Not too young to run logo.
Since the passage of the Nigerian constitution in 1999 and the transition from military to civilian rule, there have been continuous calls for a reduction in the age of eligibility to contest in elections. In the past few years, the calls have increased in intensity from various quarters, including a variety of local and international civil society organizations, as well as the United Nations itself. In the same vein, opposition to the reduction has increased steadily, with the bill even being described as an “expensive joke” by a Guardian Newspaper editorial last year, amidst criticism from other highly-placed persons and organizations.
As with everything else that involves change, criticism and active opposition is to be expected, but my prompt for penning this piece is a recent uptick in opposition to the bill among youth. I am afraid that if young people fail to present a concerted front in our activism for the passage of the #NotTooYoungToRun bill, it will be a fortuitous point for its detractors to seize upon as an excuse to kill it. This post will mainly outline and respond to the concerns that I have seen raised, while highlighting the potential benefits of the bill, in the hope that it will concretize the need to support it in the minds of all young people and our allies in the struggle who come across it.
The most common point raised against the bill is that young people are not mature enough to hold positions of power. This is something that might have been a valid point in the olden days, where life was a linear progression with little opportunity to break out of the mold. It’s an entirely different ball game now: Young people have benefited from increased liberalization in various spheres of society, participating in diverse activities, gaining knowledge, exposure and experience by interacting with the world in entirely new ways. Knowledge is widely available, and young people are vastly experienced at accessing it, whether it’s by simply googling keywords or taking entire courses online, in fields sometimes completely different from what they study in school.
Beyond this, maturity and experience are things that young people nowadays have had to gain much more quickly, considering the amount of social interactions that they participate in physically and virtually. It is not in doubt that the level of social awareness and maturity one would find in an 18 year old nowadays is significantly higher than what would have been expected from a person that age, 20, 30 or 50 years ago.
Proof of this can be found in the number of innovative businesses and NGOs that are run by youth at local and multinational levels, doing awesome things in their respective fields that would have been restricted to, or expected solely from adults in the past. I can think of up to three young people off the top of my head whom I would instantly vote for to be president of the country. Even if you cannot name three for president, I’m certain you can think of a few whom you would like to represent you as senators, House of Representatives or Assemblies members, or even local government heads.
Another thing that is often brought up is the issue of corruption and misbehavior. In the same vein as any other kind of marginalization, misdeeds by young people are often touted as evidence for why they shouldn’t be trusted with power. While this is often done in sincerity, it evinces a reliance on emotions and prejudices, rather than logic. Abubakar Atiku, a past vice president of Nigeria, was once quoted as saying “Nigeria can no longer afford a trial and error leadership in its young population”, indirectly raising the issue of trust. Now, the question that must be answered is: Would it be logical to use the alleged corruption of Atiku Abubakar and other politicians of his generation to disqualify people in his age-group from contesting in elections? Obviously, the answer is no, because despite the fact that his generation and the ones before it are responsible for making Nigeria into what it is today, individuals have to be judged on their own merits, not by association with any particular demographic.
To make the issue clearer, another way to put the question is: Would a convicted Christian/Muslim/Male/Female/Yoruba/Hausa/Igbo politician legitimize the disqualification of Christians/Muslims/Males/Females/ Yoruba/Hausa/Igbo from holding political office? Will 10 convictions, or 100, or 1000 make you think so? If the answer is no, then there is no reason why it should apply to disqualify young people. All it means is that we have to properly scrutinize those whom we vote for, regardless of their age, to ensure that only those with the necessary intellect, commitment and integrity get into office.
Lastly, I’ve seen where the #NotTooYoungToRun bill has been described as a political tool that will favor the political elite in the country, paving the way for the perpetuation of political dynasties. I fully agree that this is a real risk, but the risk is something that is inherent in every specie of political reform. The political establishment will take advantage of it, but the opportunity will always be there for outsiders, and that’s the most important thing: the opportunity. In the status quo, the establishment is still a factor, but it hasn’t deterred political outsiders from succeeding against the odds in several cases. There’s no reason why that cannot happen with reduced ages. In fact, it will likely increase those chances, as I’ll explain in the coming point on political participation.
Now, as to how the bill is likely to benefit us as young people and Nigerians generally: The first and most obvious benefit is the widening of the political field and increasing the choices available to us. More people will be able to put themselves up for election, and once we recognize that integrity and competence are not restricted to a particular age-group, we’ll likely find many good choices among the younger candidates. Competent young people will no longer have to settle for being appointed as aides that rarely even get to see “oga”, not to speak of passing on their innovative ideas on the laws and policies that will benefit the country.
Also, it is bound to increase political participation among young people in the sense of voting and other forms of civic engagement. I have constantly berated associates of mine who proclaim themselves as not being interested in politics, but it is impossible not to see things from their perspective sometimes: When all the candidates for a position are people whom they feel do not understand their particular needs and aspirations, beyond repeating tired mantras like “fight corruption”, “create jobs” and the like, it must be difficult for some people to find the motivation to get involved.
When there are younger people who understand the new concepts that are important to the youth, as well as the new ways to achieve the constant national goals, we will likely have more young people excited to make their voices heard politically. The importance of this cannot be overstated, since us youth constitute approximately 70% of Nigeria’s population. If we are able to present a concerted front on an issue, and have people actually representing us (as opposed to coming to ask for votes every four years), we will likely see it achieved.
In all, the #NotTooYoungToRun bill is a worthy pathway out of waithood for Nigeian youth. After decades of being told we are “leaders of tomorrow”, the ball is now in our court to make sure we take charge of the country today and ensure a better tomorrow for our children than what our parents left us. There are valid criticisms for every proposed reform, and all the points raised about the #NotTooYoungToRun bill are sincere, valid concerns, but the law will be what we make of it. Tomorrow is here for Nigerian youth, and it’s time to get involved.