Election seen as APC referendum with youth angriest

The forthcoming presidential election is seen as a referendum on the performance of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government since 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari came to power.

According to a recent presidential survey conducted by POLAF, a not-for-profit organisation, unemployment, infrastructure, economy, and high rate of poverty are the most important issues for the respondents, with 95 percent of respondents agreeing that the current government has performed worse than ever. The majority are between the ages of 18 and 30 years.

“Most concerning amongst respondents are the high rate of unemployment, insecurity, and poverty nationwide. Also ranking as a concern is the economy,” the survey said.

An election can be viewed as a referendum on the incumbent government’s performance, especially when young people are highly dissatisfied. The survey suggests that young people’s level of dissatisfaction can significantly influence the election’s outcome.

The poll showed that young people are more concerned with economic inequality, which the current government is not addressing adequately, and they may be more motivated to vote for a change in leadership.

“Recent conversations indicate the ruling APC as highly unpopular as a result of worsening economic hardships suffered by government policies on the naira and worsening petroleum product crises nationwide, which does not appear, in their opinion, to be abating any time soon,” it said.

Read also: Religious leaders, vote-buying influence voters’ choices, poll shows

The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that over 93.5 million Nigerians are eligible to participate in the exercise as voters, which is said to be the highest electoral turnout in the history of Nigeria – 76.5 percent of new voters are young people between 18-34 years.

When asked about preferred candidates by age, Labour Party (LP) led the poll with 42 percent among those between ages 18-30 years, People Democratic Party (PDP) led among those within the age brackets 31-50 years and 51 and above with 38 and 39 percent respectively.

“LP and PDP have the highest level of acceptability amongst respondents in all age brackets,” the report said.

Emmanuel Onokoya, a Nigerian voter on Twitter, tweeted about the influence of the youth in the coming general elections.

“18 more days to the most-anticipated general elections in Nigeria. Dear Nigerian youth, are you still resolved to make a change in our nation, by picking up your PVCs, heading for the polls, and casting your votes wisely,” he said.

A lot more youths are dissatisfied with the government or the status quo and have realised that their voting can significantly impact the election, especially those who just attained eligibility.

Okey James, a youth based in Lagos, spoke of how the youth are dissatisfied with how things are going in a tweet.

“I have been following elections in Nigeria for at least 20 years, I have never seen any election with youth involvement like this. The Nigerian people are tired of how the country is being run,” he said.

The poll shows each candidate’s position parameters and voters’ concerns. Four of 1o respondents are certain that their positions on candidates are made; three of 10 believe vote buying would influence their choice for voting; while the remainder await guidance/direction (from religious leaders, market associations, trade unions, etc.) on the choice of candidate.