Former Senator Shehu Sani has called on Nigerian youths to take control of their political future by financing young candidates who seek elective offices, rather than waiting for older politicians to create space for them.
Sani made the call while speaking on the need for young Nigerians to actively participate in the electoral process. He said the Not Too Young to Run Act, which removed age barriers for candidates seeking positions like president, governor, and senator, had already opened the door. What remained was for youths to push through it with their resources.
"The law has done its job," Sani said. "But a law without action is just words on paper. Young people have the numbers, they have the energy, and they have the networks. What they need to do now is pool their resources together and fund candidates from among themselves."
The former Kaduna Central senator argued that waiting for the older generation to voluntarily step aside was a strategy that had not worked for decades. Instead, he said youths should stop complaining about being excluded from power and start making themselves unavoidable at the ballot box.
Sani pointed out that funding young candidates was not just about winning elections. It was about sending a message to the political establishment that young Nigerians were organised, serious, and ready to compete on equal terms. "When you fund your own candidates, you build a movement. When you build a movement, you build power," he said.
He also cautioned young people against being used as foot soldiers by older politicians during elections, only to be discarded afterwards. "Stop being used. Start being users of the system. Organise yourselves, pool your money, and put your own people forward," Sani urged.
The activist-turned-politician, who has been vocal about youth participation in governance, said the 2027 general elections presented a critical opportunity for young Nigerians to demonstrate their political clout. He called on youths in every state and local government to begin identifying viable young candidates and creating funding mechanisms to support them ahead of the polls.
