The United State’s midterm election is presently a global hot topic and for some Nigerians, there is a more personal reason why it matters. In case you missed it, eight Nigerian Americans have won legislative seats in the US midterm election.
The fun fact is that five of them are under 40.
Who are they?
The five Nigerian youths are:
- Solomon Adesanya (37) – Georgia State Representative
- Phil Olaleye (37) – Georgia State Representative
- Carol Kazeem (30) – Pennsylvania State Representative
- Oye Owolewa (33) – Washington DC Representative
- Esther Agbaje (37) – Minnesota State Representative
As we celebrate these Nigerian youths for their extraordinary feat, we find ourselves asking a serious question on behalf of other Nigerian youths back home — do we stand the same chances on home soil?
Re: The “Not Too Young To Run” bill
In May 2018, President Buhari signed the “Not Too Young to Run” bill into law — a law which gave every Nigerian youth who had political dreams, the chance to achieve them without being gunned down as “too young” for the position.
So think of the benefits of the law this way. A 30-year-old can now decide to run for presidency, governorship, or senate. And a 25-year-old could become your next House of Assembly or House of Representatives member. Besides, there’s no better person to make laws that will benefit 53.7 percent of Nigeria’s population than the youth.
But five years later, can we say that the bill has been effective for the Nigerian youth? Or was it just for aesthetics’ sake?
What progress has been made?
Five years later, there is evidence the bill for youth is clearly not playing out in our favour. The average age of Nigeria’s current 44 ministers is 61 years old. Our current Minister of Youth, Sunday Dare, is 59 years old. Overall, 17 of the nation’s ministers are within the age bracket of 60 to 69, an age group that represents about three percent of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the youth, which forms the largest percentage of Nigeria’s population are barely represented, as the youngest minister in Nigeria, Sadiya Farouq, is 46 years old.
For context, the benchmark for youths in the Nigerian National Youth Policy is from ages 18-39. According to the African Charter, the youth benchmark is 15-35.
So for a 46-year-old to be our youngest minister yet, it just shows that we have a long way to go regarding youth representation in Nigeria.
Why youths should care about politics
There are a lot of reasons why Nigerian youth should care about politics. But let’s look at a few:
- There would be provisions for better laws that benefit the younger folks.
- There are chances for a better economy and infrastructural development.
- The creatives in Nigeria stand a chance to be better represented.
