Action Alliance (AA) presidential candidate, hopeful Faduri Oluwadare Joseph, popularly known as Fadojoe, has called on Nigeria’s older political leaders to relinquish power and give younger Nigerians an opportunity to lead.
In his Independence Day message, Joseph urged Nigerians, particularly youths, to remain hopeful of the emergence of a youthful president in the 2027 elections.

He acknowledged that his presidential candidacy is being contested in court but said he remained confident that his camp could emerge as the party’s flag bearer.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s 66 years of independence, Joseph said the country had reached an age at which it should assess its progress and confront the challenges facing its citizens.

“At 66, unemployment remains a serious concern. Fuel is unaffordable for the average Nigerian, and insecurity continues to ravage the country,” he said.

He also criticised the state of the economy, arguing that despite government claims of progress, many Nigerians were yet to experience significant improvements in their daily lives.

“At 66, our nation’s economy is in trouble. Even when this government claims to be doing so much, there is very little that Nigerians can feel in their daily lives,” he said.

Joseph said Nigeria’s political leadership had remained dominated by the same generation for decades, limiting opportunities for younger Nigerians to assume positions of authority.

“At 66, the same set of people who have been running Nigeria since 1960 are still running it today,” he said.
He argued that the 2027 elections would give Nigerians an opportunity to determine the country’s direction and called for what he described as a “complete generational shift in power”.

“We need a complete overhaul of this system. We need a generational shift in power,” he said.

“These leaders who have been running our country from 1960 until today must pass the baton. It is time for them to hand over government and power to the younger generation to run this nation.”

Joseph said Nigeria’s problems were already well known and that the country needed a change in leadership and approach rather than another cycle of promises.

“We know the problems; what we need are solutions,” he said. “And in looking for solutions, we must start, first and foremost, by changing leadership because we cannot put the same wine in a new bottle and expect a different result.”
“This means we must change both the wine and the bottle,” he added.

The AA politician also criticised successive governments over what he described as deterioration in education, security, employment and the economy.

He recalled the opportunities available to Nigerians in previous decades, arguing that political leaders had failed to preserve them for younger generations.

“When they were young, Nigeria was as safe as heaven. But today, they have failed to preserve that same level of security,” he said.

“When they were young, there were employment opportunities across the nation. Even after graduation, people were employed and given vehicles, houses and many other benefits.”

On education, Joseph advocated free and compulsory schooling from primary level through university, arguing that greater investment in young Nigerians could also help tackle insecurity.

“Education should be free and compulsory from primary school to university level, so that more Nigerians can be educated,” he said.

He warned that young people without access to education and skills could become vulnerable to recruitment by criminal and terrorist groups.

On healthcare, Joseph called for stronger domestic medical facilities to reduce the need for Nigerians, including government officials, to seek treatment abroad.

“Let us create a nation where Nigerians who seek medical treatment abroad can return home because we have a healthcare system that works,” he said.

He also called for greater support for local manufacturing, including the adoption of Nigerian-made vehicles by government institutions.

“Let us create a nation that produces, where the cars we manufacture here can become the official vehicles of our government,” he said.

Joseph further proposed reversing some of the present administration’s economic policies, including restoring fuel subsidy and reducing petrol prices.
He called for stronger action against corruption and inflated government contracts.

“Let us have a nation where we can fight corruption and the rampant stealing of public funds, so that missing money
will no longer go missing,” he said.

“Let us have a nation where contracts will not be inflated and where money that could have been used to execute 10 projects is not spent on just one.”

As Nigeria marked another Independence Day, Joseph urged citizens not to abandon hope despite the country’s
challenges.

“I feel your pain. I feel your struggles, Nigerians. I understand your desire to have a better nation,” he said.
“You are not asking for too much. You are only asking for basic things: basic education and a decent life.”
He also urged Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 elections and support what he described as a generational transfer of political power.