Mentorship, Making Room For Emerging Stars To Rise And Political Revitalization
The Oasis Reporters
August 13, 2018
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. – Reinhold Niebuhr
Political parties in matured democracies have the phenomenon of “rising stars”.This culture made the Democratic Party in the United States to identify a young African American State Senator from Illinois called Barack Hussein Obama. They made him the Democratic keynote speaker in the 2004 Democratic National Convention, DNC that nominated Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as its presidential candidate.
Four years later, ”skinny boy with a funny name” became the first African American President of the free world.
In 2013, the same Democratic Party identified a mayor of a small city of San Antonio Texas, Mayor Julian Castro. Julian has a twin brother called Joaquin. The grandmother of these handsome Harvard graduates came to the United States at the age of seven from Mexico. The Castro’s granny and mama were single mothers. In 2013 Julian Castro was made the DNC keynote Speaker. That same year, his twin brother was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
A year later President Obama made Julian, Secretary of Housing.
Lest I forget, young William Jefferson Clinton, the Governor of Arkansas and Senator Joe Biden were discovered and propelled via this same dictum to become President and Vice President respectively for two terms.
The GOP is also littered with products of the same philosophy of “rising stars” like Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, Speaker Ryan Paul of Wisconsin, Reps David Nunes and a legion of other hawkish “GOPHERS” that are pillars and key players of the Republican Party today.
Across the Atlantic, in Continental Europe, France’s Emmanuel Macron, President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Austria Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Marie Le Pen the main opposition figure in France and the rest of other young European politicians are examples and products of creating space for emerging stars to rise. Before Silvio Berlusconi’s dramatic and mafia-like ouster in Italy, young single ladies that made it to the parliament under the umbrella of his party were quite sizable.
The New World and their transatlantic partners appreciated advantages concomitant with younger age which are vitality, creativity, risk taking etc. That is the main reason of the survivability of their political parties. In some quasi professional parlances, it’s called Mentorship.
Ironically, mentorship and making space for young Turks is the only credit one can see in Kaduna state All Progressive Party,APC.
Consciously or otherwise the Kaduna State chapter of the APC made efforts in appointing young men at the state and local government levels and gave them prominent positions at the party level. The saddest aspect of their emergence is blind loyalty to their principal and party.
Come on, imagine septuagenarians and octogenarians with controversial history of subverting party guidelines leading a delicate change crusade. If that is adding up in their alternative world of delusion,youths of my age are wearing a stone face. Our lack of space to ventilate our disagreement is no tacit support of their apocalyptic philosophy. I’m not a slave and guess others are ready to tell them same. Hell no. The generational chains must collapse before the 2019 engine start revving.
Just look at how the old school are making the whole act of politics and decision making very expensive. Just look at how they are snail-pacing processes and implementation of strategic and tactical campaign policies. Mr. El Rufai and his team are transmitting messages to foot soldiers electronically, our spent forces are insisting on physical meeting and couriering orders as if we are in the 7th century. What a pyramidal disconnect between time and perception of our power players.
The neglected youths are in the majority and essential force to the upstage mission “they” are hoping for in 2019. Without their adequate representation in the entire project, will they give in their best?
Who will sheepishly burn his hand in the process of pulling out somebody’s nut on fire?
Who is willing to continue promoting a setting that his role is just a hewer of wood and drawer of water? Even if a party originated in one’s house, one will walk-away or sink the ship so that slaves and slaves owner will vanquish.
I just painted the picture of the setting and feelings of our youths. Kaduna state branch of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP has a choice to make.
Hasta la victoria siempre(until victory,always).
Written by John Danfulani, Ph.D
He is an aspirant into the House of Representatives to represent his Constituency in Kaduna South.
