Youths have been advised to be focused and have clear-cut plans for their lives instead of being instruments in the hands of political office seekers.
The advice was given yesterday by speakers at the second edition of Osun youth conference and award ceremony, held in Osogbo, the State capital.
In his lead presentation, former governorship aspirant in the State, Mr Kunle Rasheed Adegoke called on Osun youths to always participate in politics and governance but ensure they acquire needed skills and knowledge that will make them relevant in the political space.
Adegoke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,
He said, “If you go into politics without having a second address, what’s left for you is to live at the mercy and pleasure of another person. You’ll be expecting that your future, your needs will be met by someone else who is engaging in something else and will never see you as priority.
“I believe that going into politics is fundamental for all of us, for all youths but the way of participating should not be at our own personal expense. Youths today shouldn’t see those who are running our affairs as people who are only entitled.
“The fact that we aren’t challenging the status quo, not asking questions, are the facts that are denying us the opportunity to have good leaders. When you look at the numbers of people that are holding political offices in Nigeria, they are less than one percent of the total numbers of Nigerians .
And they are living at our own expenses, why don’t we ensure that the next election, youths participate in politics by voting good leader and credible leaders.”
The Osogbo-born legal luminary advised participants at the event to look at the antecedents of those seeking to hold political offices. “What have they achieved, what is thier vision because it isn’t even enough for whatever somebody has achieved in the past, you must look at his vision. If his vision is such that will guarantee a better future for us, then let’s vote for such a person. If we see that this one has nothing concrete in his head, then there’s no point wasting our time to say that we are voting for such a person.”
Earlier in his address, the Oragun of Oke-Ila, Oba Dokun Abolarin urged youths to remain steadfast in their bid to achieve success.
The monarch insisted that the greatest resource of any nation is the human resources. He called on stakeholders to continue supporting the young generations.
Speaking on the panel session, a Professor of English, Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli; member representing Obokun State constituency, Adewumi Adeyemi; Right Activist, Ayo Ologun; Development Expert, Bukola Idowu and a lawyer, Faruk Abass hammered on the need for young people to have vision and plan towards actualizing their vision.
The panelists, who used their personal experiences as case studies, emphasized that development is a process and youths must follow it.
No fewer than 200 youths were at the event, while awards of excellence were conferred on deserving Osun youths.
