Nigerian youths have been warned against allowing politicians to recruit them for electoral violence, ballot-box snatching, voter intimidation and other offences during the 2027 general elections.
The warning was issued on Wednesday by the Marshal of the Royal Ambassadors of the Nigeria Baptist Convention, Bitebo Eregoba, during a briefing at the Baptist Church, Ibara, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Mr Eregoba urged young Nigerians to reject money and other inducements from politicians seeking to use them to disrupt elections.
“There are people who will come to you with money and tell you to go and cause trouble on election day. They will tell you to snatch ballot boxes, to harass voters, to intimidate people and to foment violence. Do not accept it,” he cautioned.
He warned that politicians who sponsor electoral violence could escape the immediate consequences, while the youths recruited to carry out such acts could face arrest, prosecution, imprisonment and lasting damage to their reputations.
“If anything goes wrong, if a life is lost, if property is destroyed, the man who sent you will not be in the dock. He will be in his house, eating, while you sit in a cell,” Mr Eregoba said.
Royal Ambassadors to train over 2,000 youths
Mr Eregoba announced that more than 2,000 youths from across Nigeria would be trained in leadership, character development and responsible citizenship at the organisation’s forthcoming National Leadership Training Conference in Abeokuta.
The conference, themed “Divine Companionship,” is expected to bring together Royal Ambassadors from across the country to develop leadership skills, assess the organisation’s activities and formulate strategies for the coming year.
The event is expected to feature former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Toluwade of Akinale, Oba Oluseyi Adediran, as special guests of honour.
Group targets social vices among youths
Mr Eregoba described the Royal Ambassadors as a faith-based organisation focused on raising young men who serve their communities and contribute to national development with integrity.
He said the organisation had established an Anti-Social Vices Club in the states where it operates, with activities extending to the local government level.
The group is also working with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Police Force, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, National Orientation Agency, schools, community leaders and civil society organisations to tackle drug abuse, indiscipline and other harmful practices among young people.
Parents, churches urged to monitor youths
Mr Eregoba appealed to parents, churches and other community leaders to pay closer attention to young people’s activities, friendships and sources of income as the 2027 elections approach.
“Know their friends, know who is calling them, know who is giving them money. A boy who leaves the house in the morning and returns at night with a new phone deserves a question, not a celebration,” he said.
He said many young Nigerians also face poverty and unemployment, stressing that addressing these challenges was important to preventing them from becoming vulnerable to exploitation.
The warning comes as political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections intensify, with concerns already being raised over political violence, intimidation, misinformation and other threats to peaceful participation.
For young Nigerians, the message is direct: political disagreements should not become a reason to risk their freedom, lives or future for politicians.
Mr Eregoba said the deeper challenge facing young people was not only poverty or unemployment but also the absence of adequate guidance and support.
“The deepest problem facing a young person in Nigeria today is not poverty alone. It is not unemployment alone. It is not even bad leadership alone. It is that he is walking his journey alone,” he said.
Discover more from VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
