When 400 young party candidates converged to end old order

THE dateline was Monday, 10 December-Wednesday, 12 December, 2018. The gathering, tagged: ‘The Convergence,’ was unprecedented in the annals of the country’s political history; a convergence of Nigerian youths whose sole aim is to fundamentally change the course of history. The nation’s capital city, Abuja witnessed a gathering of 400 youthful candidates-the largest gathering in a single event- from across the six geopolitical zones, who seek to contest for various offices in the 2019 elections on the platform of the 91 registered political parties in the land.

The Convergence, organised by the Not Too Young To Run Movement, was put together by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), YIAGA AFRICA and supported by the United Kingdom Agency for International Development (UKAID). It was in response to the clarion call on the Nigerian youths, as encapsulated in the Not Too Young To Run (NTYTR) Law recently assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, to prepare to throw their hats into the ring take a shot at political leadership ahead the 2019 elections.

Speaking on the essence of the gathering, Executive Director, YIAGA AFRICA, Samson Itodo, explained that The Convergence was the largest gathering of youth candidates running for public office in the 2019 elections. According to him, “it was designed to equip youth candidates with necessary tools for running effective political campaigns. The conference is a unique platform for them to build their competence, network, share experiences and advocate for greater representation and credible 2019 elections…

“As a result of the reduction of age limits in the NTYTR Law, Nigeria is witnessing a new wave of competent and credible young women and men aspiring to run for office in 2019 with an agenda to provide innovative, transformative and responsive leadership in the public sphere.”

The import of the message inherent in the conference, held in the expansive Main Auditorium of the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre, was not lost on the Programme Manager, YIAGA AFRICA, Cynthia Mbamalu, who, in her welcome speech said, among others, “As a movement, we have learnt in the past years the power of organising and speaking with a unified voice. We organised, we marched…Nigerian youths marched the streets of Nigeria to demand for age reduction in the constitution. We marched because we believed that it was an injustice for our aspiration to lead as young Nigerians to be limited by the Constitution.

“And together we gave life to the preamble in our Constitution. We, the people, moved in one voice and gave our Constitution a more youth friendly spirit. Today, #NotTooYoungToRun (NTYTR) has become the new revolution; the revolution of young Nigerians to be more than just statistics; the revolution of young Nigerians to make their voices heard and provide their service in building this great country, Nigeria…”

The conference was indeed a three-day event packed with a lot of mentally-stimulating activities, aimed at preparing the aspiring youthful politicians for the daunting task ahead of them. It was a potpourri of keynote speeches, talk sessions and master classes, featuring an array of elegant, intelligent and experienced speakers drawn from parliaments from within and beyond the Nigerian shores and also included development partners, academics and the civil societies.

Speakers at the opening ceremony of the conference included a member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Tony Nwulu, who is also the sponsor of the NTYTR Bill; Ibraheem Sanusi of the African Governance Architecture, African Union; Ms Debbie Palmer, Head, DFID, Nigeria Office; Honourable Nnenna Ukeje, three-term member of the House of Representatives; David Ombugadu, a member of the House of Representatives and a governorship candidate in the 2019 elections from Nasarawa State; Honourable Francesca Oteng Mensah, a young woman who, at age 25, is the youngest member of the Parliament of Ghana; Honourable Abdulsamad Dasuki also of the House of Representatives; and popular musician Olubankole Wellington (aka Banky W), a candidate who seeks to represents Eti-Osa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2019, among others.

Speaking on the topic, “Nigeria’s Youth Demography: Making The Number Count In Elections”, Ms Palmer, the DFID chief, charged the Nigerian youths to take an advantage of their population, put at 50 per cent of the total population and ensure a change in leadership. She said; “We have not had time since the signing of the NTYTR Bill to become complacent- and that, I believe, is a good thing. Immediately, the movement had to pivot to supporting young persons to vie for representational seats. And that definitely fits within the strategy for DFID’s work in Nigeria. Today is about gender and women; it is about inclusion; it is about political participation and it is about young people. Actually, it is really about Nigeria’s future and how young people will need to lead the way.”

Ibraheem Sanusi said the programme was beyond the Nigerian shores, noting that, “It is a convergence that is also needed at the pan-African level. For us, we are very much appreciative and supportive of this initiative because, one, if you look at the challenges we face as young people in the continent, it is not just for us as Nigerians, it is a shared challenge for us across Africa-exclusion, marginalisation, young people at the peripherals of formal processes of engagement. That is why it is important, for us, think we think that it is important that as we strategise within our country and work together to face the challenges across the continent, we must also share, at all times, a thought for our colleagues in the other countries who are also facing similar challenges.”

Honourable Ukeje said the NTYTR Law and The Convergence have opened up a new vista for Nigerians, noting that, all the negativities about the country notwithstanding “it is said 50 per cent of our population is the young people and so 50 per cent of our population of 200 million people means that you, the youths, are 100 million and that were you to move into a country, you would be the 10th most populous country in the world. So, that is the strength of your numbers…

“Everybody sees the glamour, but I hope that is not what you see in being a politician. The task rests on your shoulders to make the change that we desire. Enough of sitting by the sidelines and accusing the politicians of taking over your future: The future is now in your hands and I hope you can make the difference that we hoped to see.”

Honourable Oteng Mensah of the Ghanaian Parliament admonished the gathering “to focus more on self-development, which is branding and your manifesto for the campaign message. You must look at what you will be able to look at what to do on the day of election. When it comes to branding, we all have our unique talents and strength. You ask yourself what is your strength and what is so different about you that the other does not have. Within you, that strength that you probably don’t know you have is your energy. Make use of your energy.”

• My grouse with Ajimobi ― Akintola

Banky W also encouraged his other youthful candidates to brace up for the tasks ahead, noting, “They’ll tell you that you must go door to door, but they won’t volunteer to go with you. They’ll tell you that you aren’t posting enough campaign material all over town, but they won’t contribute to help you print more. They’ll criticize you for the position you are running for and they’ll criticize you for the party you chose… even if most of them won’t bother to join a party themselves, or even get a PVC. But when their voices get loudest, and their comments and tweets cut deepest, remember that you’re not in it for them. Remember why you’re running. You may fall, or you may fly… but at least you had the heart to try.”

During the Master Class sessions, workshops were held in two other venues outside the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre as various other speakers spoke on Campaigns for Legislative Elections; Mobilising Resources for Political Campaigns; Maximising the Power of the Social Media for Election Campaign; The Knots and Bolts of Elections in Nigeria; Elections and the Law: When Ignorance Is Not Bliss; No Democracy Without Women; Getting Out The Votes; The Power of Data in Political Campaigns; Protecting Electoral Mandate: Watching The Vote; and Voter Education: Step Up The Vote.

In his Closing Keynote Speech, Ambassador of the United States of America (USA) to Nigeria, Mr William Stuart Symington admonished Nigerian youth political candidates in the 2019 elections to brace up for the challenges of leadership in the task of positively changing the democratic fortunes of the country. He also said the task of building a virile future lied on these politically-ambitious youths. He therefore admonished them to see their coming together at the conference as a big opportunity for them to take up the responsibility and put on the required leadership character, noting that “the challenge is not about the 2019 elections but about changing Nigeria’s democracy forever.

“I came here today and I saw you. Nigeria needs all of you, the youths, to survive. I am sure that there is no one here among you who are less than 19 years old. Nigeria’s modern democracy is a teenager. It will turn 20-year-old next year. Now is an opportunity for you to make the change…Some of you gathered here will have the opportunity to change the cause of Nigeria’s history by your utterances and actions. Let me tell you this: No one can lift the others out of poverty; nobody will give you power but you have to take it.”

Indeed, if the lessons learnt are well harnessed, The Convergence will ultimately achieve its aim namely, setting the tone to establishing a nationwide community and network of youthful political candidates (men and women) for solidarity and peer learning ahead the 2019 elections and beyond.