"Unless you squeeze out those who are in office..." - Obasanjo

Obasanjo charged the youths to actively engage in politics in a bid to take over the polity from old men.

Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has charged Nigerian and African youths to be ready to squeeze out the old generation from power.

The former president, who spoke at an interactive session held virtually to mark this year’s International Youth Day on Wednesday at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, said unless old people were forced out of the political stage, they would continue to occupy the leadership positions to the detriment of the youths.

“Unless you squeeze out those who are in office and those who want to remain in office perpetually, some after the age of 80, unless you squeeze them out, they will not want to be out.

“The type of change I am talking about, that I believe we can all embark upon is to subscribe to the constitution of political parties in favour of youths. Or if you like it you call it affirmative action in favour of youths. For instance, if you say, in the constitution of a political party, not less than 50 per cent of those who hold executive office within the party will be less than 40 years.

“You can even go beyond that and say that people who will be put up for election, not less than 50 per cent of them will be less than 40 years of age. That’s affirmative action. That’s positive discrimination in favour of youths,” he said.

Participants were drawn from Nigeria, Mali, USA, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, The Punch reports.