Nigeria’s Youngest Presidential Candidate Gave Scholarships To 500,000 Youths

Professor Christopher Imumolen (39) of the Accord Party, is the youngest presidential candidate running in the forthcoming 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria.

The 39-year-old entrepreneur and politician will be contesting against 17 other presidential candidates.

Other younger candidates running for president include:  ADC’s Dumebi Kachikwu(48), BP’s Sunday Adenuga Oluwafemi (48), APP’s Osita Nnadi Charles (49), Yusuf Mamman Dantalle (APM) (50), Adewole Adebayo Ebenezar (SDP) (50), Mazi Okudili Nwanyajike (NRM) (51), Omoyele Sowore (51) (AAC) and Abdumalik Ado-Ibrahim (YPP)(58).

The rest of the older candidates are Kola Abiola (PRP)(60), Peter Obi (LP)(61), Mr. Daniel Nwanyanwu Daberechukwu (ZLP) (62), Hamza Al Mustapha (AA) (62); Rabiu Kwankwaso (NNPP)(66), Peter Umeadi (APGA)(67), Yabagi Yusuf Sani (ADP)(68), Bola Tinubu (APC)(70); and Atiku Abubakar (PDP)(75).

The Not Too Young To Run Act reduced the age for elective offices in Nigeria.

It reduced the age limit for the office of the president from 40 to 35. The age for House of Reps was reduced from 30 to 25 while that of state House of Assembly was brought down from 30 to 25.

Prof Imumolen sees the legislation as an opportunity to transform the nation while also believing that he is the person the Nigerian youths have been waiting for.

Why are you running for president?

My name is Professor Christopher Imomulen, what actually propelled me to be running for presidency is because of the fact that Nigeria has turned into a decadent nation. And I know I have what it takes to fix the challenges of Nigeria and make Nigeria rise again. The solutions are not farfetched; they are not rocket science. I have the capacity, I have the understanding, I have the international connections, and  I have the will to do it.

So, being convinced that I have the capacity, the ability and I’m able to convert Nigeria into a prosperous nation, so you, know, that actually is the propellant.

And Nigeria actually need a leader right now, like me, an experienced one who has all the qualities to make Nigeria greater. You can actually confirm that from my past antecedents.

Check what I’ve done in the private sector, what I’ve been able to do as a  humanitarian, if I can with my own fund support over 500,000 lives, 500,000 people on scholarships; that should tell you what kind of human being I am and what I will do when I have access to public funds. It means I am going to impact more lives.

Did the ‘Not Too Young To Run Act’ motivate you to join the presidential race?

Yes, the Not Too Young To Run Act is an advantage and I’m happy that it was enacted because that it is actually one of the things that will bring prosperity to the land. If those who had developed the country did that when they were young. Those who fought for our independence were in their 20s, early 30s and suddenly you find that young people don’t have access to power again. You’ve seen what have happened by having rotational leaders, those who have tried their little best but their best is not enough to fix this country.

So the Not Too Young To Run Act is actually a plus to the development of this country and I am also cashing in on that avenue.

How did you emerge the presidential candidate of your political party, bearing in mind the challenges young people face to get political party’s presidential ticket due to financial demands?

Yeah, I prepared for it. I’ve been preparing for this for long and all that is needed to overcome, I have and I did that (ran for the Party’s presidential ticket).

And that is the same thing I’m going to do in the election. A  lot of people were shocked when I emerged as my party’s presidential flagbearer, same thing will happen in the 2023 general elections.

Do you think you will have the support of young people during the 2023 presidential election?

I will, all I need is just to make the young people understand my mandate and by the time we start engaging them, all across the country, the narrative is going to change.

How do you want to appeal to the youths to vote for you, instead of other candidates who are older than you?

Yes, I want to appeal to the youths to vote for me because I’m the only youth in the race. I’m 39, so I appeal that the youths should vote for me.

Because we have been clamouring for a youth leader, it’s a collective clamour; now we have one.

This is no time for youths to be looking at other candidates who are already old as youths because they are comparing them with those who are 75, 70 years.

No, I am a youth, I’m not just a youth, I’m fresh, I am a  breed without greed; so I want the youths to think in that direction.

Do you think your age (39yrs) gives you an advantage or disadvantage in the forthcoming election?

My age is an advantage. All over the world, we are now having young leaders emerge.

Just few days ago, in Grenada, we had a 42- year- old president who defeated the incumbent.

It’s an advantage in the contemporary world today to have young leaders. Same has happened in Chile, we heard it happened in France, so it’s going to happen in Nigeria.

There is prosperity in youthfulness and we have seen that happen.

Are you married? do you have children?

Yes, I am married and I have children.

Do you believe in the role of first lady?

Well, the first lady is not an official role but of course, your wife is a supporter of your dream, your wife should be by your side in advising, supporting and helping you just the same way God had created woman to be part of man, to be an helper.

Rather than saying first lady, let’s see it as a wife of the president who is there as a pillar to support the president.

All over the world we see them, we saw the role of Mitchell Obama and so many who believe in their husbands and nation.

I don’t believe in the first lady just being a title for people to bow, no, it should be an impactful role to support the husband and to make the nation a better place.

If you were not running for president, which of the other candidates would you have supported?

I will support myself. Yes. You know, check out all the five candidates, they were all members of the old political parties.

All of them. I am just the one, out of the few. You have to also go and research the other sixteen. I am just the one out of those five that is a new breed without greed.

Check all of them, they are migrating, changing their skin color like chameleon, changing parties and people are being deceived.

We said we don’t want these two (APC, PDP) political parties again, and some people are leaving that party for another.

Some of them who have opportunity to be there, they will discover what they will do.

Many of them will decamp back and it is still going to be the same old story

So, I will support myself.

What will be your area of focus if you become the next president of Nigeria after Muhammadu Buhari?

One, I’m going to be looking at digitalization of the economy, it’s very key to me, we need to start having a country that runs on a system. We don’t have that, that’s why Nigeria is chaotic, haphazard in nature, we don’t have a system, I am going to make sure we have a system all across by digitalization of the economy.

When you do that, you would be able to fight corruption up to 60 percent in every sector, in the security, commerce, civil service, private sector.

We are in a world today where you must run a systemic government. Like I always say it, a citizen of another country can just come to Nigeria and pick a passport, can you do that anywhere?

We talk about security, you cannot run security without a system because you need to capture intelligence before crime would happen and that can only be captured with a system.

Police reporting, crime reporting, activities reporting, monitoring and vetting of activities in various parastatal can done  with a system.

I’m also going to be looking at security, I will be looking strongly at provision of power, electricity and infrastructure. It is very key because these things will give us a ground to make Nigeria a better place for us to attract serious investors.

Nigeria is a population of 200 million people, a lot of investors wants to come into Nigeria and work because they are going to make huge profit. But nobody can work in an environment such as this – chaotic.

We need to calm the system.

I am also going to look at creation of employment and youth development, welfare system and reward system for our people.

I’m not just saying this, I know it and I know how to do it, I will do it, I already have my plan.

But more importantly is to come with a credible team of people who have value for human lives. Yes, we are going to increase the value system in Nigeria and patriotism for Nigerian people.

There is so much: we talk about water provision, technology, involving Nigerians in diaspora in nation building.

It’s very key for us. Nigeria has many problems, we are going to convert Nigeria into a productive economy and that can only happen by looking at our abandoned projects. We have over 50,000 abandoned projects, we have to get them fixed.

A nation that cannot produce its own steel can never be a productive nation.

We are going to improve on our refinery, we are going to license and restructure the policy in the oil and gas to enable small players to come in.

We are going to formalize the power policies. There is a lot of things we’re going to do and I know these things.

What do you think is right or wrong about Nigeria, as of today?

What is right about Nigeria is that we have a country that has great people, we have a country with numbers. If we can channel our energy to human resources,  education, you know I’m a professor and I will fix education, the people, so that Nigerians can understand the nitty gritty of every system of life.

Nigerians are smart people but it’s unfortunate that many are not knowledgeable and it’s not our fault.

We think we are but we are not, because we have a very bad educational system, so we are going to be fixing that, so that Nigeria can compete globally.

What is wrong is the divide that we have, we have been too divided as a country and that is a leadership problem.

We need a leader who will be able to show Nigeria that Nigerians are one.

Like I will always say, Nigeria is a union of six wives, and whatever you’ve done to one should be done to all. I will do all to all. What is right is that we have right people but we have wrong leaders. Thank you.