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Barely twenty-four hours after some ex-Super Eagles played a novelty match to commemorate 70 years birthday anniversary of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress ,Bola Tinubu, a former captain of the Super Eagles, Joseph Yobo has led some youth to unveil a Grassroots Mobilization Initiative ahead of 2023 elections .
Some ex-internationals such as Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha , Peter Rufai, Ike Shorunmu, Taribo West, Garba Lawal, Mutiu Adepoju, Victor Ikpeba, Victor Agali and Abiodun Obafemi, among others had on Sunday played a novelty match at Onikan Lagos .
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the new development came up a day after the novelty match held in solidarity with Tinubu who is a presidential aspirant .
Floating the movement , Yobo, who is the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, in his keynote at the event, expressed sadness over the inability of leaders to tackle the challenges of insecurity, poor economy, corruption, and unprecedented level of poverty in the country despite the enormous resources in the country.
He said “We admit Nigeria is a work in progress. As a nation, we have made some progress, but we want more, in fact, a lot more. If you look at the country currently, we are not where we should be.
“It is against the background that I and some others of like minds have taken it upon ourselves to come together and speak out for the benefit of our country. We want a new leader that will consolidate the current good gains and move Nigeria forward.
“The 2023 elections are very crucial for the future of our country. From the North to the south, from East to the West, all Nigerians must be involved. It is with this at the back of our mind that we have delved into the current situation to speak to all Nigerians and say that it is time we learnt to do things a new way.
“We must move away from the politics of the past and do away with all the unconscious social and religious bias that tends to divide us all as a nation,” Yobo said.
He also said that the organisation would continue to advocate and mobilize Nigerians especially the young people to go register to vote, pick up their PVC, and be prepared to defend their votes.
In his remarks, the national coordinator of the GMI, Samaila Musa, said that the organisation is apolitical but represents a movement by younger Nigerians committed to the task of rescuing Nigeria from the margins of in-consequence and collapse.
He said “this, without doubt, is a necessary step, because if Nigerians today need to hear the truth, they should be told that its past and present leaders have lost the energy and some of the courage to take up serious national issues and confront challenges around security, corruption and economy, and to manage limitations imposed by our diversity, interestingly this has nothing to do with political parties but individuals.
“With the strength of our members across Nigeria, we will mobilize Nigerians to look beyond self-interest, sentiment, and even political persuasion this 2023 election. Nigerians must ask the right questions and set timelines for the deliverables.”
