Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has advised Nigerian youths to join politics to make a lasting difference in the country.
He said it was not enough for the youths to engage in social media activism or join pressure groups.
Osinbajo stated this during the maiden Progressive Youth Conference organised by APC Youth wing at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Monday.
The Vice President, who was the guest speaker at the Conference themed, “the Future is a Decision, ” said more political participation by majority of the country’s youths would, more importantly, help them to contribute to making meaningful changes which only those in government can bring about.
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“it is evident just from voter-turnout alone that the vast majority of young people either do not register to vote or do not vote.
“Those who even participate at all would rather engage within the very constrained space of social media platforms or join pressure groups.
“Neither of these is necessarily bad, but while media engagements and pressure groups may draw attention to the issues, they do not transform the lives of millions for good or ill. So, if you are keen on how the future will turn out, you must be involved in politics.
“Growing up, I was also in a number of pressure groups, concerned with corruption, human rights and democracy. I wrote papers and argued at conferences but it was only in 1999 when the AD won elections in Lagos that I was able to serve as Attorney General, and working with several colleagues, we carried out a major reform of the justice sector in Lagos State. We had to participate politically, otherwise all our great ideas may never be tried.”