Donald Duke, former governor of Cross River State, (second left) speaking during his panel session titled office of the citizen

A former governor of Cross River, Donald Duke has called on Nigerians, especially young people, to play a pivotal role in leadership and governance.

Mr. Duke made this call at the Nigeria Symposium for Young and Emerging Leaders which held on May 30, 2017 at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to him, Nigerian youths are behaving like tenants in their country, thereby leaving older politicians and godfathers to take decisions on their behalf.

Themed ‘Open Governance: Improving Transparency and Accountability in Government’, the Symposium brings together leaders in politics, business, media, and more to discuss issues and challenges of open government and active citizenship.

Speaking during the panel session titled ‘Office of the Citizen’, Mr. Duke stated that Nigerian youth need to get involved in making a difference while in the prime of their lives, or suffer the consequences of not making the right demands from their government.

“Godfatherism grows out of mentorship… They are there to set you on a path, but do not let them enslave you. Right now, Nigerian youths have the numbers to make positive changes in this country, and they should use it,” he said.

“There is a lot of contempt in government now because there are no consequences to wrong actions by the government. The failure in the country is the youths’ inability to aspire for better lives and situations for themselves. They behave like tenants in their own country.”

Speaking at the event, Rinsola Abiola, a youth advocate and media aide to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, urged Nigerian youth to make use of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill in requesting for information in order to make decisions.

Other speakers at the event include Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra; Deji Adeyanju, former PDP social media director; Demola Olarewaju, political strategist/analyst; Japheth Omojuwa, founder and chief strategist, Alpha Reach; Dayo Isreal, youth advocate; Arit Okpo, award-winning TV/Radio presenter; and Seun Okinbaloye, political correspondent, Channels TV.