It is settled: Nigerians don’t want old men for the presidency any more
It is settled: Nigerians don’t want old men
for the presidency any more
Today, polling firm NOIPolls released the results of a nationwide survey it conducted
together with BusinessDay Media that revealed that majority of Nigerians (64%
of their respondents) are in favour of Nigeria’s next president being between
40-50. This is not surprising as the recent election of 39-year old Emmanuel
Macron as the French president had raised the debate on how Nigeria needs
younger leadership to move forward. Other present and past world leaders such
as former British Prime Minister David Cameron, former American President
Barack Obama and current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who came into
office within that age bracket has also captured the imaginations of Nigerians
in this regard.
It is also
interesting the reasons those who express a preference for a middle-aged
president offered: energy and maturity, mentally alert, better leadership and
being more responsible. Apart from younger people being more energetic, it must
be pointed out that merely being young does not confer on one the other
attributes mentioned nor that do older people lack these attributes.
The sentiment behind the clamour for younger leadership in Nigeria is
understandable, considering the fact that it is almost the same set of persons
that have been most visible in the leadership of this country almost since
independence. For example, since the return of the country to democracy in
1999, two of its four presidents were also military heads of state 20–30 years
before they were elected. In the current federal cabinet, there are ministers
who have held government offices as far back as 1983.
But despite
their seeming wealth of experience, there is little progress in the development
of the country, combined with the fact that often times, the ideas on offer are
stale and a rehashing of all that has not worked before.
Now to the
important question: is a president between the ages of 40 and 50 possible in
Nigeria?
Like the
respondents rightly posited, factors such as financial constraints,
godfatherism, lack of experience and lack of political platforms prevent young
people from even contesting for the highest office in the land, not to talk of
winning.
For example,
the youngest a presidential candidate in Nigeria can be going by the provisions
of the constitution is 40. But that is not just the problem – it is also the
fact that with the exception of local government offices, every other office
requires the contestant to be 30 years old and above.
With this in
mind, being a federal legislator, governor or cabinet member and garnering
enough experience and political capital to be able to run the office of the
president excellently at 40 is unlikely.
This is made
worse by the fact that party structures are often firmly in the hands of older
people, who also have access to capital and are able to afford the exorbitant
fees political parties charge for nomination forms and which are often out of
the reach of young people.
These are the
reasons why a campaign such as the #NotTooYoungToRun which seeks to amend the constitution
and lower the ages of eligibility for political office and also allow
independent candidacy is a very important and much-needed one.
These
amendments will open up the space for political participation of young people,
enabling them to run for political office and to be able to do so even if party
structures do not favour them. The earlier young people get into government,
they will be able to gain experience and bring their youthful energy and vigour
into the governance space while at the same time learning from the experience
of older people.
There are numerous young people
who are eager to get
into government and contribute their quota to governance and nation-building;
sadly, they are held back by laws and structures that tell them that they
should bide their time, to the detriment of the nation.
If we are to
meet the desires of the majority of Nigerians for a younger leadership that is
also competent at meeting the challenges of our country, then it is important
that we throw our weight behind initiatives designed to make this a reality,
such as the #NotTooYoungToRun bill.
