Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has acknowledged the failure of 23 years of democracy to deliver youth of the country.
The Nigerian speaker made this revelation on Monday, during the opening ceremony of the Legislative Mentorship Initiative, a training Programme for the youth.
He mentioned that the people of Nigeria need to cast their votes for someone who can effect changes, stressing that it will not be realistic to expect youthful population to continue to pledge allegiance to democracy.
“It is unrealistic to expect our nation’s youth to commit to sustaining a democracy that hasn’t lived up to their expectations,” he said.
Speaker Gbajabiamila said, “Nigeria desperately needs leaders with the capacity and character to manage change. The consequences of the changes happening in our world today will depend on how we respond, the decisions we make, and the ideas we choose to invest in.”
Gbajabiamila further added that: “we must act quickly and consistently to include young people in the political and governing process. We do this by creating avenues for leadership development.”