As permutations for 2023 elections continue to gather momentum, over 1000 youth leaders from the ruling All Progressive Alliance (APC) and other major political parties has decamped to join the Young Progressives Party (YPP), saying the vision that brought about the Otoge revolution in the state has failed.
The group led by former presidential aide and the former secretary (Youth Mobilization) of the 2019 Presidential Campaign Committee, Kwara state, Mr. Charles Folayan who is now the state chairman of the YPP, in a statement said the level of marginalization of resourceful young people in the current political system in Kwara state and in Nigeria as a whole was the cause of the decampment.
“For some of us, returning to YPP is a homecoming. I am proud to let you know that we started the Young Progressives Party together, and I have served as the pioneer National Publicity Secretary and National Youth Leader of the Party at different times before I was canvassed to join the APC to fight for the political liberation of our state in 2019. We did that successfully, but we have not yet reached the promised land. We have now decided to move forward and to serve our people better in the YPP”.
“Therefore, we can no longer wait endlessly. The time has come for all of us, both the young and the old, men and women of honour to join this party, YPP, to create a better place for all and sundry in order to save the future of our unborn generation.
“We have decided to take our destiny in our own hands. We have decided to redirect our energy to a better cause. We have decided to reinvigorate our struggle for emancipation, awaken the populace and reignite our network to install quality leadership that will ensure a better life for our people. Furthermore, we resolve to allow young people to play key leadership roles in government, to use their knowledge and skills effectively to render service to our people and deliver tangible dividends of democracy to our communities,” he said
He said the youth are worried that the failure of the current political leaders to sincerely involve the right calibre of youth in serious political engagement and decision-making has compounded the country’s problems and triggered a huge set back to finding solutions to the many challenges facing Kwara State and Nigeria at large.
Olufemi further said the youth will not waste energy in fighting the old guard, but rather focus on building young people for the task ahead.
“This is not a struggle for power but an empowerment of the most numerous, and yet the most marginalized demography – the Nigerian Youth”
“Therefore, we are using this opportunity to call on our colleagues out there, in all the different political parties who might still be hanging around waiting for “crumbs”, to rather take the bold step now and join this movement that would give us our rightful place in the leadership and governance structure.”