A group of friends, admirers and political supporters of the governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, on Friday convened a colloquium in Abuja to commemorate his 46th birthday.
The event, which was put together by Isu media, paraded a number of academics and public speakers who took turns to dissect Nigeria’s socio-political and economic situations and how the celebrant’s leadership in Kogi has positively changed the narrative of the state.
In his address, the guest speaker, a leading economist and ex-presidential aspirant, Tope Fasua, called on the youth to emulate the governor by vying for political offices in order to be involved in the country’s decision-making processes.
Fasua further called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to find a way of “totally weeding out money politics so that the youth and others who are not rich can vie for positions.”
“Our youth are always parading their ideas on social media. We all know how powerful they are. Nobody is arguing that. But the youth need to be involved. If you have an idea, try to be part of the decision making process otherwise the type of the people you don’t want to rule you will be the ones ruling you.
“I know Nigeria’s politics has been monetised even though INEC has a law against it. INEC needs to wake up to see that it is working otherwise rogues who are rich would continue to be leading the country, because they have the money to influence the processes. Don’t base your advocacies and activism on the media alone. Go to the grassroots. Yahaya Bello is a cogent example, and for being an example, I commend him. I wish him many happy returns as he celebrates his 46th birthday,” Fasua, who joined the event virtually, said.
The governor, who also joined virtually, thanked the organisers, saying “I will continue to leave no stone unturned to see that Kogi and Nigeria become greater in every facet of human endeavours, considering the confidence reposed on me to serve.”
