The Influence of the “not Too Young to Run” Campaign on Instagram & Twitter on Youths’ Participation in the 2019 Electoral Process in Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The main objective of the study is to determine the influence of the “Not too Young to Run” campaign on Instagram & Twitter on youths’ participation in the 2019 electoral process in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:
- Determine the level of engagement of youths in the “Not too Young to Run” campaign on Twitter and Instagram.
- Establish the factors inhibiting Nigerian youths from participating actively in the electoral process
- Assess if the Not Too Young to Run bill has influenced the Nigerian youths’ in being candidates at the forthcoming elections.
- Examine the relationship between the activity of the “Not too Young to Run” campaign on Twitter and Instagram and the level of youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
Central to the argument of inclusive political space is participation and there are many aspects of participation in the electoral process. The young people in most developing climes are seen to be active mainly in the areas of political parties’ campaigns, casting of votes (United Nations,2016; Mengistu, 2017; Pavin & Saunders, 2018), perpetration and perpetuation of all forms of electoral malpractices and violence. Irrespective of these, a majority opinion of survey conducted in 186 countries by the United Nations, (n.d) observers held that young people are shut out from participating in formal political institutions and processes like political parties management, public administration, decision-making, and seeking elective offices at all the levels of government. Political participation denotes the active involvement of individuals and groups in the governmental processes affecting their lives. Political participation is not limited to involvement in political processes such as elections and leadership recruitment notwithstanding that “participation by citizens in competitive elections is a distinctive feature of democratic politics” (Bingham, 1992). Instead, it includes the involvement of the people in governance and related institutions of society, such as the economy and culture. Chaturvedi (2006, p. 239)defined political participation as the activity by individuals or groups intended to influencethose who govern or how they do so. It is those action of private citizens by which they seek toinfluence or support government and politics. Youth is a concept defined by age. Countries and international organizations have therefore classified youths simply as persons within certain age bracket. According to the United Nations(n.d), they are those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years; while Commonwealth Secretariat (2018) and the African Union cited in Ubi (2007) defined them as persons within the ages of 15 and 29 and 15 and 35 years respectively. In Nigeria however, youths are persons between 18 and 35 years (Second National Youth Policy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,2009). It is pertinent to note that in spite of the age disparities, the terms youth and young person are used interchangeably in extant literature as depicted in Griffiths (1996), Mintzer and Cushing (2017), United Nations (2013), Multilateral Investment Fund (n.d), etc. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2017) has noted that youth is a more fluid category than a fixed age-group. With regards to Nigeria, it argues that this latter age limit has been increasing, as higher levels of unemployment and the cost offsetting up an independent household puts many young people into a prolonged period of dependency. Based on the foregoing, this study posits that the term young people encompasses both persons within the various age brackets identified above and those within 40 years, as they are regarded to be young going by the popular notion in the country. As a result of these, young people and youth are used interchangeably in this study. Young persons’ participation in politics and decision-making process is a function of inclusive political space which the National Democratic Institute (2016) defined as the avenues, opportunities and entry points available for citizens to express their voice and influence political processes and outcomes.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to the influence of the not too young to run campaign on Instagram and twitter on youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process in Nigeria
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information on the influence of the not too young to run campaign on Instagram and twitter on youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process in Nigeria. 200 residents in Ikorodu local government, Lagos state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was on the influence of the not too young to run campaign on Instagram and twitter on youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process in Nigeria. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of not too young to run campaign on Instagram and twitter on youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process in Nigeria
Summary
This study was on the influence of the not too young to run campaign on Instagram and twitter on youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process in Nigeria. Four objectives were raised which included: Determine the level of engagement of youths in the “Not too Young to Run” campaign on Twitter and Instagram, Establish the factors inhibiting Nigerian youths from participating actively in the electoral process, Assess if the Not Too Young to Run bill has influenced the Nigerian youths’ in being candidates at the forthcoming elections and examine the relationship between the activity of the “Not too Young to Run” campaign on Twitter and Instagram and the level of youth’s participation in the 2019 electoral process. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 residents of Ikorodu local government, Lagos state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made civil servants, youths, students and businessmen were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
The thrust of this paper was to critically examine NTYTRA and its impacts on Nigeria’s democracy. Democracy has been seen as the rule by the people. It is a system of government where the people have the liberty to choose who they want as their leader or representative. In a democracy, all the citizens are eligible for all posts and officials of the country will come through elections. Hence, the placement of age barrier, as seen in the 1999 Constitution (as amended)did the nation more harm than good. Although there are many criticisms of NTYTRA, it is important to note that a journey of thousand miles usually begins with a step. A house cannot be built in a day. The NTYTRA should not be considered as a campaign tool for the ruling party because it has come to stay. Rather, youths and Nigerians should wake up to the current reality and grab the opportunity to make a difference in Nigerian politics. It is worthy to note that the NTYTRA has expanded the field for more potential candidates. This in itself is capable of redefining democracy in Nigeria, because as more people, especially the youths, can now throw their hats into the ring, the electorates are left with ample talent to choose from, as opposed to provision practice where it was any option other than a particular candidate where credibility was not really considered because it was a show or regular faces in the ring. Also, from the findings in this study, it has been revealed that NTYTRA can promote Nigeria’s democracy and pave way for free, fair and credible elections, as well as mass participation of citizens during elections.
Recommendation
From statistics, the youths form the largest parts of the Nigerian population. Therefore it is important that were structure the leadership machinery of Nigeria to create space for the young people, who hold the future of our great nation.
The NTYTRA should be seen as a tool for power and leadership transmission from old to young and from past to the future.
The older persons should not see the NTYTRA as a technical elimination move, or an act to make them irrelevant in the political space. Rather, they should consider it to be a move towards the right direction to right the wrongs in Nigerian politics. With this, therefore, they should play advisory roles to the younger generations and be ready to make valuable contributions whenever the call comes.
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