Abdullahi Temidayo Israel was elected National Youth Leader of the All Progressive Congress, (APC) at the national convention of the party, he speaks on how unemployment can be tackled in Nigeria.
In an interview with journalists, he gives an insight into the new dawn expected in the party, says Nigerians including the youths will enjoy more dividends of democracy as APC is set to consolidate on its transformation agenda. Politics Editor, Joshua Omoloye, brings excerpts.
What is your vision for the country, considering your new role?
We believe that our party has the vision to transform Nigeria and bring about change that people would be happy about.
We want to contribute our own experience and skills to growth of our country.
The greatness that we want to share and spread across Nigeria is not only going to be done by one man but by collective effort, a four generation; the generation of our fathers, our national chairman, national Secretary and the generation of myself and colleagues, who are here.
We are grateful to our party members for giving us this opportunity to join this train to contribute to the growth and development of Nigeria.
We believe that the APC under President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo would continue the great work they have started and make Nigeria great again.
We will not relent, we will come together, we will mobilize, we will work with stakeholders to ensure that our country can receive benefit of the progressives.
How do you want to handle the issue of unemployed youths in the country among the older folks?
The unemployment that we experience in Nigeria is not peculiar to our nation. America is also going through its own challenges right now due to COVID-19 pandemic and we know that, as Nigerians, we have resources.
We have the manpower, we have the strength and with the tenacity of millions of Nigerians who have become entrepreneurs in the agro industry, in Fintech and other different sectors of the economy, we shall excell, The Trumpet gathered.
What we are going to do is to identify various stakeholders we need to work with. In the private sector, political sector, the civil society sector and we will begin to engage them on how we can find solution to the challenges facing our nation and our young people.
What we also want to do is to work with all publicly elected officials under the APC to ensure that they fulfill their promises.
They will make our job easier if they fulfill their promises within the confines of their capacity. When they do that, it is easier for us to be able to go and say you see what your governor has done, see what your commissioner has done, you see what your councilor has done.
And it is going to be easy for us to mobilize. What is also very important for us is that we want to engage a lot of people in public offices. From commissioners, senor political assistants to councilors in local government.
We want to work with them to be able to ensure that they deliver true value to the young people across the country. You will agree with me that upon our shoulders, we are coming together to ensure that we have one voice.
I represent the face of over 10,000 youth leaders. With that strong force that we have, the collective voice that we have, we will work together and I will go into such rooms like the National Working Committee, (NWC) meeting to make a case on behalf of that strong body of the youths across the nation to ensure that our young people get preference.
How will you prove the case of the youth’s ‘not too young to rule’ since they don’t have the financial strength to purchase the exorbitant party forms?
It is simple, If you are giving women 50%, you should be able to give young people under the age of 35, at least if not 40 percent, there must be consensus to be able to pay a discounted fee. The adults can go ahead and pay N50,000,000 for themselves but not for young people. We would be able to sit down and get a bargain, which the women are already getting in the party.
How will you use your position to stop incessant ASSUU strike in the country?
Education is a leveler. It brings the child of the poor man to the same level with the child of the rich man. So education is vital for us. What we are going to be doing as a council of youth leaders, is to be able to sit down and begin to identify stakeholders.
We are supposed to engage with stakeholders’ to push issues. We are going to make attempt to also, sit down with other stakeholders, especially the Minster of Education to also lend our voice. We are not part of the major stakeholders but we can only go also to intervene, advocate and also lobby in our own way.
We will make sure by the grace of God that together we will do things in our power to serve our generation and to ensure that we speak and remain a voice for young Progressives’, having in mind that if we do that, we can mobilize for our party in the coming elections.
How will you tackle promises made in the past that were not fulfilled?
Yes we have people who have made promises, you must understand that we are a new generation of young people who have integrity like President Muhammadu Buhari, we want to live our lives, our time in office with integrity, probity, diligence and with the fear of God, So that you can hold us to responsibility.
Read Also: NOA organises exhibition to support local products
There are other things we are going to ensure that we do with the help of God, to engage our leaders, sit down with them, open a line of communication because if there’s communication, you can get more, done. This is not unionism, this is not Aluta, the emphasis is about the word ‘progressive’.
They started far back in Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group. The Progressive Ideology is about social welfare system, it’s about service to the people and it’s about leadership of excellence and that’s what we want to restore back into the youth wing of our party.
