”STOP COMPLAINING, RISEUP AND VOTE”–ABDULSALAMI TELLS NIGERIAN YOUTH

Former military head of state, AbdulsalamiAbubakar has urged Nigerian youth to stopcriticizing the failures of government and misrule of bad leaders but “rise up and vote out incompetentgovernments”.

The retired general also urged Nigerian parents todissuade their children and wards from being used for violence in the upcoming general elections in 2019.

Mr Abubakar who stated this yesterday at theNational Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies(NIPSS) in Kuru, where he delivered a speech at an annual lecture on ‘Election and Security in Nigeria:Policy Options and Strategies’ ahead of the Graduation Ceremony of the Senior ExecutiveCourse (SEC)”You should not allow your children to be used forviolence,” Mr Abubakar reportedly said.

“Let me try to conclude by saying that every citizenmust do their duty; you must not sell your vote, youmust register to vote, and stop criticising the failuresof government if you will not go and vote them out if they are not doing their job,” he added.

Mr Abubakar identified some hindrances in thepolitical process as non-credible election umpires,militarisation of elections by security agents,crowded political parties, poor electoral laws, anddelay in the judicial system.

He noted that security agencies should not be seentaking sides during elections and on election day.Mr Abubakar, who handed over to PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo in 1999, also described vote-
buying, as bad, “that must be urgently addressedbefore the 2019 elections”.

He said Boko Haram was certainly a threat to the2019 elections in the North-east, adding that IPOB,the MEND and others were also threats.