YOUTHS' VIOLENCE AND THE CREDIBILITY OF THE 2019 GENERAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Youths' violence is a key challenge to peaceful elections in Nigeria, as almost all the elections so far conducted in Nigeria were characterised by violence. This article provides an analysis of youths' violence and the credibility of the 2019 general and supplementary elections in Nigeria, by focusing on the role and experience of the youths as key stakeholders in political stability or otherwise in the country. The youths are supposed to be the most important players in ensuring credible elections, but their participation in electoral violence makes the credibility questionable. The paper argued that the availability of very active, unemployed youths with poor parental upbringing, poor education, moral bankruptcy and frustrated by the political system, provided a fertile ground which is exploited by desperate politicians seeking to grab power or to maintain it by all cost. The study generated qualitative data from secondary source such as journal articles, newspapers reports, and reports from foreign and domestic observers, reports from the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and internet materials. The paper employed Human Needs Theory as a framework to explain why youths take part in electoral violence. The paper concludes that the 2019 General and supplementary Elections for many elective positions were characterized by violence and that the youths were the key players, victims, casualties and the receivers of the long-term negative consequences of the menace. The paper recommends improvement in socio-economic situation of the youths by the governments at all levels and that the youth should be organized and engaged in self-help and productive ventures to enable them shun violence and lead a meaningful lifestyle in Nigeria.