Getting young people into government

For political systems to be representative, all parts of society must be included. When young people are disenfranchised or disengaged from political processes, a significant portion of the population has little or no voice or influence in decisions that affect group members’ lives.


A key consequence is the undermining of political systems’ representativeness. Thus, the need to enhance the political participation of youths, especially in the formal spaces ahead of the 2023 general election cannot be overemphasised.


Many believe that youths need to become more involved in political parties, parliament, political appointments, elections and civic spaces as a matter of right and as part of the process of solving Nigeria’s myriad of problems.


It was based on the need to involve youths in process of governance that in 1996, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the World Programme for Youth to the Year 2000 and beyond (which was further reaffirmed by UNGA resolutions in 2003 and 2011) that prioritises full and effective participation of youths in the life of society and decision-making.


The challenge, however, is how to institutionalise youth participation in effective and meaningful ways and not just as token gestures.Despite growing evidence of youth activism and mobilisation, Nigerian youths have yet to achieve the level of inclusion required to gain representation in politics.


Leadership deficits, money politics, poor internal democracy among the older parties and an absence of a strategic political agenda pose ongoing barriers to young people playing a role in national development.


However, all that will soon come to a good end as President Muhammadu Buhari initiates solutions to the problems of youths’ participation in politics and governance in Nigeria.


The President, this week, mandated his Chief of Staff and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to ensure that all ministers and heads of agencies include youths in boards and committees of the federal government.
The youths, the President said, must, rightly, possess requisite skills and experience in areas they should be appointed in to make their much-needed contributions to our country’s development.


The President asked the SGF to submit a report on how to include young people in boards and committees that are yet to be constituted, next month.


He equally asked Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff, and the SGF to ensure monthly engagements with the APC Youth Lobby group for better synergy, cross-pollination of ideas and creation of opportunities for young people.
He urged senior government officials to establish a committee of young people to monitor and evaluate ongoing federal government projects across the country.


He said the committee, when established, should provide feedback to enable his government to hold public office holders and those given responsibilities to account.
Tellingly, the President, again, gave his directive in the right place and right time. The occasion was the meeting he had with the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Youth Lobby Group, in Abuja, recently, while the order was rightly timed because of the need to inject fresh blood and ideas into the governance process in Nigeria, especially now, cannot be underestimated.


Regrettably, despite the track record of older generation political leaders, Nigerian politics is fast becoming the exclusive preserve of the older politicians, as seen from the constant recycling of government officials, especially those in their 60s.
For many years, particularly after the country’s return to democratic governance in 1999, youths were, at best, seen as supporters, mobilisers or political foot soldiers hired to instigate violence, manipulate elections and intimidate opposing parties.


While this image is not completely the fault of the older generation, these groups enjoyed the idea of youths as political mercenaries rather than competitors.


Thus, more than the need highlighted by the President to involve the young in governance to encourage learning and mentoring in government and political process, in some cases and places, in Nigeria, the olds need discarding and the youngsters to take over.
However, while the need to involve youths in government is crucial, youths need to be more involved in partisan politics and political activities. The youths can’t have the notion of taking charge or taking power when they refuse to get themselves involved in politics.
If youths actively get themselves involved in political activities and parties and at the various levels they are more active, their voices would be heard, this is because they constitute a majority at every level.


Essentially, in line with the wish of the President, to make a difference in the longer term, it is pertinent that young people are engaged in formal political processes and have a say in formulating today’s and tomorrow’s politics.
Inclusive political participation is not only a fundamental political and democratic right but also is crucial to building stable and peaceful societies and developing policies that respond to the specific needs of younger generations.
For young people to be adequately represented in political institutions, processes, and decision-making and, particularly, in elections, they must know their rights and be given the necessary knowledge and capacity to participate in a meaningful way at all levels.


Unfortunately, lack of funding and high costs of nomination forms for various offices remain a major obstacle to youths’ representation in politics.
In the run-up to the 2019 general election, the cost of nomination forms was as high as N45 million for presidential aspirants, N22.5 million for governorship aspirants, N7 million for the Senate and N3.8 million for the House of Representatives.


Few Nigerian youths are financially buoyant to afford to pay these sums and, since donors and godfathers usually prefer older men whom they believe have the chance of winning the election, young people are naturally disenfranchised.
Therefore, while in theory, the youths are not-too-young to run, in practice, the youths find themselves too poor to run and in a dilemma of how to mobilise sufficient funds to be eligible for representation.


But when there are obstacles to participating in formal, institutionalised political processes, young people can rapidly feel disempowered. Many tend to believe that their voices are not going to be heard or that they will not be taken seriously even if they are heard. The problem becomes circular as politicians may lose interest in responding to the aspirations of young people if they cannot win their votes.
This situation, in turn, leads to young people being increasingly excluded from taking part in decision-making, or in debates about key socio-economic and political issues, despite their sensitivity to the demands for social equity and justice.


In new and emerging democracies, the inclusion of young people in formal political processes is important from the start. Young people’s active contributions can bring democratic values to life, leading to the overturning of authoritarian practices.


In countries where young people have participated in processes leading to electoral victories of political parties, if they are neglected as they are in Nigeria, they are likely to feel frustrated, especially if they are not included in formal decision-making procedures.


This situation, of course, can, as it is already doing in Nigeria, destabilise democratisation and accelerate conflicts such as the EndSARS and Boko Haram uprisings.


It must be noted, especially by our leaders and, thankfully, the President has taken the lead in this regard, that the future of Nigeria, a country with a rapidly expanding population, belongs to the youth who have a vital role to play in national development.


The responsibility, therefore, rests on the leaders, especially the President, to ensure that young people are given the pride of place in Nigeria’s politics and governance spaces.