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While breaking down the 93.4 million Nigerian registered voters into age groups, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said young people within the 18-34 age brackets are 37,060,399; people between 35 and 49 are 33,413,591; those from 50 to 69 are 17,700,270, while 5,294,748 are 70 years and above.
The obvious implication of this is that youths constitute the group with the highest electoral power, as they make up over 33 per cent of the registered voters. The greater implication is that Nigerian youths can actually determine who the next president of Nigeria will be if they elect to.
In the 1999 election that brought in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the president, the total number of votes cast was 30,280,052 out of which Obasanjo got 18.7 million, while his challenger, Chief OluFalae got 11.1 million. In the 2003 presidential election, out of the 39.4 million votes cast, Obasanjo got 24.4 million, while his major challenger, General Muhammadu Buhari scored 12.7million votes. In 2007, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua polled 24.6 million of the 35.4 million votes cast. His major challengers, General Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar scored 6.6 million and 2.6 million votes respectively. In 2011, 22.5 million out of the total 38.2 million votes cast in the presidential election went to Dr Goodluck Jonathan, General Buhari polled 12.2million, while Mr Nuhu Ribadu polled 2 million. In the 2015 presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari had 15.4 million votes to Dr Jonathan’s 12.8 million. In the 2019 presidential election, General Buhari polled 15 million votes to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s 11.3 million.
The point here is that with 37 million as the total number of youths registered for the 2023 elections, Nigeria’s young men and women can actually determine where the pendulum will swing, especially in the presidential election. The number is higher than those that voted in 1999. It is also more than the number of people that voted in 2007, 2015 as well as 2019. So, with their votes Nigerian youths can change the nation’s narrative; they can begin the process of the country’s journey to greatness. But the question is will they do so? Will Nigerian youths vote for the presidential candidate that represents their aspirations? Will Nigerian youths bring into power the person that symbolizes their hopes? Will Nigerian youths install as president the candidate that is most qualified? Will Nigerian youths vote for the candidate that has the capacity to build a country we will all be proud of?
Some Nigerian youths can’t be bothered about what is going on in their country. Some of them bury their heads in their books or work and are unbothered about how the country is governed. But the fact is not voting for the right person is actually a vote for the wrong person. That is why it is said that politics is a game of numbers. Those who have the numbers but don’t use them can’t win elections. As observed by Keith Ellison, not voting is not a protest, it is a surrender.
Some other Nigerian youths live for the moment. They go with the highest bidder. Their political participation is fuelled by financial considerations. They lend their support to those with deep pockets who can relieve them of their financial stress. The unfortunate thing however is that not only is such relief temporary, it is also an opportunity cost for what could have been the chance to build a better and stronger nation.
The last category of youths is made up of those who are motivated by tribal and religious sentiments. They support people of their religion and region. This category of people assesses candidates through the prism of their region and religion. The tragedy of this is that their primordial sentiment inhibits the emergence of the best candidate in the electoral process.
For the youth population to become a weapon of emancipation for the nation, our youths have to decide the kind of country they want to have. They need to list all the attributes that would transform Nigeria from what it is now to the country of their dream and decide which among the candidates possesses the qualities that can translate our dreams to reality. Great countries don’t just happen, they are made to happen by citizens who vote for candidates that represent their national aspiration.
Power is of little benefit if it is only latent. The nation’s youth’s population can swing the presidential election, it can make the difference between the candidates that lose and the one who wins. It can also make the difference between whether Nigeria will lose or win. The youth’s population can make the difference between whether Nigeria is going to become a respectable country that makes the education, health, security and general wellbeing of its nationals a priority or whether it would remain a country reputed for banditry, corruption, high unemployment rate, poverty and high number of out-of-school children.
Nigerian youths, make your number count. This is your chance to rescue your country. This is your chance to take back your country. This is your chance to build the Nigeria of your dreams. This is your chance to right the wrongs of the past. Are you going to fritter this chance or seize it? The answer is not with the gods, it is in your vote. Vote wisely.
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