THE COMPLEXITY OF NIGERIAN POLITICS:DIFFICULT FOR YOUTHS

IGWE LEO MONDAY

There’s this aphorism that asserts that” youths are the leaders of tomorrow”.

This popular saying has been misconstrued in Nigerian politics. The septuagenarians feel that the political space is only meant for the elderly, and so the youths have little or no role to play in it.

They believe youthful exuberance is better channeled elsewhere and not  in politics.

In developed climes, Youths are seen as the bedrock of the society, this is so much so because it comprises the bulk of manpower of all societies.

They are so vital that no society can do without young minds. They  have played and continue to play  crucial roles in fostering; world development and global advancement.

 Nigeria is no exception to the telling impact youths can bring to a country, those that brought about the independence of Nigeria were all youths in their 20s and 30s.

How come the political space has been so stifled that it looks as the prerogative right of the gerontocrats?

Those who occupy the oval office enacted laws that makes it cumbersome if not impossible for youths to set foot into the mainstream of Nigerian politics.

It therefore means that the youths can only vote and not be voted for. This anomaly has existed since the country embraced democracy.

Popular participation does in no way exclude the election of youths into top political positions. In a digital age, young minds are needed to pilot the affairs of the society not “old hags” who are light years behind the schedule of globalization.

The“not too young to run”bill  which has gained much trance especially amongst the youths is a step in the right direction for the youths the to start usurping the geriatrics in the political scheme of things in the country. For those who are unfamiliar with “not too young to run Bill“, it  seeks to alter some Sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) to reduce the age of qualification for the office of the President, Governor and membership of the National Assembly. In clear terms, at 25 a Nigerian citizen is qualified to run for Houses of Assembly positions and at 30 one can run for the Governorship, Senate and Presidency. This is against the previous age benchmark of 45 and 50 or so. The Bill also seeks to allow independent candidacy in Nigeria’s electoral process.

I am of the opinion that “too old to run bill” should be legislated  to set a maximum age in which one can stand for elections. This will help weed off old bags in the political system and let the contemporary generation begin to pilot the affairs of the country. If Emmanuel Macron at 39 won elections in France. Sebastian Kurz at 31 was sworn in as Austria Chancellor, come to think of it, these are great countries in Europe, then Nigerian youths can lead the nation and retire the current coalition of septuagenarians, octogenarian and nonagenarians wasting Nigeria’s resources in the name of being in positions of power.

Nigerian youth are not known to be lazy despite the forgivable statements of the president Muhammadu Buhari.  They are not depending on free oil money. They are making giant strides  despite the terrible unemployment situation in the country. Nigerian youths are making waves in various areas of life; sports, music, movies and entertainments, blogging, writing etc. Linda Ikeji’s blog is making waves continentally. Chimamanda Adichie is among the African internationally acclaimed writer whose novels are winning literary awards. I recently read about Sijibomi Ogundele, the  34 year old who was featured in Forbes Africa as a brave young entrepreneur. The list of Nigerians doing very well for themselves and their country is inexhaustible.

 Youths are pivotal and appreciated  in the world politics that they occupy top positions in other countries; The President of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen-Saleh Ali al-Sammad was born on January 1, 1979. Emil Dimitriev, Acting Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia was born on March 19, 1979. JigmeKhesar Namgyel Wangchuck was born on February 21, 1980, he is the King of Bhutan.

The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was born on June 3, 1980. The almighty Kim Jong Un was born on January 8, 1983, he is the Supreme Leader of North Korea.