topic: Youth in Government,Pros and cons
©Benjamin Arowosomo @decephas foundation 2020 writing competition.
In reference to the urban dictionary, youth is " a part of life following childhood; the period of existence preceding maturity or age; the whole early part of life, from childhood, or, sometimes, from infancy, to adulthood". Presumably, a period of life between the ages 18 to 35 or the late forties.
Youths are brilliant, sensitive and excellent people with astute and acute minds loaded but not needed in Nigeria's politics of today I will say. I regret to say that albeit Nigeria had experienced and practiced series of change in government form ranging from parliamentary to republican and the take over of military government in 1966 to civilian rule and then presidential, she is still very notable for her record in bribery and corruption, favoritism, nepotism, godfatherism, tribalism, economic recession, unstable educational system etc. What could have been the cause of this unseizing menace? What is the problem with Nigeria?
Undisputably, Nigeria is just a sate. A state driven by an agency (government) to maintain law and order in the country not excluding national peace and security. Government as an essential feature of a state makes into reality the wills, dreams and aspirations of a state as it organizes the state, manage its affairs and administer its functions and duties. From this perspective, it is noticeable and can be deduced that the problem with Nigeria is the machinery which administers her and that is her government.
In recent years, there has been transitional and successive changes in government form since 1960 when Nigeria gained her independence from The Great Britain but even with these changes the phenomenal of insecurity and national unrest in still inherent in her base. Why is this? The reason is because Nigeria has so far been administered by the same calcus of people who see the seat of power as a national cake, a set of people with similar odd ideology in the pursuit of national interest—this is where nepotism and favoritism comes in. Nigeria seems to be practicing a kind of rotational government within a circle of individuals. There is the need for new ideas and if I am permitted I will say that this new ideas are only possible with the youths.
From history, no one below the age of forty has for once headed the administration of Nigeria since 1960 till date. Truth be told, we had some during the military regime (Gowon is an example) but military government is the worst system of government ever as it lacks legitimacy.
"Youths are not too young to rule" this is a citation I still recollect from the speech of president Muhammad Buhari last year when he initiated the concept of "not too young to rule". This is not something to be said only as it is easier said than done, actions are needed to make this theory in reality. In Nigeria's politics, any candidate to contest for presidential election will have to pay a ransom worth millions of naira for ordinary form filling. After this monies worth the yearly budget of other countries are lavished on electioneering campaigns. How and where do you expect a youth who has not even fed his family to provide all these luxuries? Can a youth who has never counted a million naira partake in politics if this theories are still in effect? Youths should be allowed in government, they should be supported, they should be allowed to display the political abilities in them, they should be given an upper hand in government administration this way the inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the country can be tackled from another perspective. Let's try new ideas!
When the political head appointed in a state is dull, the state and the electorate therein will also appear dull. This is another reason/why youths should be allowed to administer the country because the sense needed is vested in the youth not those whose ideology and pursuit has only brought about inefficiencies like hike in oil price, economic unrest etc. There are numerous advantages attached to the inclusion of youths in politics, having charismatic and passionate youths who are politically able and conscious will foster a rapid growth and enhance development in all sectors of the nations economy.
Furthermore, youths are better performers in the areas of sensitization and mobilization of electorate during electioneering campaign. The vibrancy of youths make them indispensable in politics as such their inclusion in politics can not be over emphasized. If this theory made by the federal government (not too young to rule) is channeled well into politics it will go a long way in affirming their relevance in the polity of their state (country).
Youths are loaded but not needed in Nigeria's politics of today and this should be corrected. Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe to mention a few were all youths when they led the struggle for independence. Their active participation in politics at that time paved way for a lot of things in the political landscape of Nigeria then. Their contribution verily gave birth to Nigera's independence in 1960. Youths deserve an upper hand in the political affairs of their countries.
As it is, there is no thing with advantage without disadvantages. On the side of the youths there are irregularities to be looked into also.
There is a tendency in African young people who enter politics., they often end up having a corrupt mindset and at the end of the day fail to participate fully, fail to be the voice of the voiceless and advocating for what they stood up for in the first place. According to Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ), youths have not been spared in corruption, where in some cases during electoral periods; they have been used by unscrupulous politicians to perpetuate acts of violence in exchange for money. They get involved for all different reason but the major one being for money.
Young men and women get involved in violence for diverse and context-specific reasons. The main reason is that most youths get into violence because of the exclusion and lack of opportunities. They are faced with these problems of inequality in politics and these can influence them to disillusionment and, in some cases, their participation in violence. Unemployment, insufficient educational opportunities, poor governance and social marginalisation can lead to the deep disaffection of youths a in society, increasing the likelihood of them resorting to anti-social activity and engagement in violence.
The violence which overcame Kenya in 2007 was largely a result of young and blood thirsty youths who found a way of expressing themselves through political violence. Therefore, it scares the electorate of a country to put their confidence in young people as they are in most of the times associated with violence when it comes to political issues. Then it makes me wonder if it is just a case of misplaced guidance or it is because of lack of employment that leads them to indulge in uncouth behavior.
To be fair, I think the main disadvantage of being young is lack of experience. If one is only relying on what others have said, rather than what one has actually experienced, then it’s hard to know the actual truth about a given issue. So, a young leader is not necessarily a bad thing.
It has been said: “If you're not liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.” This is because the Liberal ideology seems like "the right thing to do"- until you find out that you’re going to be the one who has to pay for all these great social programs. But, to have youths engaged in politics, thinking about politics, studying history and politics? That’s an advantage, not a disadvantage!
Youths should be trained, they should be enlightened on how to take up the political responsibilities of their states. It is good to have more youth taking up politics seriously. They are the ones who will lead us tomorrow.
It is good to have more youth taking up politics seriously. They are the ones who will lead us tomorrow. On that note, my biggest fear is that youth are not reading or understanding history. They rely on social media for most of the information. I hope they read more books and understand the histories, geographies and all other factors that affect the politics of a country. They will have to break free from the opinions of their families, friends and community leaders. They will have to take charge of their political knowledge themselves.
Politics do change and youths need to evolve with it.