The young people in Nigeria want to free themselves from the shackles of the ruling “elderly” and wish for a united and stable Nigeria. Image: IMAGO/UIG / Emmanuel Osodi
Analyse
The richest man in Africa lives in Nigeria. Cement and sugar have made Aliko Dangote a multi-billionaire. With around 206 million inhabitants, his country is the most populous in Africa. It’s also the continent’s largest economy thanks to oil production.
That sounds promising, but it doesn’t spare the country Poverty. In the current Index Human Development (HDI) Nigeria ranks 163rd out of 191 countries. Especially the young ones People have not yet benefited from the wealth of raw materials in their country. In the February elections, they backed the business-liberal candidate Peter Obi. But their hopes for change were apparently dashed with the victory of 70-year-old Bola Tinubu.
Obidients movement is fighting for change in Nigeria
Because Obi is considered a hero of youth. The Obidients movement formed around him. In an interview with watson, Marija Peran gives the reasons for this. She works for the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the Nigeria office.
sagt role:
“When peaceful youth protests against police violence took place nationwide in October 2020, Obi supported this movement, while most politicians did not comment on the protests or condemned them. In doing so, he credibly demonstrated his understanding of the concerns of the young population and thus became a hero of youth.”
Peter Obi ran for the presidential elections in Nigeria – young people in particular put their faith in him. Image: AP / Mosa’ab Elshamy
According to Peran, he stood for honesty and good governance during the election campaign. Obi hit a nerve with that. According to the expert, the country’s young population and intellectual elite want real change for Nigeria.
Generational change in Nigeria has not succeeded
“For the first time, this group of voters had the potential to be part of the election decision,” says the expert. This is how the “Obidients” movement was formed, which called for mass rallies throughout Nigeria and thus supported Obi. What is remarkable, according to Peran, is that Obi managed to establish himself as a reform candidate and to break open the two-party system that had previously existed in Nigeria. She says:
“The hope for a new, united and politically and economically stable Nigeria was reflected in Obi and made his candidacy the projection screen for these hopes. Like no other he represented new momentum and optimism.”
According to Peran, the 70-year-old election winner Tinubu stands for the continuation of two typical characteristics of Nigerian politics: monetary and elite politics as well as gerontocracy. In other words, the “rule of the elderly” – the generation change did not succeed.
The newly elected President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stands for the “rule of the elderly”. Bild: IMAGO/Shengolpixs / imago images
Nevertheless, something has broken out in this election campaign: After a long period of apathy, young people have at least partially become politicized again and they have become visible. According to Peran, the young people wish:
- a modern state
- representative and democratic governance
- and sustainable economic order and investment in infrastructure and education
Wishes that will probably not come true under Tinubu. “Despite some glimmers of hope that were awakened in the course of these elections, Nigerian elite politics will not be broken up anytime soon,” says Peran. But Tinubu knows how important the young group of voters has become. He can no longer rely on their support or political disinterest. The expert says:
“In his acceptance speech after the announcement of the election victory, Tinubu explicitly addressed young people and promised them solutions to the country’s major problems. It will only be seen in the next four years whether he is serious about his promise or whether it was ultimately just lip service.”
The new government faces a daunting set of challenges: Nigeria is more unstable than ever in its history Story before.
Inflation and the energy crisis are also hitting Nigeria hard
In addition to the precarious security situation in almost all parts of the country, Nigeria is in a severe economic crisis and, according to forecasts, is heading for its third recession in eight years.
Nigeria relies on food imports. Now the country is threatened by a food crisis.Bild: AP / Ben Curtis
As Peran explains, Nigeria does not remain from the consequences of the Russian war of aggression on the Ukraine spared. “There is a food and oil crisis and record inflation of over 21 percent and the associated collapse of the national currency,” she says. Nigeria cannot feed its population itself and is dependent on food imports.
The watson app for your smartphone
According to official figures, by 2022 almost two-thirds of the population will have lived in great or extreme poverty, i.e. on less than two US dollars a day. The expert says:
“A pressing problem is the lack of diversification in the Nigerian economy. The main exports are still oil and natural gas, which leads to a high dependence on the oil and gas sector.”
Although Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest oil exporters, it does not currently have a single refinery. As a result, Nigeria has to import refined oil, which it in turn subsidizes at the expense of much-needed investment. According to Peran, Nigeria has failed to reinvest its profits from oil and gas exports for the past few decades. In addition, “endemic corruption, elite politics and nepotism” are making the country’s development more difficult.
What prospects remain for the young people in the country?
Young people in Nigeria are frustrated by the lack of prospects in their country.Image: AP/Sunday Alamba
“Japa” – Young Nigerians leave their homeland
Many young Nigerians are trying to build a promising future for themselves – despite the difficult situation in the country. “Some belong to the innovation or cultural elite and build a prosperous existence in the country, mostly in urban areas,” explains Peran. Nigeria is international for its film industry “Nollywood”, its music, award-winning and record-breaking Afrobeats, and unusual Mode known.
According to Peran, the financial metropolis of Lagos is the innovation leader in the areas of banking and financial services. According to her, however, these markets only open up sustainable opportunities for a fraction of young people. “Many of those who can afford it are leaving the country,” she says.
Not every young person in Nigeria has the opportunity to leave the country.Image: AP/Sunday Alamba
As a result, Nigeria is also suffering from a “brain drain” and many well-trained workers are leaving their homeland due to growing dissatisfaction with the poor economic situation. “The country even has its own Nigerian expression for it: ‘japa’,” says Peran. The majority of the young population, however, remains without any prospects worth mentioning and has so far been unnoticed by politics at the mercy of their frustration. Peran says:
“The old and the new, the systemic and the self-inflicted problems are intertwined and are increasingly paralyzing this theoretically promising country.”
The outgoing President Buhari has not found any viable answers to these challenges in eight years. According to Peran, one can only hope for Nigeria at this point that Tinubu does better.
