The youths of every nation are the ones that determine its future. Consequently, countries around the world that practice democratic governance are creating opportunities for the youths to be at the helm of their affairs. For instance, the current British Prime Minister is 42 years old. The Prime Minister of New Zealand assumed office at the age of 37 in 2017, and is still in office. In Ethiopia, its current Prime Minister became the Head of the Government in 2018 at the age of 42, and subsequently won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for ending the 20 year old civil war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
However, Nigeria has not been so lucky, as most of the persons that have been steering its affairs since the return of democracy in 1999, are mostly the older generation. Formerly, the minimum age requirement for aspiring for political office as set in the Nigerian Constitution was a hindrance for the youths, for example 40 years is the requirement for any person wishing to contest for the office of the president. This problem was addressed when the Not-Too-Young-To-Run bill was signed by the President in the run up to the 2019 general elections, thereby reducing the age limit of those that seek to contest the office of the president to 35 and that of the governor of a state to 30 years. The establishment of the Act was applauded by Nigerians.
However, the biggest obstacle to the realisation of the opportunity of the Nigerian youth to be able to contest for office, is that most political parties impose extremely high fees for the purchase of nomination forms that will enable individuals seeking the nominations of parties to stand for elections. In the build up to the 2023 elections, the ruling APC priced its presidential nomination form at N100 million, and only political office holders and money bags were able to purchase the form, which ironically consist of only the older generation. The unaffordability of the nomination forms has knocked out majority of the youths from contesting the forthcoming elections.
In addition, the indirect form of primaries adopted by the political parties which gives the mandate of selecting candidates to delegates compounded the problem for the youths, as most delegates cast their votes depending on the financial inducement given. Also, governors, in most cases, decided the aspirant that the delegates from their states will vote for in their respective party primaries, and in most cases, prefer to support veteran politicians with deep pockets. This has added to the quandary of the youths which the law was enacted to support. There are other political parties that exist only on paper that elections are rarely won on their platforms because of their lack of visibility and spread.
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Also, those occupying public offices reserve tickets for those they favour to the exclusion of others. In addition, governors that are about to complete their two term limits tend to fly the flags of their parties and contest for senatorial seats in their constituencies to the exclusion of all other persons. At the last count, 28 past and serving governors are vying for senatorial seats in the upcoming 2023 elections. Party politics in Nigeria lacks ideology, as cross carpeting is the order of the day; it is simply about which platform will give an individual an edge in the polls.
Since party politics in Nigeria has barely given the upcoming generation the opportunity to aspire for political office, it is time to allow individuals to contest for elections as independent candidates. These types of candidates will run for office without being affiliated to any political party, but the name of the person will be on the official ballot for selection by the electorate. Independent candidates, if they win elections will not be hindered by intrigues within the party and that fear of not getting the party ticket in the next round of elections is absent. This will ensure effective service delivery to the people will be in the forefront, since the individual’s mandate solely depends on the electorate. Also, it will give the people the opportunity to sponsor candidates they genuinely believe will deliver on the mandate given, and not be restricted by the choice sponsored by political parties, as it is presently done.
However, for an independent candidate to be allowed to contest, stringent requirements must be set, an example of this is that at least two per cent of the total number of voters in the territory in which the election will hold must nominate the person, their NIN and voter card numbers must be included in the nomination, so that INEC, which the constitution empowers to accord recognition to political parties, can verify the authenticity of the nominators. In addition, those that nominate the person must be spread within the territory the election will hold, if the candidate is contesting for the office of the President, the nominators must emanate from all states of the federation, if vying for the office of the governor, all local governments. The law should provide stiff penalties for any false declarations to discourage unserious persons from aspiring.
Allowing independent candidacy in Nigeria will afford the youths an opportunity to contest for political office. Nigerians will also have more options in choosing their leaders and will also force political parties to nominate competent persons to run for office. If more independent candidates are elected into office, political parties may face extinction if they keep on recycling the same politicians that have been occupying political office since the return of democracy in 1999.
Ibrahim, Ph.D wrote through [email protected]
