the system.
There are so many Public Officers at various levels of the Nigerian public space whose presence and stay in Office, are long overdue for retirement. But they have kept ‘altering their files’ to prolong their stay in the service. Even with the introduction of biometric screening exercise in some public institutions at different levels, these corrupt-minded elements of the older generation still find a way to boycott and scale through such screening to remain in Office. But with such rigorous screening like the one introduced by Governor Okowa, where serving public officials are screened from their Primary School Leaving Certificate background, it will introduce sanity into Nigeria’s public space by ensuring that those who falsify their age, or have dual jobs or were employed through the back door amongst other things, are shown the way out of the system. Thereby creating room for the younger generation to be engaged more.
As we have reiterated severally in time past, we believe it is about time to allow the enlightened youths of this country with the RIGHT ATTITUDE TO BE ON THE DRIVER’S SEAT AND ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS. While the older generation that have been in government for donkey years, should quietly quit the stage. If civil servants can be made to retire at a certain age or by a certain number of years in service, it will not be out of place for politicians/political leaders to also quit the scene at some point in time to give the younger ones a chance. If we look at it very closely, we will observe that some of those personalities who were at the helm of affairs either at independence in 1960 or after the Nigerian civil war between 1970 and 1985, are still around today calling the shots in various positions of political leadership at all levels of government across the country. This, to us, is an anomaly that does not give room for innovative growth and development, which the nation so dearly needs.
The truth is that the first generation of political leaders of this country were very young and vibrant, and the political space of the country back then gave them the chance and opportunity to serve, in spite of their young age. The Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa, Aminu Kano, Tony Enahoro and others were young, strong and vibrant when they were very active in government. And they had great visions and dreams for this country. Even Agwuyi Ironsi, Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, David Ejoor, Usman Katsina, Joe Garba and their military junta were equally young and well-disciplined men. We can psychoanalyse that era, and indeed the eras after it, to understand how these young political leaders who fought for Nigeria’s independence, were truly remarkable and, if you like, a lucky bunch. They were first among so many of their equals, as they started quite young.
A public affairs analyst, economist and entrepreneur, Mr. Tope Fasua, noted in one of his articles how someone like Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, was known by the whites as the ‘Golden Voice of Africa’. And he did not only have a commanding guttural voice and control of the English language, but outstanding intelligence. “He was on top of global political affairs, and was quite erudite. Videos of his visit to the USA in 1961 still make the rounds, and make us proud. Those who have watched it discovered that Tafawa Balewa may remain, till date, Nigeria’s most eloquent national leader. Nnamdi Azikwe was an orator par excellence, and Obafemi Awolowo was reputed for his intelligence. But after the truncation of that era, what happened really? Nigerians have been complaining about the scrapping of history in our secondary schools. But what do we know as history? Are we talking about rehearsing what the colonialists bequeathed to us (the Mansa Musa stories and Songhai Empire, Mungo Park, Mary Slessor and Landers Brothers), or can we try something else; perhaps examining, debating and documenting the way we ourselves have evolved?
“The next generation of leaders after the nationalists were a mixed bag of military men and politicians. The politicians had a checkered journey as the military constantly heckled them. But overall these were even more privileged leaders. Then we had a civil war. And after the war came the oil boom. At the Nigerian end, it was all good and bright. Not that people did not suffer. But the newly urbanized Nigerians had a great time, while rapidly leaving the rural farmers behind. That era was captured by great writers like Cyprian Ekwensi, in his book Jagua Nana, among other literary works of the time. It was a heady time, full of hope. Nigerians and most Africans thought they had arrived; that independence was all it took. Agriculture collapsed. Crude oil reigned. There was money to be spent. And before we know it, they laid the foundation for unsustainable profligacy. To make matters worse, the military leaders of that era were even luckier; where they were able to escape being shot for planning coups. A few were not very lucky because they lost their lives. This generation has felt quite entitled over time. They awarded themselves rapid promotions into Generalship due to the coups. Many of them were running entire states in their early 30s, and were national figures in their mid-30s or early 40s, by which time there were senior Generals or the equivalents of this rank. Alas, they are still very much on the scene as we type this. Our current President for instance was a State Governor at 32 and that State (North East) is now six states today at least. He became Minister for Petroleum at 33, and Head of State at 39. He has come back at 74, and there is the possibility that he may come back again at 77, and perhaps to quit at 81. Who can convince someone like that to leave political power?
“With ‘lucky’ but now old political leaders who can hardly open their own emails, and simply get tired and bogged down by all these fast-evolving technologies, how does Nigeria find itself in a crazy, globalized world? Can Nigeria get anywhere with political leaders who have to dictate letters to clumsy secretaries who wear coke-bottle ‘recommended’ glasses, or worse still, as is now embarrassingly our case in Africa, rely solely on some archaic speechwriter to plagiarize and put other people’s words in their mouths? It is on that note, that we believe Nigeria needs younger, eloquent leaders who are also futuristic thinkers, not those who are in the typewriter generation mentally, thinking of manufacturing jobs and agricultural exports when the world is in the milieu of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have never heard contemporary intellectual issues being discussed among our current or past political leaders. They just mouth stuff about industry and infrastructure and remain in the past, while Nigeria engages in reverse.
“If in this country one can no longer vouch for any political process, we believe it is because of those ‘old guys’ that have refused to leave the political scene. They abhor transparency. We can imagine this, of all the many registered political parties in Nigeria presently, only about seven or eight have (active) websites, simply because they do not want the public to see or know what they do…These are the ideas of old politicians who lived in a lucky era. They think electronic voting or any such innovation will lead to rigging. We can recall how Prof. Jega spent hours tallying the last Presidential votes in 2015, using calculator, wasting hours on a job that could be done in nanoseconds on Microsoft Excel? Prof. Jega did not finish until 3.30am in the morning. It is not a sin to be old; the problem is the age of their ideas. Prof. Jega even tried his best. Many of Nigeria’s archaic politicians took him to court for introducing biometric card-readers into the political process. Such ‘leaders’/politicians will NEVER agree for votes to be tallied with Microsoft Excel! They are scared of technology and the transparency it brings. Not for the old politician any innovation. They abhor improvements and embrace darkness.”
Well, it is high time in this 21st century for the older generation of this country to give up power to the younger ones. The old brigade of military politicians and civilian politicians have failed the Nigerian masses and it is time to allow the younger people with the charisma, character, vision and integrity to lead our country at the local, State and Federal levels. Let them quit honourably for the younger ones. We don't see any reason why those above 60 years should still be holding executive positions in the Nigerian government at all levels, whether elected or appointed in Nigeria. The retirement age in Nigeria is sixty. The best for the older people to do is to guide and play ‘advisory roles’ and allow the younger Nigerians with the right attitude and 21st-century-innovative-ideas to lead the country forward. Why should a person of above 70 years still be in power in Nigeria? They should quit for the younger generation of Nigerians who have the strength and intellectual capabilities to lead.
Some have even distorted their dates of births to below 60 just to remain in office. What is a man of 70 years and a man of 65 years doing in the public sector, or being in the judiciary, academics or what have you? There is more than enough manpower in Nigeria. Every person above 60 years should quit the public sector of Nigeria and give our vibrant youths the chance to be in the driving seat in all public sectors and the organized corporate private sectors. to this end, we advise that the National Assembly should enact and pass a law that would open the doors of opportunity for our younger generation to be more involved in the political scene. They should also ensure that such passed law is implemented to the latter. There are lot of unemployment gaps across the country which can also be addressed with the older generation quitting the stage to allow the younger Nigerians to take over the affairs of this country fully at all levels, including the organized corporate private sector. Our young vibrant youths with the right potentials and attitude are roaming the streets of the country looking for jobs that are not there. While the old generation are holding on to the good jobs available. This is not right.
Having said that, the younger generation must also be careful and start bracing up to take-up the challenges ahead. They must exhibit the ‘maturity’ and develop the ability to defer gratification and not react to years of deprivation by selling their loftiest dreams for a mess of pottage – a few dollars. They should not be too taken by material things still. It should not be all about Moet, Hennessy, Champagne, fast cars, huge mansions, and faster women. We see these things in the songs they sing and dance to. Immorality is becoming them, and a majority of them just don’t bother to think. Those who do, are concerned with the self. They want to game the system, cheat and take undue advantage of everyone else. But ultimately, they will be shooting themselves in the foot. It is no surprise when a former Nigeria's military head of state describes them as unfit and unprepared for leadership. A senator once said that all an average Nigerian youth cares about is watching foreign league football. So, he simply used part of the huge constituency allowance, given to him for tangible projects that could benefit people, to build a football-viewing centre. The sad part is that the youths praised him for that. It is sad enough that most Nigerian youth are so disconnected from political happenings and government's activities they do not know or care how they are being governed. Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Eskimi, 2go, etc. show obviously that Nigerian youths are "very low in quality". The way youth argue blindly with whatever, insult and attack each other on salient national issues shouldn't be the reason for pride.
The reason this country is moving a step forward then four steps backwards is because we lack vibrant and informed youth. The youth are supposed to be the center of gravity of the society. The youth should be the 'life' of a society. The youth should be the hope for a better and brighter future of any society. And we believe that, despite the above noted prevailing circumstances with our youth, they can create the change we all so desire, if given the opportunity to do so. So, while there is need for the younger generation to inspire the older generation the ample confidence in them to lead this country above the 21st century, there is need for the older generation to honourably quit the stage for these young ones to be given the benefit of doubt. And if they do not quit, the system should screen them out like it is being done in Delta State presently. They should be asked to provide their Primary School Leaving Certificates to ascertain their true age before getting appointments as Ministers, Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers of Corporations, etc. We need to move from “the spanner age to digital age” in this country.
If they refuse to bring their Primary School Leaving Certificates, then the screening committee concerned should go to their Primary Schools to get their true age records. It is sad that Nigerian politicians have turned our vibrant youths to nothing but Personal Assistants (PAs), Senior special Assistants (SSAs) and all sorts of nonsense jobs. Those youths with the right potentials should be given more demanding Executive positions and other rightful positions in Government. That is the way we see it.
Zik Gbemre, JP.