28/09/2022
YOUTH POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA: LEGALITY, TRENDS, DILEMMAS AND OPPORTUNITIES
KNOWS THIS AND KNOWS MORE
The answer is to rely on youth- not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. A young monk began the Protestant reformation; a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth; a young woman reclaimed the territory of France; and it was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and the 32 year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that “all men are equal.” These men moved the world, and so can we all.
INTRODUCTION
We are at a crossroad in Nigeria now, and only the youths can better appreciate and refocus our strength for the great re-direction and turn-around needed to achieve a stable polity, devoid of rancorous, turbulent, and uncertainties presently characterising our political landscape.
WHO IS A ‘YOUTH’?
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines youth as ‘a young man’. It is also define as the time of life when one is young, especially the time before a child becomes an adult. Definition of the specific age range which is generally acceptable, for the purpose of determining who is a youth varies. It is therefore difficult to arrive at a specific age range which is generally acceptable for the purpose of using age as parameter for determining whether an individual is a youth or not.
DYNAMICS OF ‘POLITICS’
Generally speaking, politics is concerned with the aggregation of the inter-relationship of man, his environment and the management of any conflict arising from such association. Specifically speaking however, there is variation in definitional perception of the word ‘politics’ which is determined by the area of the subject matter in which an individual is interested. This may be the area of governmental activity or non-governmental activity. It is however noticed that more often than not, people tend to ascribe politics to governmental actions or inactions, and any struggle towards attaining the control of governmental power at any level. Within the context of the topic before me, politics or political participation is a perception of politics within the governmental viewpoint.
It is therefore pertinent to look at the definition of politics by Harold Lasswell who conceived politics as “Who gets What, When, and How?” By this definition, Lasswell conceives of politics from the perspective of incumbent power wielders within or outside of government and their means of power acquisition and within what time frame. The point here is therefore whether youths should be involved in determining who gets what, when and how in Nigeria.
THE NATION OR COUNTRY CALLED ‘NIGERIA’
Nigeria is a country officially known and referred to as the Federal Republic of Nigeria, comprising 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Nigeria is often referred to as ‘Giant of Africa’ due to its large population put approximately at 174 million inhabitants. Nigeria is the most populous Country in Africa and the 7th most populous Country in the World. The Country is inhabited by over 500 ethnic groups, of which the largest are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
The National Bureau of Statistics in its most recent 2012 National Baseline Youth Survey disclosed that the population of youths (15 – 35 years) in Nigeria is estimated to be 64 Million. Using the baseline of the total population of Nigerian at the National Population Census 2006, youth population in Nigeria is put at 60 per cent. This is because the National Youth Policy defines ‘youth’ as a Nigerian Citizen below the age of 35 years. About 32.4 per cent of the total population is below the age of 18 years. In absolute terms, there are more young people in Nigeria today than any other segment of the population and this comes with its peculiar social, political and economic implications.
Let me rest on the issue of Nigeria here. I will continue from there shortly.
‘TRENDS’, ‘DILEMMAS’ AND ‘OPPORTUNITIES’
While by ‘trends’ here we mean a general direction in which a situation is changing or developing, by ‘dilemma’ we refer to a situation which makes problems, often one in which you have to make a very difficult choice between things of equal importance, ‘opportunity’ refer to a period of time when a particular situation or circumstances makes it possible or right to do or achieve something. It also refers to benefits.
The question we are therefore faced with here is what has been the level of participation of Nigerian youths (if any) in the Nigerian politics and what is the general direction, the difficult choices youths have to make and what are the benefits for a youth who has decided to actively participate in the Nigeria Politics.
BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA POLITICS
Time will not permit me to go into a long historical background here. However, Nigeria’s political history would be incomplete without the indelible records of youth’s participation and involvements. The Pre – Independence efforts of Nigerian youths contributed much to the achievement of independence in Nigeria as a Nation. Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Anthony Enahoro and others who championed the cause of Nigerian Independence were young students. They started their agitation for independence as Student Union Activists, and carried on formidable groups that challenged colonial rule. Anthony Enahoro was about twenty-one years old when he moved the motion for the Independence of Nigeria; Yakubu Gowon was only twenty-nine years old when he became the Head of State in Nigeria. Late Isaac Adaka Boro, fresh from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka was in his thirties when he formed the Niger Delta Volunteer Force and later fought for the emancipation of his people. A look at the life history of these people reveals that as young men, they had their challenges, bleak moments, and seemingly intractable future, yet they took up the gauntlet and made a difference.
From the 60 per cent of the youth population in Nigeria today (covering about 80 million people) more than 70 per cent are said to be unemployed even after obtaining relevant work experiences and acquiring other qualifications for the job. The danger and implication of unemployment and idleness of youths is better imagined.
The imagined picture forms the trends of youth participation in Nigeria Politics today.
We are still at the base of Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs. Food, shelter and clothing remain the paramount need of Nigerian youths, therefore the future remains bleak. We shall return to this later.
LEGAL QUALIFICATION FOR YOUTHS POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA
Age: In order to contest elections or present himself for election in Nigeria, he must have attained the requisite age required for the office into which he or she seeks election as provided in the Constitution and other relevant laws, some of which are;
• If he or she seeks to be the President of the Federation, he must have attained the age of 40 years old as stipulated in Section 131 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended).
• To be a Governor or a Senator he must have attained the age of 35 years old. See Sections 171 and 65 of the Constitution respectively.
• To be a member of the House of Representatives, House of Assembly of a State, a Minister in the Federal Cabinet or a Commissioner in the State Cabinet, he must have attained the age of 30 years old. See Section 65, Section 106(b), Section 147(5) and Section 192(4) of the Nigerian Constitution.
• To be qualified for election into any of the 774 Local Government Area Council in Nigeria as Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Ward Councillor, he or she must be a citizen of Nigeria, must be a register voter, must have attained the age of 25 years for Councillor and 30 years for Chairman and Vice-Chairman, must be educated up to at least the School Certificate level or its equivalent and must be a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party.
Education: Nearly all the elective posts mentioned above requires a contestant to be at the minimum, educated to Senior School Certificate level, that is, he must have completed his/her studies in the Secondary School level or its equivalents. This minimum education requirement does not however mean that a school certificate is sufficient to navigate the word of politics and leadership at this computer age. I will suggest here that some amount of tertiary education, which allows for the development of an independent mind, understanding of the world around us, and responsibility for decision-making are required here.
Citizenship of Nigeria: Whereas it is not required to be a Nigerian Citizen for one to vote at an election in Nigeria, to be voted for in an election in Nigeria is a different ball game. There are three types of citizenship recognized by the Constitution, namely;
i. Citizenship by birth;
ii. Citizenship by registration; and
iii. Citizenship by naturalization.
Unlike in the cases of candidates for the offices of the President, the Vice-President, the Governors and the Deputy Governors, a candidate for a National Assembly and House of Assembly seat does not constitutionally have to be a Nigerian citizen by birth. Any of the three categories of citizenship would qualify such a person. It must be noted that a person who loses his/her citizenship due to acquisition of dual citizenship, renunciation or deprivation of citizenship by the President is not qualified to contest for a seat in the Nationasl Assembly. It must also be noted that indigeneship and other political considerations or calculations can seriously affect or jeopardise a candidate’s interest even where he has met up with the requirements. This is evidently present in the political calculus in Nigeria.
Membership of a Political Party: Until the very recent debate and consideration of the National Conference Reports by the National Assembly which has shown the favourable disposition of the National Assembly to the concept of independent candidacy of a person in an election, a candidate for any election in Nigeria must not only belong to a political party but must be sponsored by the party.
The Constitution as it is presently does not permit independent candidates as in other countries. It is however sufficient that a candidate is nominated by the party and not necessarily that he or she is financially supported for the election.
Sex/Gender: While s*x refers to the biological traits of being a male or female, gender refers to the image and role created by any given society with its attendant social, religious, superstitious, customary and psychological connotation. Being a male or a female is not a limitation or restriction to contest for any office in Nigeria. In fact it amounts to violation of the inalienable fundamental rights of an individual to restrain him or her from contesting for a particular elective position only because he or she is of a particular gender.
TRENDS AND DILEMMA OF YOUTHS PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS
Despite the fact that young people between the ages of 15 and 25 constitute a fifth of the world’s population. Youths can be a creative force, a dynamic source of innovations, and they have undoubtedly, throughout history, participated, contributed and even catalysed important changes in political systems, power-sharing dynamics and economic opportunities. A vivid example of this is found in the triggering of the Arab Spring in Tunisia by the self-immolation of a youth named Mohamed Bouazizi. Unable to find work and selling fruit at a roadside stand, on 17th December, 2010, a Municipal Inspector confiscated his wares. An hour later, he doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze. His death on 4th January, 2011 brought together various groups dissatisfied with the existing system, including many unemployed, political and human right activists, labour, trade unionists, students, professors, lawyers, and others to begin the Tunisian revolution. Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Egypt, Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Bahrain, Libya, Kuwait, Morocco, Mauritania, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran and Palestine all caught the wave of the revolution which caused a lot of positive change in their polity.
However, in Nigeria, youths face poverty, displacement, and barriers to education, multiple forms of discrimination and limited employment prospects and opportunities. These have constituted clog in wheels of growth and development of both the body and minds of the majority of Nigerian youths, thereby reducing them to a mere political tool in the hands of the ruling class in Nigeria. Niger Delta Militants, Boko Haram, Kidnappers, Political thugs etc., are example of youth groups whose power have been negatively channel to the destruction of the nation instead of building it.
Youths have generally been negatively mobilized by political class because they tend to thrive in thuggery, violence and the like, apparently because of poverty, unemployment and the selfish motive of people who exploit them. A situation where politicians, chiefs and businessmen recruit youths as thugs, arm them with dangerous weapons, and reward them for terrorizing people is greatly counter-productive. Nigerian youths must be encouraged to participate positively and actively in political processes. Such encouragement could mean building necessary social structures and providing the enabling atmosphere for the realization of individual talents, personality development and group survival.
FACTORS AFFECTING YOUTH MOBILIZATION AND PARTICIPATION
i. The pattern of political socialization and culture.
ii. The incursion of military into politics which has destroyed democratic cultures and institutions. This has robbed the youths of having knowledge of what the ideal, proper and civil political processes should be.
iii. Commercialization of politics which has turned it to investment, money spinning venture and the one sure way to quick wealth and riches. It is no longer seen as gateway to leadership.
iv. Greed, Bribery, Corruption, and Negative influence of role models.
v. Wrong political leadership structure.
The above mentioned factors could however be remedied and turn around by strategic groupings, political education, empowerment and enlightenment programmes.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH IN POLITICS
In Nigeria, opportunities abound for youths in politics. They are uncountable and limitless. Some of these opportunities are;
i. Leveraging and building an uncommon transformation and legacy for the future based on the knowledge of our past which has led us to the present. This can be made possible by harnessing the population strength of youths in Nigeria.
ii. Youths can serve as catalyst for an evolution of a new Nigeria in ensuring the security of lives and property of the people at all times, while adhering to the principle of the rule of law, ensuring equity, justice and fairplay.
iii. Harnessing the resources of vigour and strength to bring about rural development and integration, benefits and dividends of democratic governance to every nook and cranny in Nigeria and provision of basic amenities of life to all.
iv. Development of new values, ideal orientation, and proper thinking for the coming generations.
v. Becoming a National and International Leader, thereby by stamping their feet on the sand of time.
CONCLUSION
This has revealed that opportunities for Nigerian Youths in politics abounds and that Youths can be a beacon of new hope for political direction in Nigeria. I therefore call on all youths in body and minds to take this as a challenge to make Nigeria a better place now and in the future.
