By Sodiq Adelakun
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed deep concern over the growing sense of hopelessness among young Nigerians due to hardship, electoral fraud, and bad governance.
Atiku, in a post on his official Facebook page on Sunday, lamented that many Nigerian youths were losing faith in the political system and the future of the country.
He said he felt particularly saddened whenever he engaged young Nigerians who constantly expressed frustration over poor governance and the failure of leadership at all levels.
“I am extremely concerned at how young Nigerians are losing hope about the future of our country. Every time they come to have a conversation with me about bad governance, fraudulent elections, and resultant hardship being faced by citizens, I deeply feel sad about the situation,” he wrote.
Atiku revealed that he recently received a delegation of youths from across the 19 northern states, led by Alhaji Adamu Bappa Gombe, who complained about how their votes appeared not to count and how poor governance had affected their livelihoods and businesses.
He said he used the opportunity to urge them not to give up but to remain active participants in the democratic process by voting and mobilising others ahead of the 2027 general election.
“I told them the change they desire can only come through the ballot. I reminded them that they have a responsibility to mobilize their fellow young people to keep participating in the process of leadership recruitment through elections,” Atiku said.
The former Vice President decried the persistent voter apathy among Nigerian youths, noting that a turnout of between 25 and 30 percent in every election cycle was discouraging.
He therefore challenged them to influence massive participation in future elections as part of efforts to rescue the country from what he described as “anti-democratic forces.”
“On our part, we shall not relent until Nigeria is recovered from anti-democratic forces,” he added.
