Retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, former Chief Security Officer to the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha, has called on Nigerian youths to use their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) as their most potent tool to unseat bad leaders.
He made this statement on Monday during the International Youth Day Celebration 2024, organized by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Abuja.
Addressing the gathering, Al-Mustapha criticized the current political leadership, accusing them of being disconnected from the grassroots and failing to understand the critical role of local governments.
He emphasized that the breakdown of the local government system has contributed to the nation’s current challenges, including food supply disruptions and widespread insecurity.
Al-Mustapha pointed out that the wave of insecurity, kidnapping, and what he termed “barbarism,” along with leadership failures, has left communities vulnerable and unable to engage in farming.
He stated, “They’re not connected to the villages and do not know how the councils and local governments functioned before and that is why the LG system was crippled.
“This is part of the crisis the federal government is trying to handle today. If the LGs were functioning, we would not have the food supply chain cut off because the foods are being produced at the community and LG levels.
“Today, insecurity, kidnapping, barbarism and the failure of leadership have crippled our communities. They cannot even farm. The crop of leaders from 1999 who are not career politicians queued in and hijacked the system and this is the only reason a governor will tell you that the state resources belong to him and say, ‘It’s my money’.
“This situation, we have the capacity to change it and we can change it through only one way. In a democracy, the day of the election is the day of coup and the weapon for coup is your fingers. You change bad leaders by voting them out, not with guns.
“And then, all of you here, you have your weapons, you have your guns – your fingers. Now, if you don’t use it, who would you blame? People rig elections where they’re not popular. Nobody will rig if you cast your votes and work together to protect them. I’m happy that the era of rigging is gone.
“If you see millions of youths on the streets, you will assume that the world is coming to an end. You can’t afford the injustices in Nigeria that have kept us where we are today.
“I read the recent report released by the MBS; our judges are the most corrupt judges in the world. Get your PVC. That is your greatest weapon. Don’t be deterred. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. This is our country,” he added.
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