A political economist and chieftain of Labour Party (LP), Prof. Pat Utomi, has said the youths of Africa and Nigeria in particular, are fed up with governments that don’t work.
Utomi stated this when he appeared as a guest on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s programme “Politics Today.”
He stressed that to a considerable extent, the outcome of the 2023 elections may be influenced majorly by the internet, while giving examples of the recent elections in Kenya, Zambia and other African countries.
“Look at what is happening in Africa. Look at all the recent elections in Malawi, go to Kenya, all the people that were ridiculed as internet champions won. Africans are fed up with governments that don’t work.
“The youth of Africa are saying this cannot continue. They proved it in Kenya, they proved it in Malawi and they are going to prove it in Nigeria,” he said.
Reacting to the recent visit of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to the leader of the pan socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State, Utomi said an elder can bless anyone if they visit him.
He maintained that Afenifere’s incumbent leader, Ayo Adebanjo’s position on the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, is based on principle.
“My politics is significantly shaped by the politics of the South West of Nigeria. In my view the part of Nigeria to exhibit most principled-centred politics is the South West. Adebanjo’s position is driven by principles and those principles were taken long before Peter Obi showed up. And the fact that a candidate goes to an elder and blesses him is normal. If I go to Fasoranti he will bless me.
“A group of people takes a very principled-centred position and Adebanjo did not go to anoint blessing, what happened was that the leaders of the South South with Edwin Clark, the leaders of the North Central, the leaders of the South East and Afenefere representing the South West met and I was privileged to be at the meeting and it was hosted by Adebanjo at the request of Edwin Clark.
“At that meeting these ethnic groups said this is the principle that we stand on. But I don’t want to go into that. What is at stake is that our country is dying and the young people of Nigeria want to disrupt this system that leads to only one thing, state capture in which politicians take the common good and make it theirs,” he added.
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