The nation was abuzz with the news that young people could join election races to become Public Office holders in Nigeria. While this seemed like such good news and motivated many young people to challenge incumbents, the end result has not been as encouraging. Nearly one year later and after the national elections, people are wondering, what did we miss? Reality check, the law says that the young could contest inelections, it did not imply that they had to win. Here are 6 reasons why I believe that the young still cannot lead Nigeria and probably won’t in the nearest future.
- Wrong Numbers: I am not alone when I say that Nigeria’s population may not be accurate as estimated. Nigeria has a large young population with a median age of 18.4 years, I agree. But these numbers are estimation from a botched census in 2006. It is unclear if we have this population or not because there is a chasm in the creation and update of basic vital statistics: births and deaths.
So, do we have as many youths as we imagine? Who knows? The population figures come from an estimation that the national population grows at the rate of 2.6 per cent. With a good calculator, you can figure out what Nigeria’s population will be next year. But these numbers do not translate to votes. - Brain Drain: There may be 200 million Nigerians with about 80 million youth, but a large proportion of these youths live and work in the diaspora. Various nations have these beautiful migration programs that target the young and brilliant from countries like Nigeria. Canada and Australia are the darlingdestinations now. Years past, it was the United States of America. Did you know that the US Visa Lottery is no longer open to Nigerians because they have exceeded their immigration quota into the Us? Anyways, Nigeria is the country that probably has the greatest number of her youth living in the diaspora. Our greatest export is not Crude Oil, it is human resources. We cannot develop our country if our best brains are in other countries. If any politician was banking on votes by the youth to win in the polls, she/he has to bring them back home first.
- Creation of Silly Political Platforms: The Nation has been ruled by formidable parties within the past 20 years. It is really silly for every young person desiring public office to register a political party that has no real structure or members. It is a given that well-structured parties already have what I could call the ‘royalties’ and the ‘loyalists’. This is the same everywhere in the world. Persons aspiring to lead must find a way to show win the support of the people who can help them win. Compare Desmond Elliot and Bank W: A system that has a track record of success will always beat one that is new and inexperienced.The truth is, if you can’t influence change in a party that is 20 years old and has a million members, how will you change a nation that is over a century old and has 200 million members? There is nothing wrong in creating new parties that have divergent views as the already existing ones. However, if it is not strong enough to have a chance at winning, then what’s the point?
- Overdependence on Social Media for Campaigns: Social media campaigns are effective for many forms of business, but elections need a lot of groundwork with actual human beings. Speak the best versions of Queen’s English, but if people in the street don’t think you are relatable, then you are not. Young people need to leave the screens and go out into the communities. Votes are cast for people who are seen as community builders and not for whoever has the most post and adverts on social media. I think that in the 2019 elections, Fela Durotoye won the social media contest; Sowore won the divergent ideologies contest while Professor Muoghalu won the visionary leadership contest. However, the votes did not reflect those. Any persons who want to contest in 2023 must begin making human contacts now.
- Education versus Poverty: It is a fact that election-related violence will not end as far as people remain poor and uneducated. Education and Poverty are siblings and they are interdependent. A grave mistake I have observed is the assumption that learning how to read and write will save anyone from poverty. Electoral thugs can read and write too. So, I would assume that any education that only teaches reading and writing or mere theories are the wrong types. Unfortunately, that is what dominates the educational system in Nigeria. The Educational Systems may disagree but the results speak for themselves. If students learn to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurial, most graduates should be able to fend for themselves without resorting to election day handouts. Please note that those handouts given to the youth to fight unfavourable election results are important to them. Therefore, the youth who want to change the nation must begin to push for revolutions in the educational systems to empower future voters in Nigeria. People-centred policies can change things if they are implemented. What I think that the main message from the Not Too Young To Run Act really is, is that we can push for and get some good reforms that will make the future voters empowered and more independent minded.
- Rethinking the Intention of the Not Too Young To Run Law: I have often wondered, was this law created because it would end the era of leadership by the aged? Or was it created merely to give the young a chance to be able to say, I also ran for president? Would the law be more effective if it said that Political Office Holders must have 50 per cent of their appointees under 30 years? This thought comes from a background that many people who become Governors, Members of the House of Representatives, Senators and Vice Presidents were immediate past Political Office Holders or Political Appointees. For instance, let us consider the Office of the Vice President from 1999 till date. Atiku Abubakar was Governor-Elect of Adamawa State in 1998 and was already a popular politician by 1999 when he became the running mate of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Then there was Goodluck Jonathan who was deputy Governor and eventually became Governor of Bayelsa State before he was made Vice President to Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007. Architect Namadi Sambo was Governor of Kaduna State when he was chosen to become the Vice President in 2011. The current Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007. If these say anything at all, it would be that one cannot come out of just anywhere and want to become Head of State in a country as Nigeria. There is a strong system in place which the youth should exploit.
Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari signed the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ Bill into law on 31st May 2018 at the age of 75 years. This Law changed the age at which a person can aspire for public office such that persons aged 30 could even become President. The earliest a person could join the State House of Assembly or House of Representatives is 25. I think that would have been a lot better if it said that people aged 65 were not fit to run for political office. Besides, that is the official retirement age in Nigeria (for professors). Then the youth can have more opportunities.
As the countdown for the next elections in 2023 begins, it is pertinent to note that the youth have one shot at taking over leadership of this great black nation. There has to be a united youth front. Then, there has to be a strategy that will work effectively. Bandying claims of numbers that are not verifiable will not help the cause. Here is a call to review the Not Too Young To Run Act of 2018 and make it more meaningful and workable. Maybe it was a good place to start but it is definitely very far from the final destination.
Michaael Ukwuma writes from Enugu. He can be reached on ukwumamc@gmail.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect WikkiTimes’ editorial stance.
