Age Does Not Determine Competence To Rule, Says Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says age should never be a barrier for young Nigerians to get involved in holding strategic positions, especially political offices.

He believes political office holders do not necessarily have to be very old, but such persons only require some experience to get the job done.

“If you are going to get in, in the Nigerian system, in this system of ours, to walk through all that is required, I think you need some experience, a bit of it, you don’t have to be very old,” the Vice President said on Monday in Abuja during a book launch.

“But it helps if you have served in one capacity or the other as a special adviser or special assistant, all of those positions are very central positions. I don’t agree that a special assistant or a P.A. is not a somewhat serious position.

“Every special assistant or special adviser that I have, take very important decisions, and they take those very important decisions on their own. And the truth is that the way governments are set up, everybody there can play a very serious role; it depends on how very serious you are.”

According to him, a majority of the people prefer liberal politics, free enterprise, democracy, and individual freedom.

For the Vice President, this means that there can be no discrimination either on the basis of age, gender, or political persuasion.

He stressed the need to remove the barriers to ensure a level playing field for all, saying he had the opportunity to bring young people on board.

The quality of the contributions, according to Professor Osinbajo, is not necessarily defined by age and the focus should be on what people bring to the table.

“I had been adviser to the Attorney-General of the Federation when I was 31, so I had some experience coming into this,” he said.

“So, there is a place for preparation, a place for getting ready. There is no point saying that I have become Minister of Finance at the age of 25 because I am a smart kid; it takes more than that.”

The launch of the book by Senator Babafemi Ojudu and Alex James titled: ‘Politics That Works – What Schools and Seminars Won’t Teach You About Winning Elections’ held at the NAF conference centre in the nation’s capital.