Negotiate Your Way to Power, Imoke, Saraki, Others Charge Nigerian Youths…

• As Wike blasts Secondus, says he lacks character and quality of a leader • Rivers gov, Oshiomhole engage in verbal brickbats

Ahead of 2023, a former Governor Cross River State, Liyel Imoke, has charged Nigeria youths to leverage their influence and negotiate their way into power.

This is as River State Governor, Nyesom Wike went hard on the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, describing him as a serial liar and one that could not be taken for his words.

Imoke made the call yesterday in his opening remarks at his 60th birthday and 10th anniversary of his foundation, Bridge Leadership Foundation (TBLF) as well as 11th Career Day Conference of the foundation.

He said despite the influence the Nigeria youths commanded both in and outside of the social media, they have not been able to annex such influence to break into what he described as the 'boardroom' so as to provide a fertile ground for them to influence policies in the polity.

He identified the failure of the youths to set out their objectives before going into politics as one of the reasons they have been constantly sidelined by the current generation of leaders in the country.

He noted that social media seemed to be the place, where the young people thought they had influence but added it was not enough, given the fact that government across Africa always had certain influence over the operation of social media.

He advised that the current crop of leaders in the country would not be ready to shift except and unless the youths broke their ways in and be actively involved in politics.

He, however, reminded them that just as 2023 was around the corner, it provided them another ample opportunity to get into the business of political leadership. He said they must be audacious to make the change they yearned for.

He noted that it was not enough to be "a member of an organisation but to also be a member of the board, because that is where things happen, unless you are in the board, you will remain where you are.

"Whenever you think you have such a power of influence for any activity, it must be for a purpose. It must be towards an objective. And until you become part of that decision-making process, your effort will remain just an effort.

"Next time, before you finish your influences, make sure you negotiate your way into the boardroom. When you get to the boardroom, there you can influence policy. Until you get into the boardroom, you can never influence change! You can make all the noise, you can have all the activity, you can have all the followers, but, you will not change the policy.

"This is the time for a new generation to get into the boardroom, it is time for a new generation to appreciate the importance of being audacious. No one, not anyone of us in front, or anyone there is going to shift! No one is going to shift by you saying, please make space for me, I am young, it is my time.

“Nobody gave me space. At 30, nobody gave me space. It was hard work. But, the good fortune was that I wanted to be in the boardroom. The generation that we are talking to, 2023 provides you with an opportunity to be in the boardroom, provides you with an opportunity to take control and to take charge. But, it's a lot of work. Are you ready to deliver? Are you ready to do what it takes?

"The time has come for you to make those decisions”, he said recounting how one of the keynote speakers, Nelson Chamisa, an opposition leader in Zimbabwe challenged the government in Zimbabwe, and to the surprise of everyone else, he got 45% of the popular vote in the election. It was unprecedented and the most recent is Bobi Wine, a Ugandan politician, who challenged the status quo.

Other dignitaries at the event also took their turns to extol the virtues of the former Cross River State governor, saying he laid the foundation, where the next generation of leaders would emerge from.

Saraki, while speaking, described Imoke as a man of character and commended him for the feat the foundation had attained in the last decade.

The former senate president said character was what makes a good leader not age even as he charged the youth to be actively involved in politics and to also leverage their population advantage to change the leadership narrative in the country.

He said: "One of the important things is to build people with character. Character to be able to know what you stand for. Having an ambition is not a bad thing, because it is the ambition that will drive you to become a leader.

"The youths must be ready to use their voting strength to make the change. They must not only engage in complaining but be fully involved. Please, be bold, be focused and be audacious”, he added.

The PDP national chairman, Secondus, in his tribute, thanked the organisers of the event for using the occasion of Imoke’s 60th birthday to organise a platform for national leadership dialogue aimed at transforming the country.