61.3 million Nigerians Aged Between 19-35 are Under-Represented in Government

Leke Alder, Frank Newt Jnr, Remi Sonaiya, Others Canvass for More Inclusivity

Founder and Principal of Alder Consulting, Mr Leke Alder, has said that there are 61.3 million Nigerians aged between 19-35 who are under-represented in Government.

Querying this development, he said, “how is it possible that such a percentage is not represented in Government, when in 1966, all the leaders who ruled in the country were below age 30? Now in the year 2021, we have people in their 70s and 80s. How will they come up with fresh ideas? We need to address these germane issues”, he said.

According to him the Nigeria we want is what we don’t currently have, and we must begin to deal with the root causes rather than the symptoms.
“There are more natural resources in Nigeria than most countries in the world, yet we are poor; this shows there is a problem.”

He further disclosed that Nigeria is a plaque with three forms of illogicality, namely; conceptual illogicality, demographic and religious illogicality.
“On religious illogicality, Nigerians pray to God on something that common sense can solve; if you look at all these illogicalities, you will find out the reason why we are where we are”, he said.
In her remarks, former Presidential candidate, Prof Remi Sonaiya, stated that having a modern society with political restructuring and more inclusiveness of people in governance, will take Nigeria to the level where every citizen desires it to be.

“While noting that Nigeria has the capacity to solve all her problems instead of running to foreigners for help, leaders must be held responsible in order to achieve this”, she said.

Sonaiya who was one of the Panelists with two other persons, Mr Frank Nweke Jr and Mr Leke Alder, in the lecture anchored by Ms Ibironke Faborode, Co-founder and Executive Director of ElectHER, made these submissions at the 15th AELEX Annual Lecture, a Commercial and Dispute Resolution law firm with the theme: “The Nigeria We Want; Economic, Political and Social Justice”.

At the lecture, the former University Lecturer, Sonaiya, further stated that a political restructured nation should be the type, whereby vibrant young women will take positions of leadership and responsibilities in Nigeria.
Speaking on how women matter in achieving a Nigeria that we want, she noted that Nigerians must think about why there are women sitting on Boards of companies, and why we have women Professors and Judges, but they are not fit for political leadership.

“We must engage male advocates who will speak for women, so that we can begin to have people who have the mind to serve and lead. To bring this about, we must continue to advocate for a fundamental change of our Constitution, so that we will have a bigger say in the way our affairs is being run.

Also speaking at the lecture, Mr Frank Nweke Jr, a former Minister of Information, in his submission said no nation develops by accident, except they have leaders who are serious about the welfare of their people.
Nweke said: “I want a Nigeria that is secure and the Government is development driven; but regrettably, today, we are still talking about basic needs like security for citizens. I also want a Nigeria where everybody is included and treated equally regardless of their tribe.

“It will be good if we create opportunities for women to emerge as leaders of key posts in our country, as we had during the era of former President Obasanjo, where we had a list of women who were empowered to participate in active governance.”
Earlier, Mr Tunde Adedapo-Olowu, SAN, Managing Partner at AELEX, in his welcome address said the annual lecture which is the 15th edition, was founded in commemoration of the founding of the law firm