Nigeria’s Presidency Becoming a Sickbay for Ageing Leaders — Sowunmi

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former spokesman to Atiku Abubakar, Segun Sowunmi, has warned that Nigeria’s presidency is increasingly resembling a sickbay for ageing politicians, a trend he said reflects the country’s failure to plan succession and deliberately include young people in governance.

Sowunmi spoke on Monday in Abuja at the inauguration of chairmen of the National Youth Alliance (NYA) from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He recalled Nigeria’s experience with a sitting president who died in office and another who spent a significant part of his tenure receiving medical care abroad, arguing that these episodes underscore the dangers of repeatedly recycling elderly leaders in a country with a predominantly youthful population.

According to him, while experience is valuable, effective leadership also demands physical vitality and mental alertness.

“For some time now, our presidential office has almost appeared like a sickbay for old people,” Sowunmi said. “We had the misfortune of a president who died in office, the late Musa Yar’Adua. As if that was not enough, his successor spent a considerable amount of time in hospitals. The late President Buhari was a good man, but he was too old.

“Even today, we are faced with a leadership that struggles to clearly communicate what it is doing and how it is doing it. At a certain point, leadership requires not just brains, but energy and agility. Many of the administrative errors we see today stem from a decline in that agility.”

Sowunmi noted that with a median age of about 18 years, Nigeria’s demographic reality already places young people at the centre of the nation’s future. He warned that continued exclusion of youths from leadership would further undermine national development.

He urged young Nigerians to reject ethnic and religious divisions, stressing that poverty and privilege cut across all groups.

Also speaking at the event, former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, called on youths to embrace integrity, competence and trust, noting that sustainable national transformation begins at the community level.

Aliyu said Nigeria’s leadership challenge was not the absence of capable individuals, but the persistence of weak systems and a poor leadership culture that rewards mediocrity over merit.

“The system has failed because leadership has failed,” she said. “Systems do not run themselves; people run them. If we do not change our thinking, the idea of a functional system will remain unattainable.”

Earlier, President of the National Youth Alliance (NYA), Ambassador Aliyu Bin Abbas, condemned the practice of politicians sidelining young people after elections.

He said the NYA was established to promote inclusion, structure and leadership development, adding that the inauguration of state chairmen and the launch of the alliance’s official website and digital portal marked a major step toward coordinated youth engagement nationwide.

“Many politicians have misled the youth, using them during elections, ignoring them during governance and abandoning them after victory,” Abbas said. “Women, despite their strength, resilience and numbers, are still largely excluded from power. This is unacceptable, and that is why the National Youth Alliance exists.”