Youths are a formidable force in any country. In politics, they are a strong force whether positively or negatively. Positively, they constitute a large voting population that can bring good leaders; and negatively, they can easily be used as thugs by selfish politicians only to be dumped after elections. Positively again, the youths serve as catalysts for good governance and positive change such as in the nation-wide #EndSARS protests. Negatively also, they can be mobilised against progressive change as we saw with those who disrupted the #EndSARS protests, or in the 1998 Abacha One Million March tilted ‘Youths Earnestly Ask for Abacha’ led by Daniel Kanu.
Historically, Nigerian youths have been part of the national struggle for meaningful change and progress. For example, before independence, the Nigerian Youths Movement was the foundation upon which the nationalist struggle effectively took off. And shortly after independence, it was the demonstration by the university students that led to the repudiation of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact under the Tafawa Balewa administration in 1962. Again, in Nigeria’s long period of military rule, the youths were at the forefront of the opposition against military dictatorship and policies. In 1978 under the Obasanjo military regime for example, the Ali-Must-Go demonstrations across the universities, readily comes to mind. Some federal universities emerged thereafter as hotbeds of radicalism. Furthermore, during the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the Babangida military regime in the 1980s, the youths were active participants in the opposition. Actually, the regime was always apprehensive of students in some universities that were regarded as hotbeds of radicalism.
There is no doubt therefore that historically, Nigerian youths played remarkable role in the socio-economic and political development of our nation. And one hallmark of this role worthy of note, is that the youths were not easily bought with money to follow a cause that they did not believe in. They were largely driven by a progressive ideology in the real sense of the term. This is not to say that ALL the youths shared such progressive ideology. But the conservative or reactionary group among them did not dominate at the national scene.
However, since the inception of democratic governance in 1999, it appears that the reactionary youths are dominating the national scene. Aside from the remarkable #EndSARS movement, the constructive role of the youths has been on the receding trend. What has changed? Money has come into play in determining the character of the role of youths. Politicians increasingly hijacked the youths for their selfish interest. But how was this made possible by the politicians?
The politicians started by impoverishing the youths through lack of meaningful employment which in turn created a large of pool of vulnerable youths. Although the pauperisation of the youths started after SAP in the late 1980s, it became intensified after the inception of democratic governance in 1999. Gradually, an army of poor and dangerous youths emerged across the country. First, armed robbers emerged as a major national concern but mainly in the south, while religious intolerance and ethno-religious riots festered in the north. These were followed by what one can call ‘small scale’ kidnapping activities in the South-East and later in the Niger Delta, and then militant activities in the Niger Delta. And herdsmen-farmers clashes which were hitherto confined to the north spread across the nation.
The birth of Boko Haram in the North-east, as well as a new and intensified form of herders menace across the country became a national concern. So was also the rise of separatist agitations first in the South-east, and much later in the South-West. Furthermore, a ‘large-scale’ form of kidnapping emerged as a lucrative business across the country. And almost in the same period, banditry started in the north-west and increasingly spread across the country. The birth and rise of the phenomenon of Unknown Gun Men in the South-East came as a surprise. All these some would say, were due to the neglect of the youths by politicians.
As these were going on, the hitherto progressive youths in tertiary institutions (universities, polytechnics and colleges of education etc) became a microcosm of national corrupt politicians. For example, election of class or course representatives, Student Departmental Professional Associations, and Students Union Governments, became more acrimonious and highly driven by pecuniary interest as the process gradually got corrupted. For example, there was a case in one university department where the leaders of the students association went to raise funds for hosting their graduation party. They collected two million naira (N2,000,000) but corruptly pocketed one million, five hundred thousand Naira (N1,500,000) and then declared only five hundred thousand Naira (N500,000) to their staff adviser when asked to give accounts. It is therefore no surprise these days that national student union leaders behave like corrupt politicians and even go on expensive (luxurious) cars.
Students had perfected using ethnic and religious affiliations as means of mobilising support while competence and service took the back seat. The same thing happened at the national level with respect to the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and their other counterparts. Acrimonious competitions became the order of the day with parallel executives emerging. And behind many of these were external interests of politicians with some of them building alliances across the factional student leaders. One can draw parallel with what has long been happening with the members of the road transport unions across the country but notably in the South-West. This is why student unionism suddenly became a lucrative business. The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) was not spared also as it got factionalised at a time in its history. In all of these, the preoccupation of youth leaders became the pursuit of money through corrupt enrichment. And consequently, they lost their progressive and patriotic vision and voice.
With all of these at the background, one may ask: would the youths mortgage their future in the forthcoming 2023 elections? As the electioneering campaigns intensify, different political parties will be using their usual deceptive slogans and tricks to win votes. And with their corrupt money, they might succeed. The dominant parties are well known for these and if the youths are not careful again, they might fall prey and Nigeria’s underdevelopment would persist. The youths should therefore resist voter-inducements (such as bags of rice and other items), and vote-buying as with the case in previous elections. They should vote for their future and resist money bags and their deceptions.
•Prof. Obasi can be reached via nnamdizik@gmail.com.
