Renowned political economist Pat Utomi has disclosed that he has asked his children to discipline him if he seeks a political position at old age, suggesting that, by the age of 75, he should refrain from attending political meetings altogether.
The former presidential candidate made this known while discussing about the coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform on News Central Television, where he emphasized that older individuals pursuing political power unfairly deny the next generation opportunities for leadership.
According to him, those aspiring to the offices of president and vice president should ideally be in their sixties.
He said, “I’m 69 years old, and I now consider myself too old to be a cabinet minister. I have given my children authority, that if by 75 years they heard I have gone to do some political meetings other than sitting at home and giving elders advice, they should immediately have me arrested and brought home because somehow I may have gone senile and not remember what I promised them.
“We should not have certain people of a certain age still running around; yes they may still be the most capable of people, but it’s not fair to the next generation. Ministers should typically be in their forties and fifties. Perhaps, President and Vice President could be in their sixties.
“But anybody who is over seventy five running, I think that, generally, they should concern themselves with gathering the nation, as fathers of the nation. They should find young people to advise and show the way.”