Democracy have been defined in numerous ways, but the most recognised is the definition of Abraham Lincoln who simply put it, 'Democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people. This classical definition simply means everything and everyone related to government should revolve round the people.

Nigeria is relatively an infant when it comes to democracy, enjoying just 16years of uninterrupted democratic rule. But there are already questions being asked about it.

On the surface, you might be tempted to say it's not the best because we seem to have gone from bad to worse and right now the fate of I've nation hangs on the balance. Looking at the situation critically though, you will realise the system isn't the problem but the players.

And in the midst of all these, the youths have been left out of the equation all together unlike the the pre- independence where the likes of Sir Tafawa Balewa, Sir Amadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Herbert Macauley all in their youthful days were in the forefront fighting tooth and nail to deliver the political independence we all enjoy today as a nation.

The question is, what went wrong? Was it a deliberate act by the older generation to sideline the youth or that the youth are not just interested in governance anymore? I think the later is. Talking to a Nigerian youth, you would feel the frustration and disappointment and also a lack of desire.

But it is time for us to wake up and not just dreaming of taking over power. The Nigerian youth has got to realise that, we have a huge role to play in this democracy of ours right now. We cannot keep believing that to make a difference we have to be in power. We can influence the decisions that affect us right now from where we are.

Have you thought about it, Nigeria have more concentration of youth, when we collectively decide to do the right things, we can and should be able to decide and influence decisions that affect our future. We can influence the outcomes of elections. But how come we keep getting having the wrong people in leadership positions? It's because we have been neglecting our major role in governance.

Today, we are berating the National Assembly, but come to think of it, how did the men/women in both chambers get there. Sadly, a lot of them won by landslides. 90% of them has no business being in the National Assembly. The same goes for the states and the executive.

Everything is so wrong and it is because we the youth with our huge voting population are not playing our role the right way.

We need to start cleansing our minds. We need to raise the bar so our Politicians won't win us again with sentiments like, I had no shoes as a young boy or I am now a born again. If we are the intelligent bunch that we say we are and rightly so, then let our votes begin to show it also.

Let's begin to resist anyone who want ls to play smart with our minds, let's begin to demand results. Let's begin to hold those in leadership positions accountable. Let's begin to show the political parties that they don't own the country but we do, the ordinary citizens, and we will vote vote out any under forming party or person.

For me, our major role is making sure the right people gets into power irrespective of the age. If we can get that right, we would have successfully taken our place in the forefront of nation building once again just like our forefathers did in the 50s and 60s.

Happy International Youth Day.

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