Sunday Okobi and Andrew Itankelea
A renowned entrepreneur and youth development advocate, Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi, yesterday promised to make Nigeria work for its diverse populace if given the platform to do so.
She promised to harness the undoubted power of Nigerian teeming youths to unleash the country’s latent potential, which she described as a force to be reckoned with globally.
Okunnu-Lamidi, who is the daughter of former Federal Commissioner of Works and Housing, Lateef Femi Okunnu (SAN), stated this yesterday in Lagos where she officially declared her intention to run for the Office of the President of Nigeria in 2023.
The founder and chief executive officer of Slice Media Solutions disclosed that she is motivated to vie for the presidency because of her desire to restore hope and make Nigeria work for all Nigerians.
The media expert noted that youths under the age of 30, who represent about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population, have borne the most impact of bad governance, adding that the youths account for 13.9 million of the unemployment figures which stood at 21.7 million in the second quarter of 2020.
In her speech, she said: ‘‘Nigerians of our generation believe in the promise of an equitable and just political union which consolidates the diverse strengths of our people and which harnesses the vast untapped resources of our great nation for the common good. Nigerians of our gender believe that we are heirs to the same promise and that our contribution to the character, stability, peace and progress of Nigeria deserves recognition and reward.
‘‘The challenge of the presidency is to make Nigeria work for all of its diverse peoples. It is the most powerful office in the land, but it is a place of service, responsibility and duty and not a place of arrogance or show. Nigeria is not working for you.”
While pointing out the worrisome unemployment indices in Nigeria at high population growth rate, deficient school curricula and poor teacher orientation, and lack of focus on manufacturing as a result of overdependence on the oil sector, as well as flawed and inconsistent government policies on youth unemployment, the presidential aspirant reiterated that there was hope for the country, especially with the emergence of a competent president in 2023.
Therefore, ‘‘it is not a proud boast to say that a candidate has been steeped in the bloody, incompetent and corrupt experience which has brought our country to where it is today. My generation is part of our country’s history but we are not the ones who wrote it in the blood of our youths and women and children. These are among the real issues of 2023 and it is these issues that will define the fate of Nigeria,’’ she stated.
