High-spirited young professionals who are determined to chart a new course for Nigeria’s polity, stormed Kano State, North-western Nigeria on Thursday, March 10 to launch the Green Nigeria Movement (GNM) 2023.
The event which held at the Polo Ground in the state, was shut down by vibrant northern youths who came out in their thousands, desperate to get direction for a new political phase, especially as 2023 is fast approaching.
Speaking at the event, Convener of the GNM and Chairman of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), Moses Siasia, said the movement is geared towards mobilizing young people across the country in preparation for the 2023 election to raise over 10million votes for their chosen presidential candidate.
While noting that the choice of Kano State was strategic given its political relevance, Siasia worried that the younger generation have been the worst hit by socio-economic problems fuelled by bad leadership.
“If you go to our prisons today, you will see a large number of young people. Over 90 percent of them are young people.
“As young people, we need to form a common front to pursue a collective goal for this country. We must bring people together to ensure that we install a true leader as President in 2023,” he said.
On whether the Movement has pencilled down any of the known presidential aspirants to throw its weight behind, the Convener posited that the GNM will support a technocrat and a season professional. “The time for traditional political professionals are over, now it is time for professionals to take over the political scene and give hope and motivation to the Nigerian masses,” he added.
He however affirmed that soon, the Movement will unveil it’s chosen candidate for the 2023 elections “in no distant time”, adding that the GNM will deploy a robust strategy and SWOT analysis to choose its preferred candidate.
Similarly, Anti-corruption Activist and Founder of Follow The Money, Hamzat Lawal who is also the Co-Convener of GNM, said the Movement will mobilize women and youths across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country to gather 10million votes to determine who becomes President, Governor and other elective positions.
“We shall make Nigeria great again. We will not support analogue people again, but digital leaders who have achieved success and have identified with the aspirations of the common masses. We need a new set of true leaders, we need technocrats. We want to see a new President that will bring the needed growth and sustainable development. Nigeria needs help,” he said.
Also lending his voice to the course, Temitope Runsewe, Managing Director of Dutum Company, one of the leading construction and engineering firm in Nigeria, urged the youths to get their PVCs in anticipation for the elections.
Other young professionals at the formal launch of the GNM included Abdulmalik Lamido, leaders of Civil Society Group around the country and other high ranking members of the social enterprise space.
Meanwhile, as momentum gathers towards the 2023 polls, a number of political players who have been in the system for decades, have indicated interest to run for Office of the President. Borne out of this concern, the GNM says they will not look at the direction of these traditional political actors.
The GNM is an initiative of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) which aims to among many other goals, identify a credible presidential candidate and throw its weight behind the candidate by mobilizing massive votes across the country. The platform also seeks to enlighten voters.
Following the recent assent to the Electoral Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, Presidential and National Assembly elections have been slated for February 25, 2023 while Governorship and State Assembly elections will now be held on March 11, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced.
