TheCable

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday challenged youths in the country to brace up for political leadership of the country in the years ahead.

Osinbajo gave the charge when he received a delegation of “Not Too Young To Run” movement which visited him at the presidential villa in Abuja.

He said youth needed to be ready for political offices they intended to occupy, pointing out that leadership positions were not automatic.

“It is true that young people are participating in every sphere of the economy and they are doing well, but they ended up there through one process of training or the other. Just like you have to train before you can become a pilot, so it is for politics,” he said.

“I think that whatever age a person chooses to run should not matter; what should matter is the preparedness of the person because elective positions require some skills. Most times people train to acquire other skills but not politics; that’s the way of democracy.”

Osinbajo said there was the need for youth to move up the ladder of leadership to prepare themselves for politics.

He recalled that he served as a special adviser at the age of 30 and had been involved in pressure group actives before he became an attorney-general and then, vice-president.

Osinbajo said it was important for youth to have that kind of experience, adding that Nigeria did not need people who will just muzzle their way into positions.

The vice-president’s comment is coming at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari is being criticised for saying a lot youth in Nigeria are lazy.