Who is afraid of the youths? Since the commencement of the 21st century, democracy has been presented to us as the best form of government that every nation deserves; and without it (democracy) no nation will prosper. Wow! Sounds nice like the best thing that has ever happened to man since Faraday invented electricity in 1821. They’ve made it look good hence many nations (especially the developing nations) have all embraced democracy even though this has been in varying forms and degrees. Many African nations (if not all) have now seen democracy as the only path to greatness; little wonder it’s now the most popular form of government in Africa. But the million dollar question is, has democracy really made us to be better-of as a people? Well, even money can either be a ‘good’ or ‘bad influence’ it all depends on the character that possesses it.
Periodic elections and partisan politics which are some of the core principles of democracy have given us the platform for calumny, mud sliding, violence, thuggery, ethnic/religious crises against each other. Like the Kalahari bushmen tribe who saw a bottle of Coca-Cola Coke for the first time and thought it was a gift sent from above by the gods to them, we have not really agreed on what democracy is to us as a people. To many in this part of the world, democracy only entails conducting elections and participating in elections. To some, democracy involves supporting the political elites to remain in power at all cost. And yet still, to some, democracy has to do with mass action against the ruling class. But we might be tempted to ask this question, what really is democracy?
Government by popular consent, government by the decisions of the majority, government where the minority have their say and the majority have their way. These are just some of the popular definitions that someone can give to the term democracy. However, what has become a general (or at least the most popular) definition of the concept is the definition given by a former United States of America’s president, Abraham Lincoln where he said “Democracy is government of the people by the people and for the people.” by Abraham Lincoln Just as there are several ways in which democracy has been defined so also are the varying approach that every nation has adopted in her practice of it (democracy). The way every nation has adopted the principles of democracy slightly varies from country to country. Here in Nigeria, our democracy has been characterized by periodic elections which have ensured that the ‘few ruling class’ maintain a strong grip on the political future of the country with the majority acting as praise singers. But anyways, who pays the piper dictates the tune; sighs!
In Nigeria, democracy has been reduced to the continuous rotation of power among the political class; the endless recycling of leaders who have proven to offer nothing new but continuous underdevelopment. Those whose names are enshrined in all secondary school textbooks as ‘founding fathers’ of the nation are still the ones piloting the affairs of the state. But what do you expect? “Old soldier never dies” It’s only death that has been helping us to retire them; winks! The youths have continued to remain the leaders of tomorrow; a tomorrow that has refused to come.
Just as democracy emerged as the preferred form of government in the 21st Century, there seems to be a threat to the established norms of democracy especially in a country like Nigeria. There is a new kid on the block known as ‘Youthocracy’. Youthocracy is an emerging concept of government that was coined and popularized by a political scientist, called Tunde Eso in the early days of the 21st Century; at the same time that democracy had ensured the extinction of military governments in Africa.
I said military governments! Because the military men themselves refused to go into extinction, but they have been baptized and are now the disciples of democracy. According to Tunde Eso, Youthocracy is “government of the people by the youth and for the people”. This concept (youthocracy) is a blend of democratic principles with fresh ideas. The system advocates for a different and dynamic approach to governance through the youths who obviously constitute the majority. If truly democracy is government by the majority, then the youths who are by far the majority shouldn’t take the back seat but rather be in the driver’s seat to pilot the affairs of the state. We can’t be tenants in our father’s house; never!
All over the world, the dynamics are changing. Technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs have been able to disrupt the established norms and change the perceptions that there is only one approach towards complex problems. From the largest tech companies to the multi billion dollars entertainment industries, the youths have stamped their authority as the new landlords of the planet. Leadership positions are no longer seen as the exclusive rights of old men; for experience is not exclusively in the minds of old men alone. Failure is neither a respecter of age or skin colour. From France to Ukraine to Canada and all other democracies in Europe, youths have proven that youthocracy is now the political force to reckon with. Back here in Africa (Nigeria to be precise), youths are now getting fully involved in the political decision making process. The advocacy for youths to get involved in politics which was started over 28 years ago by Tunde Eso has now grown not just into a recognized system of government but also a political ideology that has obviously inspired the formation of movements like “The Not Too Young To Run Movement”, “Young Progressives Party”, ‘‘Fix Nigeria Group’’ and a host of others.
Youthocracy has led a rebirth on our political landscape and the status quo is gradually changing; the baton of leadership is changing hands. A lot of youths contested and were elected into various positions in the last general elections in Nigeria. Many more youths are still being appointed at various levels of government to serve in different capacities.
Like a wild fire that is consuming the conservatives, the Gerontocrats etc, can we then say youthocracy is now a threat to democracy? The answer to this question is relative; the angle at which you are looking at democracy will determine how you’ll see youthocracy. A man that lives in Aso Rock with a man that lives in Ajegunle, Lagos will hardly see democracy or youthocracy from the same perspective. If to you democracy is the continuous rotation of power among the same class or people then obviously youthocracy will be a threat. If you see democracy as the endless recycling of leaders; same wine in new wine bottles then youthocracy will definitely be a threat. If by your definition, democracy is a government by old men and women on the guise of experience then unfortunately for you, youthocracy is a big threat. But if you see democracy as a government by the majority who want new ways and fresh ideas to do things differently in order to get better result then youthocracy originated by Tunde Eso-a visionary Nigerian won’t be a threat.
Though it is a known fact that the concept, youthocracy has emerged as a strong political force that can not just be wished away but however, it is not a threat to democracy as we might be tempted to assume. Nigeria’s infant democracy since 1999 has been struggling to grow beyond ethnic and regional based politics due to numerous road blocks against progress that we have collectively as a people mounted over the years. While the police officers are mounting road blocks on the high-ways, we are mounting road blocks in our hearts/heads to obstruct the free flow ideas. The threats to Nigeria’s democracy are obviously not the interests of the youths to wrestle power from those who have remained there since independence but rather, the threat to our democracy is nepotism, corruption, bigotry, ethnic and religious bias among the populace.
Our failure to develop a consensus on what we really need as a nation, our failure to provide a lasting solution to our numerous security challenges, our failure to tackle the alarming rate of unemployment among the youths, our failure as individuals to rise above our ethnic/religious/political boundaries to ensure that national interest prevails, and our collective failure as a people to hold our elected officials accountable for their stewardship have remained and the biggest problems confronting our democracy today.
It’s time for us to stop chasing shadows while leaving the substance behind. The time has come for the youths to get involved in the decision making process; for how long shall they continue to mortgage their future to these same old political godfathers? In the words of Tunde Eso, “the youths are no longer the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today”. Democracy is a dynamic concept that needs the wisdom of the old men but even more, the energy of the youths to succeed. Not the energy to become thugs, not energy to snatch ballot boxes, not the energy to become praise singers, not the energy to cause mayhem but rather, the energy to breath in fresh ideas and champion a new cause for our nation through the formulation and implementation of the right policies and programs that will ensure the industrialization of the country and a better standard of living for every citizen. We can’t continue to run away from the truth because youthocracy has come to stay! The biggest threat to our democracy is not the mass mobilization of youths to take part in government and governance, but failure of the youths to get involved in the decision making process. If ‘we’ the youths don’t get involved in administering the affairs of our nation, the political elite will happily continue to shave our hair in our absence. God bless Nigeria!
Agan sent in this piece from Port Harcourt.
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