Paradigm Shift: Youth Engagement in the Conduct of the 2015 Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines youth engagement toward the conduct of the 2015 general elections against a backdrop of historical experiences. Discounting the doom youth theory of youth bulge, youth in crisis or lumpen youth culture, the article has demonstrated a paradigm shift in the youth engagement in the conduct of the elections. It holds that youth engagement in the conduct of the elections has been more constructive than in the prior elections. Within the context of dual motivation theory, it holds that their destructive engagement in the prior elections was motivated by the need to change the outcome while their constructive conduct in the 2015 elections was driven by duty to participate in public affairs in Nigeria. The change in political attitude is explained by growing consciousness of the reality of their potential as agent of change through the aid of social media coupled with recent success story of Arab spring driven by youth, the inflammable repercussions of previous elections, and the high stake the 2015 general elections carry for governance.

 Keywords: Youth, election, motivation, participation