I have always believed that the panacea to our dwindling fortunes can only be salvaged through the ballot box. Therefore, I have always been aware of the need to get involved in partisan politics.
In 2008, I was opportune to be in the campaign team of a certain PDP Chieftain who was in the race to the chair thePDP. I was supposed to furnish his campaign team with some form of youthful semblance. I was tasked with contributing innovative ideas that will help move the PDP forward (I wasn’t a member of the PDP though). I must say that the project was rich with political adventure. The experience I gained was priceless.
One day, I confronted my boss, and asked him what his plans were for the youth if he became the Chairman of the PDP. Hechuckled and said ‘truly he didn’t see the youth as any formidable force in the PDPs political genre’. He said that in any case if any youth became too vocal and influential, all that was needed to be done was to get his/her group and drop anodd sum of money that can’t be divided easily. He said first,there would be a fight to arrive at a sharing formula, and thenof course the leader of the group will elope with a bigger chunk of the money. In his opinion, a rejection of the cash gift was never an option. He said that he had observed that most youth who were too vocal about change were doing so in other to have a share of the National cake. This notion wasrecently corroborated by Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, the Governor of Rivers State at an event in Lagos recently.
My boss was actually very sad about the situation because inhis view, if our youth could be less swayed by greed and be focused on the big picture we could move mountains, as its isonly natural for any elder to be in awe of youth.
In view of the above, you can now understand why Nigerian youth are never considered in the scheme of things in the PDPand Nigeria as a whole. You can then understand why a 60 year old is the Youth Leader of the PDP. The PDP view the youth as mere electioneering tools or a means to their objective of holding unto power by all means.
There are four types of genuine youth (age wise) you can find in the PDP.
The Notorious Tout
These are usually men and women who have made a name for themselves in the under world. They are used to mobilize youth who will aid them in snatching ballot boxes and to create chaos. This group usually have an outstanding working experience with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). These youth are also pulled out of notorious cult groups in students campuses all over the country.
Student Union Comrades
These are young men and women who understand the political lingo in Nigeria. They usually have some experience in Student Unionism. They are very experienced at compromising themselves and those they represent. They have been given tasks to perform in the past by some elders in the party and have succeeded in gaining their trust.
PDP Offspring’s
These are political stooges who are put forward to protect the political and business interests of their Fathersof Mothers who are very influential in the PDP. These youth are usually educated abroad and are good at justifying any action they take. You will always find them consulting with someone above before taking any critic decision. They are original O’Yes men and women.
Hand Bag Carriers.
This group undergoes an apprentice programme were you will need to serve a master (PDP Chieftain) for a period of time, they usually wait patiently for a certain time when this master will pass down his/her slot forsome political position he/she is too big to occupy . They usually go with the title of Personal Assistant (PA), Special Assistant (SA). They are also experienced PIMPS. Their political career is usually determined by their Master.
These are the only entry points into the PDP and they are all paths fraught with corruption. This goes to show that no ordinary youth can find his/her way into the PDPthrough a justified means. The PDP is an elitist institution. You must be very good at perpetrating fraudor be protected by a Godfather before you can find your way in. No youth can exist unaided in the PDP.
Therefore its pure ignorance to say that there is a chance of moving this Nation forward by joining their ‘Great’ Party.
The PDP is a democratic party of godfathers and retirees, a generation that can’t grapple with the simple SMS technology not to talk of the internet. It is like a typical community elder’s council where their word is law and kids are nuisances who know nothing about life. Have you tried talking to your father about how obsolete their generation is in our global society today? They usually brush you off by saying ‘you are too young to understand’, and that ends the conversation. How do you propose to push them aside when by African standards old age means wisdom?
We must see partisan politics in Nigeria for all its worth. Our youth can not make the change we seek from within any of the existing political parties. The political parties in Nigeria are all pet projects of career politicians and retirees. These men and women have no plans to leave the stage; it’s a terminal career for most of them. They will keep milking the system till they kick the bucket.
If the cap for being a youth is 35 years old, then by PDP standards today, 70 percent of the electorate who are less than 35 years old are still sperm in their father’s testicle and ova in their mother’s womb. The PDP is structured in such a way that it does not take cognisance of any of its members who fall bellow the cadre of party chieftains who also double as godfathers.
We must study our political space carefully before plunging into it; else you will be a typical example of one who could not beat them, so he joined them. In my own opinion, the only hope we have is to have a youth inspired Democratic Party that will be republican in nature.
Any other solution is dead on arrival.
I encourage any Nigerian Youth who can’t stand being on the unpopular side to come out of their closet and join any of the existing political party of their choice. That way, we can be able to identify those who are weak willed and in all their wisdom, see taking sides with those who are destroying us as a necessity.
The PDP has made the best part of my youth very staleand bitter. I will be betraying all those friends and family I have lost to the cold hands of death due to what PDP did and what they have failed to do.
I urge all youth to stay and not falter. I urge everyone to start talking in high tempo about change in their communities. A solution is coming. An ark is currently being constructed to sail all of us to the Promise Land, A Nigeria of our dreams.
God bless the every persevering Nigerian Youth.
God Bless The Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Obi Henry
@iamhenryobi
