By SOLA OJO, Kaduna

Efforts have begun towards galvanizing younger elements across the Northern states towards achieving a paradigm shift in politics and development issues, Arewa Paradigm Shift Movement said on Friday’s evening.

According to the Arewa Paradigm Shift Movement, 2023 politics in the North would be different because a paradigm shift in the focus of Arewa politics and development challenges was now underway.

The Group’s Director of Publicity, Nasir Dambatta, in a statement posited that it was high time fresh ideas are injected into governance in Nigeria by young and dynamic new breed politicians, “it is abundantly clear by now, that only the young turks are making waves on the nation’s democratic space today”.

The group declined joining a section of Northern elites, which has been merely lamenting over the prevalence of poverty, insecurity, palpable healthcare, sorry state of education, gross lack of economic empowerment and the poor infrastructure that did not positively attest to years of northern leadership of Nigeria.

“We’re not persuaded by the claim that the young politicians now making waves on the democratic space are unprepared to assume the mantle of leadership, or mentor other younger ones, just because of one or two isolated cases,” the statement indicated.

According to the group’s resolve was informed by the “blatant failure on the part of the older brigade of politicians to considerably move Nigeria and Nigerians forward since they took over the reins of governance in 1999.”

The statement further hinted that with the passage of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill, the group is poised to mobilise and further the interest of young, vibrant and versatile Nigerians to “completely relegate our older politicians to playing advisory roles in the background. And we’re determined to fire the imagination of young politicians, to crush their crisis of confidence in taking over reigns of democratic power in Nigeria by 2023.

“We’re fully prepared to boost the confidence of innovative and hardworking young politicians, especially in the North to step forward and stop being bystanders in power calculations that could determine what our future should look like, as from 2023.

“The passage by the National Assembly of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill into law in 2017, altering Sections 65, 106,131 and 177 of the 1999 Constitution has paved the way in this regard. We would, along other interests, do our utmost best. The future cannot be farther than now,” it concluded.

The bill, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, reduced age qualification to contesting for the presidency from 40 to 35; governorship from 35 to 30; Senate membership from 35 to 30; House of Representatives membership from 30 to 25 and House of Assembly membership from 30 to 25. (Daily Sun)

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