Zayd Ayuba Alhaji
If our youths don’t start preparing themselves toward aligning to a favorable political ladder; they’ll automatically kill their chances of becoming part of the political realities beyond 2023.
Do the youth even realize that all of the frontier candidates are either Muslims or Christians, Southerners or Northerners? This means that politics of tribe or religion, region or affiliations shouldn’t have space anymore, it should be more about progress driven politics.
In the past, we’ve seen how youth will finish condemning candidates, only to end up electing them, so while others are busy criticizing those they will end up electing, be preparing yourself to pick your candidate in order to avoid being part of the time wasters for nothing!
Look, if you don’t start your calculations and arrangements based on who you think will favor your lives, then your education and exposure have failed you. Forget about what anybody will say, settle where you feel comfortable!
If you’re still going into 2023 politics with crippled mindset about candidate based on religion, tribe, public opinion, age bracket, section or any baseless parameters; then you’ll suffer beyond 2027. If there’s any political lesson we need is that 2015 & 2019 elections!
The beauty of politics is, people will insult you, accuse or even hate you just because you’re supporting a particular candidate, what matters is just be focused to aligning with where you’ll have relevance for yourself, your people and the society!
If you allow “social media clerics” to shape your thought on where you should belong, then you’ll never progress. We’ve passed that age of “political extremism” moving into the era of “political arithmetics”.
Remind yourself that politics decide everything, you’re either relevant or irrelevant, important or useless and that all depends on who you align with and how they appreciate your role and capacity. If you keep following the decision of the crowd, you’ll never be independent!
You can’t continue wasting your time, energy and resources supporting somebody who don’t even know that you exist; after all politics is all about benefits. Forget about traditional affiliations and get a future for yourself!
Remember, those insulting you cannot give you a future! Lest you want to continue serving as INEC Adhoc staff every election year or you prefer to keep being a ranting bigot who follow the crowd to wail on social media. Have a rethink!
Weather we like it or not, 2023 politics is about the most powerful! Don’t make the mistakes you made in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019, tell yourself that ‘I am now wiser, smarter and more intelligent”.
Choose who you think is fit and don’t give a damn about what others think, no matter how “rusty or dusty” people see them; just remind yourself that you can’t do politics without Mess and you’re either IN or OUT of the circle that matters!
Prepare yourself to be part of the “unavoidable and unchangeable game” because everyone that made it had to take a stand, refuse to compromise and boldly chose where to meet their luck!
To be among the lucky ones, you must penetrate your way up, dominate where you can, be loyal where you should and know that grassroot politics isn’t about supporting what everyone is rallying around, it is purely survival of the fittest and the deadly end of the weakest!
Tell yourself that Atiku or Tinubu, Ndu, Osinbajo or Kwankwaso, Jonathan, Yarima or Tambuwal, Rochas or Sowore, Yahaya Bello or Mughalu, Durotoye or Almustapha, Duke or Saraki.. Just go for where you’ll get relevance and who you’re convinced is better!
A Hausa adage says that “Ladan Siyasa a duniya ake samunta, a qiyama kowa ta kansa yakeyi” which literally means that politics only pays while we’re alive, once you’re dead; everyone is on his own!
Dear fellow youth, Know what you want and go for it, for time wait for nobody and nobody should wait for the approval of anybody!
Zaid Ayuba Alhaji
Write from Kano. A public affairs analyst, commentator and expert in public policies and administration.
comradezaid6@gmail.com
