Youth Apathy, Political Thuggery Threatening Nigeria’s Democracy – Stakeholders

Stakeholders have warned that youth apathy and the growing use of young Nigerians as political thugs were threatening the survival of Nigeria’s democracy,

They called for greater youth participation, civic education and political reforms to reverse the disengagement of young people from the electoral process.

The stakeholders spoke in Abuja at the National Youth Mentorship Conference on Sustainable Democratic Governance, with the theme, “Building Sustainable Pathways for Civic Leadership, Electoral Participation and Democratic Governance.”

The executive director of the African Youths Growth Foundation, Dr Arome Salifu, said the major challenge confronting youth participation in elections was the lack of empowerment and political space for young Nigerians.

According to him, young people are willing and capable of participating actively in the democratic process but have consistently been treated as consumers of electoral outcomes rather than active participants.

He, however, cautioned that being young did not automatically make an individual a good leader.
Also, the resident electoral commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Plateau State, Prof. Sam Egwu, said citizen disenchantment with liberal democracy was contributing to the crisis.
Egwu argued that Nigeria needed to begin a conversation about the type of democracy that would best serve the welfare of its citizens.

He said liberal democracy, as currently practised, was not delivering the expected development and welfare to Nigerians.

“Liberal democracy is running out of energy. And it is not delivering development,” Egwu said.

According to him, economic growth alone should not be used as the measure of development.

“The problem of development is beyond economic growth. It’s about the welfare of citizens,” he said.

Egwu called for greater citizen participation and responsibility in the democratic process.

Similarly, Prof Nwosu warned that voter apathy could lead to the re-election of unpopular and non-performing public officials.

He said low voter turnout deprived citizens of the opportunity to punish failed leaders at the polls and select competent individuals.

“One of the risks we face is that if few people come out and the mass of the people don’t come out to express their anger, we may face a very odd situation of unpopular government being re-elected,” Nwosu said.

He urged young Nigerians to use elections to express their grievances rather than resorting to violence.

“We need to show our public anger, not by resorting to violence, but by going to the polls,” he said.

Nwosu also criticised the internal processes of political parties, saying many parties were not sufficiently democratic in the selection of their candidates.

“Politicians themselves are not democrats. If those who are not democrats are the main actors in the process, how can you expect democracy?” he asked.

He called for greater investment in civic and political education, arguing that citizens needed to understand their rights and responsibilities in a democracy.

He also urged Nigerians to protect their votes and hold elected officials accountable after elections.

“The best guarantee for our democracy is citizen agency,” Nwosu said.

He added, “We should take our destiny into our hands. We should go to the polling units, mobilise to vote, and protect our mandate.”

The founder of The Mande Impact Global Consulting Limited, Mr Suleiman Mande, said the responsibility of building the Nigeria citizens desired could not be left to government alone.

He urged Nigerians, particularly young people, to become responsible citizens who participate actively in democratic governance.

“The Nigeria we desire is waiting for us to take responsibility for building it. Nobody is going to do that but for us,” Mande said.

He said democracy required more than voting every four years, stressing that citizens must remain engaged before, during and after elections.

“Democratic governance requires more than voting every four years,” he said.

Mande said citizens must ask questions, demand transparency, respect the rule of law and reject political apathy.

Also, the director-general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof Abubakar O. Suleiman, represented by the Head, Department of Democracy and Governance, Dr Christopher Ngara, called for stronger institutional support for youth political participation.

Suleiman said youth inclusion must go beyond token appointments and symbolic representation.

“Let me emphasise that the call for youth inclusion must not be reduced to tokenism or symbolic representation,” he said.

He said meaningful youth inclusion was essential to strengthening democracy, unlocking Nigeria’s human capital and securing a stable and inclusive future.

The NILS boss pledged the institute’s commitment to working with policymakers, political parties, civil society organisations, development partners, academia and young people to promote reforms that would improve youth participation in democratic governance.