- Celebrates Bala Mohammed at 68
The National Chairman of the Interim National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki,SAN has charged the electorate to be intentional in the candidates they vote into office during the next general elections, stressing that the quality of candidates who emerge successful in elections will determine the calibre of leaders that the country will have in the next democratic cycle.
Turaki, SAN, made this statement as a part of his speech at the 2nd Bala Mohammed Colloquium at Bauchi, held to mark the 68th birthday anniversary.
He said “it is often said that a country has the leaders it deserves. That is true because they don’t become leaders except, we choose them or acquiesce to their emergence.
“Some actively vote for bad leaders while others refuse to vote at all, thereby still allowing the emergence of bad leadership.
“We must not vote in exchange for spaghetti, rice, money or any other inducements. We must vote according to the capacity of the candidates to offer quality representation and contribute to national development.
‘In the past, we had leaders, especially legislators who offered effective and responsible representation of their people, which contrasts with the rubber stamp legislature that we now have. “A weak legislature is not good for our country, as there will be no effective checks and balance.
“I commend the organisers of this event for providing an opportunity for the meeting of minds to x-ray the past and plan the future”, he said.
Turaki also reiterated the need for youth participation in politics and governance, saying that “young people must be consciously engaged in the process of politics and governance, as integral parts of the process, and not just as a decoration, or a statistic to look good.
“We must stop to say that youths are the leaders of tomorrow, when will that tomorrow come?
“Young people are the greatest stakeholders of the future, and that future cannot be discussed or planned in their absence.
“I thank Governor Bala Mohammed for making youth inclusion a priority of his administration, which is even obvious in the choice of his preferred successor.
“We cannot keep leaving the owners of the future out of the room, when we are planning the future.
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