A new president will emerge at the end of next year's presidential election, with APC’s Bola Tinubu, PDP's Atiku Abubakar, LP's Peter Obi, and NNPP's Rabiu Kwankwaso, being the top contenders.
But before, then, a former Minister of Agriculture under the president Goodluck Jonathan administration, and president of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has reminded Nigerians of the need to vote for leaders who are there for the people, and not for their own selves.
Adesina who stated this in a post on Twitter, has previously criticized leaders in the country, describing them as Vultures who feed on the misfortunes of their own people. He said leaders in the country only appear to do good if it serves their own interests.
Adesina who made the statement on at the Joshua Generation International Youth Conference (2021) with the theme “Living with a Purpose,” said youths in the country are not given the deserve attention by those in power.
“The youth are not the problem of Nigeria; the youth are the assets of Nigeria. We must not relegate the youth to the background; we must put the youth in the fore.
“As a nation, Nigeria must do all possible to reinvent itself by focusing on the youth. Yet Nigeria’s youth face several challenges, including unemployment, limited technical and vocational skills, limited inclusion in social and political space, and lack of financing for ventures and businesses. Nigeria must embark on bolder measures to grow its youth into a well-trained globally competitive workforce.
“The youth do not need empowerment. Look around, often those who say they are empowering them are actually simply empowering themselves," he said.
With next year's election only months away, candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has been enjoying massive support from youths across the country, as Nigerians seek to retire older folks such as Atiku and Tinubu from the political space.
Adesina's advice came in handy, and only seems to strengthen support for Obi whom the youths see as the right man capable of fixing the damages done to the country by the current APC government.
Leadership: leaders are selfless and sacrifice to improve the welfare of the people they serve. Leeches parasitise on the people they are to serve, for personal self-interests. Be a leader, not a leech.
— Akinwumi A. Adesina (@akin_adesina) July 23, 2022
"Leaders are selfless and sacrifice to improve the welfare of the people they serve. Leeches parasitise on the people they are to serve, for personal self-interests. Be a leader, not a leech," he tweeted.