I felt my younger brother was terrified when he brought the news to me with excitement that 44-year-old Faye had won the Senegal presidential elections and my response was just ‘I am not so much a fan of young presidents’.
Don’t get it twisted, it’s a thing of joy when people achieve great feats or get into exalted positions at a relatively young age but ultimately what sustains such feelings is success on the job.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye was sworn in as the 5th President of Senegal on Tuesday 2nd April 2024 after polling over 50 percent of the total vote cast at the age of 44.
Many are still celebrating the former tax inspector’s achievement, who was just released from prison only a few days before the elections.
But let’s look beyond the excitement and be more purposeful: what we need whether in Senegal, Nigeria, or any country of the world is leaders who will deliver, being young comes with the advantage of being in a better position to multitask, move around quickly and do more energetic things like the Young Senegal President: And So What? but that is not all it takes to lead a successful government.
As much as we need youths we also need those who are well prepared for the task intellectually and otherwise. Can we boast of having more prepared youths for government in Nigeria today than we had in the 70s and 80s?
This is not holding briefs for the older politicians with aspirations to run for office in any way rather I advocate intentional education and development with exposure to relevant experiences for our youths today even at the early youth stage but unfortunately everyone seems to be cut up in the race for survival. But as they say, it is he who survives today that can aspire tomorrow.
