NAME: OJO BABATUNDE SAMUEL

AGE: 23 YEARS OLD

AN ESSAY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS

“The Arab spring that began in 2010 was driven by the educated youth who were
connected to the outside world. They had visions of liberal politics derived from social networks.
They used innovative means to spread awareness and to network among activists.”

Wadah Khanfar.

The Arab Spring was a revolution that produced political, social, and economic gains for
the region’s inhabitants. It was a move against Corruption, Low standard of living, Youth
Unemployment etc. It was also a move for Democracy against the form of government amongst
nations of the region. Thus, this work would look at the importance of Youth participation in
politics. An inclusion that would resort to a lot of benefits for the nation as they are the future
guardians of the liberties of any nation.

Youth can be seen or described as the quality or state of being young. It is the period of
life from puberty to the attainment of full growth; adolescence. This is an essential stage in the
life of every individual and this is because crucial and vital decisions about one’s life are made in
this stage. He or She decides on the kind of person he or she wants to become and begins to
make plans to see that his dream or aspiration is actualized.

Youths are generally indispensable in any nation because a nation’s future is not
guaranteed without them and as such they are extremely vital to a nation’s progress and they
should be involved in the decision-making process of a nation due to this. Gerontocracy, which
is a state, society, or group governed by old people is beginning to give away for a government
ruled by young people. Some of them are; Giacomo Simoncini is the Captain Regent of San
Marino. He got the position at the age of 26. He is the youngest leader in the world. Gabriel
Boric was elected as the President of Chile on the 11 th of March 2018 when he was only 32
years old. Sanna Marin, at the age of 33 became the Prime Minister of Finland. Emmanuel
Macron was only 39 years old when he became the President of France on the 14 th of May
2017. Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar acceded to the throne of Bhutan at the age of 26 in the year
2006. We also have examples in Nigeria. The likes of Tafawa Balewa, Maitama Sule, Nnamdi
Azikiwe, Anthony Enahoro, Samuel Akintola, etc. started their political lives at youthful ages.
Balewa for example, was elected into the Northern House of Assembly at the tender age of 34
and later into the Legislative Assembly at the age of 37. Shehu Shagari‘s political life started at
just 21 years old and by the time he was 23 in 1948 he merged his political organization, The
Youth Social Circle with other political organizations to create the Northern People’s Congress
(NPC). These are but a few young individuals who have taken up important positions in their
respective nations and have contributed immensely to the growth and development of their
nations. However, there are still politically inactive or apathetic youths and this is due to some
reasons which would be highlighted in subsequent paragraphs.

Security is one of the reasons why Youths do not get actively involved in Politics. It
discourages and keep away the youth from participating in political contests. Political violence
has misused several members of political parties, exposing them to attacks, kidnaps and
ultimate deaths. Politics has been seen as a “Do or Die affair” and with each contestant
employing a lot of resources to see that he or she gets into office puts youths off the terrain of
politics as they fear for their lives.

Lack of finance is another problem to youth engagement which is component of a

greater problem. It is related to poverty and specially the lack of financial resources being a
main limiting factor for making a young and fresh political party. There is a saying that goes
thus, “Politics is nothing but luxury” and there is a lot of truth in this saying as money is needed
for campaigns and rallies, propaganda, support of Interest groups etc. Youths see this as a turn
off and do not vie for positions in government due to this.

Another reason is Adequate Education. Education plays a vital role in politics. In

established European democracies, education is persistently the most necessary influence,
having a great impact on all the measures of political involvement except voting. Age also has a
considerable effect on interest in politics and satisfaction with democracy, however it is less
than education. In post-Communist countries, education has a significant impact on freedom to
take an activity in politics, delight with democracy and rejecting undemocratic alternatives, and
age indicates a restricted impact on interest and pride in country. In Latin American countries,
age consistently shows a strictly constrained significance, while education only influences
interest in politics and rejecting undemocratic politics. In depth knowledge about politics is a
prerequisite for effective participation. Education is the basic attribute for accumulation of this
knowledge. A lot of politicians are not educated to tell the least while some of them lack
political knowledge despite adequate education. Education even up to the Masters Level would
go a long way in preparing any Youth for a position in government but it is however
unfortunate that most youths cannot get qualitative and adequate education which in most
cases in due to the kind of government in power which is often gerontocratic.

Another reason why Youths are not active in politics is their lack of accessibility to
political parties, politicians and government actors. A lot of youths are willing to become party
members and gradually get themselves acquainted to the political space which would further
aid their political ambitions but political parties which they can join to aid this process are not
accessible to some of them.

Finally, Lack of Political Awareness is yet another reason why Youths are not active in
politics. Symposiums and Seminars about participation in politics and politics itself are not
carried out. As such, they’re deficient in knowledge about politics and most of them become
“political thugs” due to this absence of political knowledge. If the Youths have adequate
political awareness, they will definitely be active in politics.

The reasons for inactive youth political participation are not limited to these and the
solutions are not far-fetched. They would be explained in the following paragraphs

Empowerment has to take place. Empowerment through knowledge is predicated on

the explicit relationship between Knowledge and development, and in the conviction that it is
the key element in the development of nations, peoples, communities and individuals. George
Washington said “A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of
government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty
more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the
liberties of the country?”. The term “empowerment” captures the true essence of development
which is giving people the power, defined in terms of adequate knowledge and capacity, to
decide what is best for them and to act accordingly in fulfilling their own destinies. Youth
should, therefore, be given the opportunity to work for a better future for their communities
through constructive and creative engagements, as opposed to the win-at-all costs.

A School for Democracy is another way of eliminating apathy amongst youths. Political
authorities should step up activities to encourage open and frank dialogue especially where the
ethnic divide is particularly deep. The aim is to provide platforms for young people to discuss
their concerns within democratic structures. This way they will learn how to organize and plan
various activities and find the proper tools to implement them. In other words, the youth
activism assemblies will become a kind of school for democracy in the sense that tolerance will
be the watchword. Youth participation in policy-making is important. Decisions taken within the
framework of youth participation will make a difference at the local community level. When
youth leaders are incorporated, they will take oath to fulfill their duties honorably, impartially
with conscience and in accordance with the law. Plans must be made to ensure fair and
transparent electoral processes with young people’s participation. It will prove and
demonstrate that young people from different ethnic backgrounds can communicate with one
voice. Besides the multi-ethnic component, gender balance should also be a requirement in
positive youth activism. At the youth level, women should be encouraged to seek elective
offices.

Political Party communication also needs to be improved. There should be improved

political party communication to address the traditional lack of activity between elections.
Particular improvements should be external and internal communication and communication
within the governing party. The goals are to help parties develop active dialogue with the
electorate through national and local media and direct voter contact. It will also promote
internal party democracy by encouraging regular and frequent communication within the
parties at all levels.
 Having highlighted the solutions, we now move to the importance of having Youth
participation in the politics of a nation.

Youth Participation is important for modern democratic societies because it makes the
decision making process inclusive. For democracy to be meaningful, stable and functional,
youths must be part of the shaping process. The youths have both a right and a responsibility to
help shape the future that they will inherit and the quality of life that they will experience. It is
reprehensible for adults alone to decide on the balance between war and peace, the priorities
and strength of the economy, or the health of the environment as it is now. Young voices and
voters are equally essential in the body polity. As they are the “future guardians of the liberties
of a country” as George Washington said, they should be included in decision making processes.

Youth participation in policy formation can help to highlight the link between public
spending(budgets) and youth development, to sensitize people in government to the concerns
of young people. Thus, the future generation voice out their needs, opinions and views which
helps to ensure effective long-term policy implementation.

In addition to influencing budgets so that they reflect the needs of youth, young people
can also help to reform institutions that affect their lives. Institutions should provide
mechanisms for youth to participate in deliberations on policy and to help guide and set
priorities within such discussions.

The engagement of youths in politics can be a creative force, a dynamic source of

innovation which can contribute to catalyze changes in political systems. Youthful age is the age
of creative and innovative thinking. Youths in politics can bring about better and more effective
ways of getting things done. Youths have the ability of creating something out of absolutely
nothing and this would be of huge benefit to any nation that includes youths in politics.

Conclusively, it is clear from the above that youth participation in politics is relatively a
very good move and a step in the right direction due to the abundant potentials inherent in
youthful hands which if harnessed and well implemented would lead to the massive growth and
development of a nation. It is a big problem if the youths who are a vital part of a society are
not involved in politics as it would lead to a system whereby we are circling around
gerontocracy as the candidates that would be voted for are in their late 50s, 60s or even 70s
when they should really be resting while youthful bodies take charge of the political affairs of
the state. Their occupation of very high political offices can be detrimental to a nation’s
progress due to their outdated method of getting things done. Youths need to stand up and be
active in politics for a better society and nation.