By Emma Amaize
WARRI — NIGERIAN youths have resolved to inaugurate a team to monitor and counter identified electoral malpractices at all the polling units in the country in the 2011 general elections.

The team, according to the youths, from diverse cultural, religious and ideological orientation, who held a two-day Nigeria Youths Integration Summit in Abuja, “is to ensure free, fair and credible elections that will be globally accepted.”

According to a statement by the Convener, a former national president of the Ijaw Youth Congress, INC, Dr. Chris Ekiyor, secretary, Abdulwahab Abdulkadir and representatives from the six geo-political zones, the summit also adopted plans to “conscientiously and massively mobilise Nigerian youths and women to vote and ensure that credible candidates were elected at all levels.”

The youths condemned the on-going gerontocracy and opted for vibrant leadership based on ideological orientation and reasoning.

They demanded the full implementation of the Child Rights Act and the review of Primary and Junior Secondary Curricula to ensure human capital development in Nigerian children and protect them from being hired as agents of electoral malpractices in future.

The summit also resolved to encourage mobilisation of organised groups, organisational leaders, students’ union and religious groups to adopt a code of conduct that forbids them from fraternising with unproductive politicians, and embrace partnership and collaboration with artisan groups and
community-based organisations to evolve a new positive value, having inherited a few from the past failed generations.

They also agreed that action should be taken in developing nationalistic ideals in the Nigerian youths, devoid of ethnic and religious cleavages which were earlier used as divisive tools, while citizens seeking elective positions should be ready to be engaged by the Nigerian youths on questions of integrity, accountability and probity in their respective records of service at all levels via public debate.