Youths Alone Can’t Save This Country – Tonye Princewill Declares

Ahead of the 2023 general election, a former Rivers State Governorship candidate, Prince Tonye Princewill, has come out to declare that youths alone can not save Nigeria.

According to him, Nigerian youths will be making a great mistake if they try to ignore the older generation who have experience in politics thinking they could just grab power.

He said the weakness of the youth lies in their eagerness to box whoever disagrees with them, noting that they need to understand that politics is about compromise and dialogue even with one’s opponents.

His reaction is against the backdrop that the majority of Nigerian youths are clamouring for a new Nigeria with a move on social media platforms especially to save the country from the older generation who they claim have plunged the nation into chaos.

Naija News reports that Princewill told Daily Post that the best option for youth in the country is to form a coalition of the old and young to help the youths actualize their aspiration to form a better Nigeria.

He furthered that “That’s where Nigerian youths get it wrong. There is a certain naivety I see in our youth that pains me. We the people hold the power, but our weakness is in our eagerness to box whoever disagrees with us. Politics isn’t like that. It’s about compromise. It’s about to give and take. It’s about dialogue. Even with your opponents.

“The youths alone cannot save this country. Many of them have no idea how to tackle youth unemployment, the economy, ethnic mistrust and international foreign policy. But they are the ones most affected by them. The future is theirs and the youths have more to lose.

“That’s why the focus should be on forming and growing a coalition of the old, the new, the young, and whoever they can get to rally around a set of ideals. That’s what is missing.“

Naija News also gathered that the former governorship aspirant submitted that “The Leadership of the youths is saying what they want. What are their ideals? No unimpeachable student Union voices anymore which used to be a moral compass. No presence of youths in governments across the country. So limited to my experience. Our youths have been emasculated. Well, now is the time to fight for that voice. Stop perfecting the art of following and start to master the art of leading.

“If you can’t get all the youths in one basket, get youths that are in the baskets of key political candidates and get them to meet and agree on what you all want for your future. Since it’s not the tail that wags the dog, and youths right now are seen as the tail, get the dog to begin to respect its tail.

“There is strength in numbers and campaigns are the best time to get attention. All you need is candidates to listen to you, not the entire party.”

He observed that most Nigerians agree with the youth that the country is being governed in the wrong direction, but the Nigerians are not on the same page as to how to tackle the issue.

“Most Nigerians agree that we are not going in the right direction, where they disagree is who can take us there. My point is the solution is not in a person, it’s in a process. But I still hear many youths shouting about individuals. Just like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team to raise a country. Our answers lie in who amongst them can build a team,” Princewill remarked.