Falz, Sowore, Moghalu: Who Could Be The Youth’s Presidential Candidate in 2023?

TRACKING_______In the midst of the END SARS protest and its fallout, it is necessary to start making projections to what the protests will achieve going forward. The protest seems to have an undertone of calling for better leadership, particularly one that connects to the growing young population. The realities of leading a country like Nigeria seems to have changed. When democracy returned in 1999, many of today’s youths were still young then. Also, the emergence of social media have made the youths more politically aware. These generation yearns for a young president. Who are the likely candidates?

Nigerians yearn for a new breed.

A person should be under 40 years of age to be considered a youth, and by Nigeria’s constitution, the age limit for the president is 35. The issue is, has anyone within that age bracket built a structure strong enough to contest for President? It is difficult to find one.

This generation of youths hardly have any political leader or leaders. The ‘soro soke’ generation as they have been christened, identify more with musicians and social media influencers. When the government tried to identity their leaders during the protest for dialogue, the likes of Davido, Naira Marley, Korede Bello, Wizkid, Falz etc, were the ones they could identify with.

With all due respect to the aforementioned entertainers, they have not equipped themselves for leadership, they are only filling a gap due to their popularity. Even Davido denied leading the protest when he was invited to a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, a more political person would have taken responsibility.

Folarin Falana aka Falz has seen his popularity soar due to his part in the END SARS protest. He was one of those that started leading the protest. Being a trained lawyer and the son of a popular lawyer/activist – Femi Falana, he could make more grounds in the political space. However, his age is be a barrier. He is 30 and will be 33 in 2023, short of the age limit of 35. He is also not experienced in leadership and has no known managerial experience.

Falz is becoming the face of the movement

In the last Presidential Election, the youngest contestant made little or no impression among the youths and he is rarely known. The name Chika Ukaegbu does not ring a bell amongst the youths. As at 2019 when he contested the election, he was 36 years old. If he comes out for a popularity contest with Naira Marley today, he will be floored.

Ukaegbu ran in 2019 but remains unpopular.

The other outsiders who are still at least younger than the older generation are not youths either. The likes of the new breeds like Kingsley Moghalu, Fela Durotoye, Omoyele Sowore and Oby Ezekwesili are either above 50 or will be above 50 by 2023. The facts that some youths chased Sowore away from their protest ground during the END SARS protest shows he may not be well accepted and is seen as part of the old order.

As it stands, it is very unlikely the youths will be able to present a united front towards 2023. They will still have to likely identify with the two major parties – the APC and PDP. In these parties, there are lots involved in the struggle for power and it is unlikely any of them will be giving their ticket to a young person, at least not below 50.

Another option for young people is to flood the National and State Assemblies. It may be more easier to win elections at that level. They could also make more impact by being the lawmakers. Bankole Wellington aka Banky W made some progress on a relatively unknown platform in the last election, in his quest to represent Eti Osa at the House of Representative. If we have a large group of young people in the legislative arm, they will influence governance more.

The divide and rule tactics of the ruling class will also prevent the youths from having a strong say. Their resolves will be tested with money and appointments, many of them may bulk.

It is yet to be seen, maybe something will change between now and 2023 but it is highly unlikely.