Former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has urged Nigerian youths nursing ambition to run in the 2023 presidential election to shelve their plans until further notice.
Saraki said it was already too late for any youth to stand the chance of winning an election in the country, adding that the system is too rigid.
Bukola Saraki said he would not even want any youth with a sound mind to contest for political offices at this point because many of them would succumb to the corruption in the system.
“You have to give up some good values that you have to be able to be competitive,” the former Kwara State Governor said during an Independence lunch with some Nigerian youths in Abuja.
“For youths, it is too late to win election. I will be very honest with you. The system is too rigid against you. You are young guys; you don’t have money or the network. So, where are you going to start from?
“I don’t even want you to contest because you still have some good values. I don’t want you to be corrupted because for you to win election, you have to give up some good values that you have to be competitive.
“Stay where you are for now for those who are not yet corrupt.
“Where I believe you can make a difference and no one can stop you is to vote. That’s the only role you can play now in reality.
“We should be asking if that is guaranteed. That is what we have been advocating for in the electoral bill and it has worked. “I think what needs to be done now is that we must participate. Let me explain further, on the day of election, if you look at the line of people that go out to vote… if the people coming out to vote are people we can give 100 naira, the election will not stand.
“This means we can manipulate. But if the 500 people lining up are people like you election will hold.
“If we say we won’t come out because nothing will change … if we take that attitude, then they will win. Look at all over the world where there is big change, people that made the change are people like you. If you are not registered to vote, nothing will change.
“It will be who we want to be governor or senator that will be. “If you make up majority of the electorate even if they try to change the result, I know you will not agree because you know your right and the world will stand with you.
“I think the target now should be how to mobilize similar minds to hold their voters card and vote. If that is the kind of voters, then the result will hold. I promise, if those are not the kind of voters, then everyone will try to manipulate the result.
“Until those of you that matter take it upon yourself and ask what kind of governor, president, and senator you want, nothing can change. “When you get the right kind of Governor and he knows you have the power to vote him out, you will have the chance to come into government because you would have built a pact.
“The point now is, politician don’t believe you can vote them out. If they believe you can vote them out, they will do the right things.
“Their own view is nine months to election they will share the money and win election. If they know, the vote is not about sharing money, they will perform,” he counselled.