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March 25, 2022
Joseph Yobo, former captain and current assistant coach of Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles – and former defender for the UK’s Everton FC – has announced that he is joining with youth leaders to spur civic engagement ahead of the 2023 elections in Nigeria. The country’s population is set to double over the next 30 years to 400 million, which will make it the world’s third most populous country. However, only 35% of Nigerians voted in 2019.
With a little under a year to go until Nigeria’s presidential and legislative elections, the Grassroots Mobilisation Initiative will encourage young people to register to vote, obtain their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and “be prepared to defend their votes,” as it looks to to advocate for trustworthy, reliable and dependable candidates.
Nigeria’s current administration under President Muhammad Buhari is unfavoured by many. At the GMI unveiling in Abuja on Monday, disappointment over the ongoing inability of leaders to tackle the insecurity, poor economy, corruption and poverty within the country despite enormous resources and potential was a key point of discussion. Yobo, who is the Chairman of the GMI Board of Trustees, therefore wants to “mobilise Nigerians of all spheres of lfe to vote for credible leaders to birth a nation that works for us all.”
Accordng to the World Bank, around 90 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty. Samaila Musa, GMI national coordinator, said that the organisation is apolitical but represents a movement by younger Nigerians committed to the task of rescuing the country “from the margins of in-consequence and collapse.”
Yobo is calling for the population to ignore social and religious bias that tends to divide the nation, explaining that it is essential for Nigerians to come together to vote and especially to rally and support youth to vote.
“The 2023 elections are very crucial for the future of our country. From the North to the south, from East to the West, all Nigerians must be involved. It is with this at the back of our mind that we have delved into the current situation to speak to all Nigerians and say that it is time we learned to do things a new way.”
Source: Daily Trust
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