Cameroon’s 91-year-old President Paul Biya seeks an eighth term in the 2025 presidential election. He is that country’s longest-serving president.
By Ven. Amb. Nelson Fadoju
When bills and laws are not conventionally and properly debated by the National Assembly and Public to look at the pros and cons of these Bills and Laws, they may result in calamity in the end and as it was in the beginning continuing unabated. The future of Nigerians is at stake and endangered. Who bears the brunt if not the Parents and Youths?
“Ti idi ba baje tan, idi a wa da tonidi”.
This is why “Prevention is always better than Cure”. But, most of the time, the government does not look at the future as it is blindfolded by the reality of the day, just for unnecessary political reasons, to secure people’s votes.
The popular saying that “Youths are the future leaders” often may make us ask the questions of how, when, and where.
This is in a situation where highly dedicated Graduates of ten years are roaming the streets while those interested in farming cannot go to farms for fear of herdsmen and Boko-Haram menace.
Many people find it very difficult to take loans to farm and or do business for the lack of regular power supply and security of lives cum high interest rates on loans by Banks.
The worst of it all is the Govt’s extending the retirement age of certain workers. I have been clamoring for the reduction of 60/35 years in service to 55/30 or 55/25 years when I was still in service since 15 years ago when I saw the handwriting on the wall that many Youths were unemployed and the lives of our Children were gradually wasting away.
Despite all these, the Government is unconcerned. They went into a new madness when the Government started changing the retirement age of some Civil Servants/Professions from 60 to 65 and 65 to 70 without thinking of the thousands of unemployed Youths.
This is another preventive measure of disallowing the Younger Generations to acquire enough wealth of experience to effectively take over governance from the old experienced workers who have attained the retirement age of civil servants and political leaders who are already looking towards the East of their lifetimes.
Another dangerous issue the Press should quickly look into and find a positive solution to is Family Planning and the urgent need for the Federal Govt to sponsor a Bill to limit the number of Children a family should have because, If care is not taken on this, over-population will ruin Nigeria as India is presently facing tough times.
The issue of the madness of Boko-Haram is a result of many Street Children mostly from Northern Nigeria who are without Parental care due to the bad economy and lack of education. Their parents and political leaders rely only on the joint national cake and awkward sharing formulas.
It is outright madness for 80-90-year-old people wanting to contest for Presidential or Governorship elections before and after two to four terms in African Countries.
Others with a lesser number of years and tenures should better watch out. Many educated younger people can govern and do it better. People are now wiser and accepting that illegality is gradually becoming a thing of the past with several protests across Africa. Examples are #EndSARS of 2020 and #Endbadgovernance of 2024 as happened all over Northern and Western Africa spontaneously.
Those who want to serve at an old age can go into private practice with public organizations to exhibit their wealth of experiences rather than toying with the lives of over 200 million Nigerians and about 58 African Countries.
Another insult upon injury is that many Civil Servants are “doctoring” their ages like we once read in a newspaper where there were twin brothers of Taiwo and Kehinde. Kehinde was still in service claiming age 57 while his twin brother’s burial service Programme indicated 67 years old.
God Almighty has wonderful ways of revealing ugly secrets with His Eagle’s Eyes and Video Cameras.
It is the right time, the Press should dig into files and research the diehard very Senior Citizens in Politics and Civil Service Positions in Nigeria to put an end to the bad radiance of rubbish that is depriving the majority of our Youths of their rightful place in Polity and Civil Service in Nigeria.
Prevention is better than cure.
Ven.Amb.Nelson Fadoju
***Ayekooto writes from Voice of the Voiceless (VoV) of Jubilee Projects and Justice for Peace,Nigeria (JP-JP, NIGERIA).
