Arewa Youth Urges Tinubu to Consider Yerima Shettima in His Cabinet
Arewa Youth Urges Tinubu to Consider Yerima Shettima in His Cabinet
By: Femi Mustapha
Ahead of the next Federal cabinet to be constituted by the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, representatives of youth groups from across the federation have called on the President-elect to consider the National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima, as one of his cabinet members.
The youth groups said the call has become imperative considering the role Shettima has continued to play in stabilizing youth activities, promoting peace, and social justice over the years, not only in the North but in all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
While congratulating Tinubu for emerging victorious in the Presidential election and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the youth groups who were represented by Samuel Garry, Ahmed Mohammed Rufai, and Christiana Nicholas under the umbrella of the Nigeria Youth for Peace and Social Justice Forum (NYPSJF) said they found it expedient to bring Alh. Yerima Shettima to the fore and expose his salient but noble attributes to the world so that it would attract the attention of the President-elect who had emphasized competence and youth inclusiveness in his cabinet and not mediocrity in appointments.
“Although we did not seek Yerima Shettima’s consent before clamoring for him to be appointed as a Minister in his forthcoming cabinet to represent the youths, we felt it behooves us to search for a youth leader with impeccable credentials and who enjoys a lot of goodwill from across the divides, to be part of the incoming administration,” they said.
The youth group representatives, in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, recalled that for over a decade, Yerima Shettima was not only a galvanizing factor for youth activism with direct impact on youth development and education; protection of human rights and from abuse, but had continuously supported hundreds of youths, religion, and tribe notwithstanding, in their quest for self-development through education and trade.
“Yerima Shettima as the Minister would bring the desired unity in an important segment of the Nigerian population. He is well-known in the promotion of political activities that encourage the talents of youths in their pathways to professionalism in different endeavors.
“His offices and residences in Lagos, Kaduna, and Abuja were always beehives of activities where the youths and even the elderly, irrespective of religion, tribe, or creed, gathered to be counseled and assisted to be responsible, productive, and respectable members of the larger society.
“Before, during, and after the general elections, Alhaji Yerima Shettima and his organization had not relented in his youth crusades for peace, a fact that even the youth wings of other sociocultural organizations from the Southeast, Southwest, and South South could attest to, having hosted them on different peace and youth development missions in the North.
“Although not known to be aligned with any major political camp, Yerima Shettima as the Minister would undoubtedly further rally support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of future elections because he had proven to be a commanding voice in the region, who the youths earnestly listen to for guidance and subsequent action, as was exemplified on different occasions in the recent past.
“Yerima Shettima’s activism dated back to the days of military dictatorship where he and many others joined the struggle for liberation to the point of being arrested, yet he never gave up the struggle. It is for these and many more we believe very strongly that he would be a veritable tool that will stabilize the youths in this country,” they said.
