A 38-year-old female media entrepreneur, Mrs Khadija Okunnu-Lamidi, has declared her intention to seek a political party’s nomination to contest next year’s presidential election.
Okunnu-Lamidi, Founder, Slice Media Solutions, made the declaration while addressing newsmen in Lagos on Monday.
According to Okunnu-Lamidi, she had become the arrowhead for the intervention of her generation’s interests across the nation for politics and good governance.
“I seek to change the direction of our country, because time and chance will happen to all of us and the time for action is today.
“We need a better class and a better crop of leaders that are selfless, disciplined and bound with integrity, and above all, who love the country and are invested in her future.
“I am here to activate all people, the old, the poor, the rich; to unite around a common ideal on the basis of a consensus about a superior national development agenda,” she said.
She noted that her interests include 70 per cent youths who are often disenfranchised and have not taken their rightful place in choosing the government of Nigeria.
Okunnu-Lamidi expressed disappointment that Nigeria had missed important milestones in building the nation.
She said it was more pertinent that Nigerians must begin to think differently in the way things are done and the way they interact with each other.
She said: “We are all guilty for surrendering to temporary powerlessness, we can and must start to think differently.
“We sing often about our heroes past. These are people who entered the governance of Nigeria by design or by chance at very young age to take over from the colonial power that ruled Nigeria.
“This again is a generational inflection point for the nation.
“A nation desperate for leadership needs the young, the strong, those who have vision, those who have ideas, those who have a united Nigerian identity and a belief in this country.
“The people of Nigeria believe in Nigeria, they should not be led by leaders who don’t.
“We have to keep fighting for what we believe in, and above all, never lose hope. If you were waiting for a sign, this is it,” said Okunnu-Lamidi, who was yet to join any party.
Okunnu-Lamidi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Human Resources Management from the University of Bolton and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Project Management (MSc) from Heriot-Watt University.