2023 Presidential Election: A Candid Advice On International Youth Day 2022 -By Funmilayo Adesanya–Davies

Today Friday, 12 August, as the world celebrates
International Youth Day, 2022
with the theme “Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a world for all ages”, Bishop Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, the International Director/ Country President of the United Nations Positive Livelihood Award Center (UN-POLAC), Nigeria, gives some advice at Lagos stating that, “To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, the world needs to leverage on the full potentials of all generations especially the YOUTHS.”

She explains, “Cooperation and tolerance across generations is a major key for sustainable development and this is where the Youths in Nigeria and all over the world come in today, needing the the full support of the older generations, as they mark today’s International Youth Day.” To achieve the SDGs, we must collaborate to foster successful and equitable intergenerational relations and partnerships to ensure “no one is left behind,” she added.

Ageism should be our major concern. The World Health Organization defines ageism as “the stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) directed towards others or oneself, based on age”. Thus, Ageism continues to present a significant – yet, not sufficiently discussed – challenge to fostering collaboration and solidarity across age groups in the world.

Again, she noted that, “Ageism is an insidious and often an unaddressed issue in health, human rights and development, and impacts people in ways that prevent them to reach their full potentials and comprehensively contribute to their community as it would need to be squarely faced, thus there is the need to support the youths.”

A case in hand, she cited as Nigerians continue to discuss the 2023 election, stakeholders have been raising concerns on the possibility of the general election not to hold as been scheduled due to the raging insecurity and poverty in the country.

Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, 2019 former female presidential candidate’s speech takes another dimension today as the world celebrates
International Youth Day, 2022 while she summarizes what people have been saying concerning 2023 Nigerian Presidential elections:

THE 3 MAJOR REASONS WHY TINUBU MAY LOSE 2023 ELECTION
1. Nigerians have been disappointed by the Buhari-led promises-failed administration.
2. Asiwaju Tinubu’s real age is 79 years. He was born in 1943 and he is too old, sick and weak to serve.
3. The Tinubu/Shettima Muslim/Muslim Ticket is dead on arrival, plus the disunity now in APC camp.

THE 3 MAJOR REASONS WHY ATIKU MAY LOSE 2023 ELECTION
1. Nigerians have been disappointed by the PDP corrupt administration over the years.
2. Atiku Abubakar’s real age is 69 years. He was born in 1953 and he is too old and too desperate haven contested for Presidency 4 times.
3. Atiku’s Northern Fulani Ticket after Buhari’s Northern Fulani 8 years Ticket is unrealistic and dead on arrival and Atiku/Okowa’s choice has divided the party as the party do not want Okowa.

THE 3 MAJOR REASONS WHY PETER OBI MAY WIN 2023 ELECTION
1. Nigerians are tired, bewildered and wearied of old failed administrations with promises-failed administrations and now crave for the new.
2. Peter Obi’s real age is 61 years. He was born in 1961 and he is very youthful, energetic and intelligent to serve.
3. The Obi/Datti Ticket of the Labour party is a welcome development in the face of insurgency, separatist agitations for self determination, economic, religious, tribal, educational plagues now starring Nigeria in the face. Nigerians now believe they need the Youths to be in power.

Adesanya-Davies sums up, “To be frank, if I were Tinubu and Atiku and their V.Ps, we will hold a closed door SPECIAL NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS MEETING with PETER OBI and DATTI AHMED, graciously elect them to serve this generation as Youths since such provision is already available in the constitution; so as to save Nigerians the stress and expenditure of conducting 2023 presidential election in this austere times of insecurity in the country. Nigeria is in serious external debt, which has risen from $3 billion in the time of Obasanjo to $40 billion in this time of Buhari already!

In a similar development, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has advised Peter Obi to persuade Alhaji Bola Tinubu and Alhaji Abubakar Atiku to step down for him in a news report of Vanguard, on July 21st., 2022. Ortom said Nigerians are in dire need of people with “commitment and competence”.

He has advised Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, to meet with his opponents, Bola Tinubu (All Progressives Congress, APC); Atiku Abubakar (Peoples Democratic Party, PDP); Rabiu Kwankwaso (New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP); and others, and persuade them to step down for him.

Ortom said this on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, after he received 2023 presidential hopeful, Obi, in Benue state. The duo held a closed-door meeting. “If God decides that it is him (Obi), nobody can stop him. If God decides that it is somebody else, nobody can also stop him. So, this is a very welcome development,” Ortom, a member of the PDP, said in a video reviewed by news men.

“And I believe even other presidential candidates, of the various political parties, in the PDP, in the APC and NNPP, I believe he should be able to reach out to them to sit down with them, analyse the Nigerian situation, and see if he can convince them to even step down for him, because there is provision if they do that. That can work.

“Let us be seen as putting Nigeria first. So far, I commend his efforts.” Governor Ortom challenged presidential candidates of the various political parties in the coming general elections to put Nigeria above personal interests. Adding that, “Nigerians are in dire need of people with “commitment and competence” that would fix the leadership crisis that had plunged the country into outright chaos.”

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi had explained that the visit was to show respect to his former political ally in the PDP, pointing out that though they were now in different political parties, their friendship as citizens of the country was most important.

In an earlier News report by Nwafor Sunday on July 12, 2022, Professor Pat Utomi has said that the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, would win the forthcoming 2023 presidential election. Pat Utomi who is a former presidential candidate and founder of Centre for Value in Leadership (CVL) disclosed this on Politics Today, on ChannelsTv.

He said that Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state, would defeat the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, respectively.

Prof. Utomi further giving reasons Atiku and Tinubu would lose the election, opined that Nigerians are tired of the two political parties for their non-performance, noting that time has come to save the country.

His closing words: “Nigeria is at dead end. Nigeria is bankrupt technically. Nigeria cannot pay its debt. Nigerians need a change and that change is Peter Obi”.

We would recall that according to a breakdown of INEC’s current report, indices shows that, “About 71 per cent of the newly registered voters are youths. Of the 12.2 million newly registered voters, about 8.7 million are between the ages of 18 and 34 while about 2.4 million are between ages 35 and 49. Those between ages 50 and 69 are about 856, 017 while about 127, 541 are over 70. The statistics also showed that more women registered during the latest CVR than men. While 6,224,866 are women, 6,074,078 are men.”

As we speak, Adesanya-Davies says she has learnt that, “the Nigerian Youths from the Six geopolitical zones are now willing to jointly and cooperatively without any political affiliation and geographical consideration cast a single vote for the same party all over the country, saying, “IT IS THE TURN OF THE YOUTHS!!!” “O bu oge nke ndi ntoroobia na agboghobia.” “Awa odo lo kan ” and “Wanan shine lokuchin matasa, Allah ya taimake mu”. Ameen.

Further Indices: The Past 7 (seven) days Google Trends traction from 30th July 2022 to 6th August 2022, at 9:25 AM reveals the OVERALL AVERAGE PERFORMANCE OF THE 3 CANDIDATES:
– Bola Ahmed Tinubu (48%)
– Peter Obi (51%)
– Atiku Abubakar (28%)
– Rabiu Kwankwaso (4%).