If elected, the Accord Senatorial Candidate for Oyo South, Mr Kolapo Kola-Daisi, says he will prioritise youth empowerment for economic emancipation and nation-building.
He gave the pledge on Thursday evening in Ibadan while appearing on ‘The Podium, ‘ a personality forum of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Oyo State Council.
Kola-Daisi said that he ventured into politics to contribute to nation-building and give the youth the much-desired quality representation.
“As far as I am concerned, we need to realise as a nation that we must start prioritising our young people.
“I am getting into politics not only for myself, but to be an inspiration for young people.
“I hope when I get there, I will be able to provide that role model type inspiration to young people,” he said.
He lamented the negative effects of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) ‘s lingering industrial action on the country’s youth and urged the government to salvage the situation quickly.
Kola-Daisi described teaching as the most critical profession in any country and should not be taken for granted.
“I am not saying that particular demands have to be met, but we are saying is that we need to try and redirect a lot of our resources as a nation to start focusing on what is important.
“We need to look at this resource allocation and dedicate much more of our budget to help those children be in school,” he said.
The renowned banker said that adding the jobless youths to the students who are not going to school would undoubtedly bring a lot of unrest to the nation.
“As a government, I think it is high time we start looking at how we allocate resources when we do our budget.
“Find unnecessary things and redirect them to ensuring that we keep our children in schools. Let them have education.
“Let them have the best education. Let’s also give our teachers what they need to be able to teach our brothers and sisters the best,” he said.
He said that this was the only way the students could graduate and contribute meaningfully to human capital development and nation-building.
Kola-Daisi promised to ensure that his experience and professional prowess would be used in his activities and nation-building.
The renowned banker said his other target was to ensure that bills aimed at empowering youths in the country were adequately and quickly passed into law.
“I have experience in fundraising, mentoring, and working with young people to help them achieve their goals.
“And these are some of the things we plan to do when we begin to serve our constituents,” he said.
Kola-Daisi described Accord as the only progressive party in the state, saying that it had gradually grown to become a main force.
He explained that he, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, the party’s governorship candidate, and others left the APC due to a lack of fairness and internal democracy.
“The predominant party in Oyo State at the moment is Accord.
“Anybody who wants to participate on a fair, responsible, welcoming, open, progressive platform which does not discriminate on age, tribe, gender should come to Accord,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Ademola Babalola, the State NUJ Chairman, congratulated Kola-Daisi on being the first to appear on the NUJ’s new platform ahead of the forthcoming 2023 Ggeneral elections.
Babalola assured politicians that journalists in the state supported all parties and candidates, adding that the platform was open to all.
“For us in the exco of Oyo NUJ, we are planning a special programme ‘The Podium’ for the 2023 general elections.
“This platform is available to all candidates from the 18 registered political parties to showcase their manifesto irrespective of their gender and age,” he said.
Media houses in the state widely attended the maiden edition of the programme.
