By Demola Akinyemi Ilorin

Executive Director of an NGO, Torchbearers Impact Network (TIN) Ibraheem Abdullateef on Saturday said that for young people to realise the agenda for leadership and sociopolitical changes in Nigeria, they must stay united, purposeful, and especially improve on dialogue with the government and other stakeholders.

Weighing on the heated controversy over the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo’s meeting with the skit makers under the aegis of the Nigeria Skits Industry Awards (NSIA), Ibraheem in a press statement made available to Vanguard in Ilorin said the criticisms of the young artists are misdirected.

He particularly noted that no serious impact can be achieved without purposeful and continued engagement with decision-makers.

He said “I am disturbed to see young Nigerians attacking Taaooma and other skit makers who had a meeting with the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo with all the hatred and malice there are in the world. It is misdirected action informed by a pervading faulty sense of activism. Engagement with the people in power on matters of business and social issues does not mean approving of their leadership style. To make headways with many issues as they affect the youths constituency, it is critical for young people to relate with and constantly engage the authority.

“The place of integrity and consistency in social revolution is defined. Opinion leaders have a responsibility to remain true and strong to the founding convictions of a social movement. Otherwise, they betray. But there is nowhere it is said that people will become apathetic and hostile to the authority even in cases where they could make points for their cause. History has taught us enough that is foolhardy. Strategic engagement is a global strategy to make leaders yield to social demands.

“Now, my worry is that many young Nigerians are mixing things up. While it is valid to be angry at the government. It would be our undoing to turn our backs on opportunities to speak up to their face. That would mean you are leaving the reins to them to be dragged where they want. It is sincerely worrisome that some people who have showed the courage to engage the Vice President on #Twitterban and other issues are the one being bullied. Little time they withdraw to their shadow out of fear and you lose more voices. In-fighting is counterproductive. I think that we need to redefine the concept of youths agenda for justice and leadership. It does not and must never include war against one another, and the government.”

The Alumnus of African Liberty who was also a delegate from Kwara at the just-concluded first-ever National Youths Conference in Abuja, admonished young opinion leaders to take lessons from the #EndSARS struggle to mobilise better for future agendas.

“Much important than how it is discussed, one of the reasons the beautiful struggle against police brutality remains unsolved is lack of coordination and leadership. I think we can learn from that in relation to the #NotTooYoungToRun movement. The latter succeeded due to strategic leadership and engagement, the point where the former has failed woefully.

” The good thing is it is not too late if many of these known figures will change. The troubles are still there and we have come far to victory than for us to lose out on sentiments and emotions. Now more than ever, we need to be united, purposeful, and improve in dialoguing with the stakeholders to achieve the agenda for growth and development of young people in Nigeria.”