Former President and the 2023 presidential hopeful has warned Nigerian youth to murder their ambition for the nation’s top job in 2023.
Bukola Saraki has a world of reasons for saying this, and he said he was only being honest.
“It is too late to win election. I will be very honest with you. The System is too rigid against you,” he said during an Independence Lunch with some Nigerian youth in Abuja on the weekend.
“You are a young guy, you don’t have money or network where are you going to start from?”
According to the PDP national leader who became Kwara governor at 41, the youth still have some good values, and he fear for what may happen if they hang in too long in Nigeria’s brand of politics now.
“I don’t even want you to [contest] because you still have some good values. I don’t want you to be corrupted because for you to win you have to give up some good values that you have to be able to be competitive.
“We don’t want that because it means your generation will be as bad as ours. Let’s keep you where you are for now for those who are not yet corrupted.
“Where I believe you can make a difference which no one can stop you is your rights to vote. That’s the only role you can play now in reality.”
He urged them not to allow money to make them sell the rights.
“If we say we won’t come out because nothing will change …if we take that attitude, then they will win. Look at all over the world where there is big change, people that made the change are people like you.
“If you are not registered to vote, nothing will change. It will be who we want to be governor, senator that will be.
He argued that politicians like to talk the young ones for granted, believing the youth cannot vote them out.
“Their own view is nine months to election they will share the money and win election. If they know the vote is not about sharing money they will perform well,” he said.
Saraki further consoled them about ENDSARS protest that tipped Nigeria into violence last October.
He said it didn’t fail, but showed that the youth can participate.
Saraki might be fighting it out with ex-V.P. Atiku Abubakar who contest under the PDP umbrella in 2019.