Movie and Theatre Director, Bolanle Austen-Peters has called on Nigerian women and youths to come together and form a party, as the 2013 election approaches.

The lawyer and businesswoman made this call in a post on Instagram on Saturday.

Bolanle recounted how President Muhammadu Buhari, as an aspirant in 2015 stopped by to watch ‘Saro the Musical and Democracy’ in 2015. According to her, the excitement amidst all present in the hall was palpable, as everyone was delirious. She added that the youths used social media to spread support for him and also went out to the polling booths to vote, as they wanted a change.

She however decried the present situation of the country where a group stifles freedom of expression when it is not convenient and fights wars with APP.

Moving forward, she opined that youths must employ the same way they did in 2015, by participating fully.

Here is her post: “Politics, Buhari, Saro the Musical and Democracy. 2015; Election fever, every vote counted. On the campaign trail, Presidential aspirant, Mr Buhari and his team stopped by to watch Saro the musical. It was strategic, to show he loved the youth. @Debolalagos facilitated it. The excitement was palpable.

“When he came into the hall, the play was momentarily disrupted as everyone shouted for joy. Sai BABA. We were delirious. We were in love. He wanted the youth vote and they gave him. We all rushed to the polling booths to vote. We used social media to spread support for him.

“Since then we have had a wreck of a ride. We wanted change so we got change. The joy turned to pain. Facts don’t lie. How do we get out of this mess? The same way we got here. This is THE desire for survival especially for the youth. There is nothing for young people to look forward to in this land. Youth and women should come together to form a party. We need at least 60% of youth and women in politics going forward. They constitute the most of this nation much more than the 60+ average age group leading us. A group that stifles freedom of expression when it is not convenient and fights wars with APPS. Every generation & gender brings something unique & different to the table. This monopoly by old people must end.

“With all due respect to all my friends in government, it must be on record that we are all baring our minds. We must also be able to do so freely, without fear and on any platform so long as it is not injurious to third parties. We must agree to disagree to agree to move this nation forward. No one should also “dictate” what type of virtual platform people can speak from. That is arbitrariness. “Everyone is hurting. Compassion is needed to rule. Our children need to hold us accountable. We cannot continue to be silent. This is our nation as much as it is the Politicians. We must hold Politicians accountable & they work for us not the other way round. It is a systemic problem not specific to this present administration & decades of rot. So with my craft, I coined this dance to demonstrate the craze in democracy in “Fela and the Kalakuta Queens” Democracy by Fela. God help us.”