By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Abubakar Suleiman, has said that Nigerian youths are currently not involved in governance because they are mostly unemployed and lack financial capabilities.
The NILDS DG stated this at a one-day policy discourse titled “Inclusive Democracy: Navigating the Digital Frontier for Youth in Governance.”
He said any nation with less than one per cent of its youth in elective office is not practicing true democracy.
NILDS organized the event in collaboration with ILEAD Africa, Westminster Foundation, Nigeria Youths Parliament, YIAGA Africa, and the Federal Ministry of Youths Development, among others.
Sulaiman said the leadership of the National Assembly, fully aware of the aching issues of Nigerian youths, has mandated NILDS to collaborate with foreign partners and other nongovernmental organisations and devise capacity-building programmes that would address the disturbing phenomenon.
He noted that the passage of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act of 2018 was a testament to the National Assembly’s efforts to ensure that youths are included in the political space.
He also said the passage of the Start-Up Act 2022, which is expected to create opportunities for youths with innovative and digital ideas, was another testament that the government is beginning to recognize youths’ vital role in economic development.
Also, the current government has made efforts to appoint youths to political positions as a way of showing its commitment to youth inclusion in governance.
He said, “While these strides are germane, it is appalling to see that despite these efforts, several challenges persist to undermine Nigerian youth in political participation and representation.
“Despite the potentials of our youthful population, they face socio-economic and political challenges.
“According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, youth (15-34 years) unemployment rate increased from 29.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 to 34.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2020.
“This translates to about 13.9 million youths not having jobs. The rising youth population aggravates the challenge of youth unemployment in Nigeria, which is not related to education, employment, or training.
“According to World Development Indicators of the World Bank data, Nigerian youth not in education, employment, or training rose from 24.8 per cent in 2011 to 28.1 per cent in 2019. This implies declining opportunities for social mobility and economic potential for young people in Nigeria.
“The huge youth population (over 60 per cent of the total population) possesses the potential of giving the youth a vocal voice in national decision making.”
However, he regretted that “the youth are largely marginalised from political life. In fact, the poor labour market and economic outcomes for the youth have been attributed to their lack of participation in the decision-making process.”
He said, “Less than 1 per cent of all elective positions are occupied by youth despite the youth accounting for about half of the population and a sizeable portion of registered voters.
“This is very low compared to the global average. According to the United Nations Development Programme and the Inter-parliamentary Union, about 1.65 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are in their 20s and 11.87 per cent are in their 30s.
“The political process has become the exclusive preserve of the older generations, while the youths are primarily hired to manipulate and sometimes instigate violence during elections. The lack of social and economic mobility for young people in Nigeria has created a grave situation.
“Social vices such as internet fraud, banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, violence and conflicts, and ritualism, among others, have increased in recent years, driven to some extent by high youth unemployment and poverty rates.
“Several Nigerian youths have also resorted to irregular immigration, taking risky routes to Europe and the current “Japa” syndrome.”
The DG noted that the digital space has now become a catalyst for democratic participation in Nigeria and globally.
According to him, the digital revolution “has transformed the way we interact, communicate, and participate in governance.”
He explained that a significant percentage of today’s Nigerian youth use digital forums to develop civic identities and express political viewpoints innovatively, claiming agency they may not have in conventional civic platforms.
Social media platforms, mobile technology, and other digital tools he added, have democratized access to information and provided new avenues for political engagement.
He, therefore, urged the youths to leverage on it for their active participation in politics in Nigeria.
He said, “This calls for more actions to enhance the digital skills of young men and women in Nigeria to explore opportunities for youth political participation.”
