Emeka Xris Obiezu, OSA
Introduction
Youth participation in Nigerian elections has been amorphous, varying from absolute apathy to disruption and minimal involvement. However, the 2023 General Elections departed from previous descriptions. An overwhelming number of youths turned out, with significant improvement in their participation, in number and quality, throughout the election process. Popular opinion maintained that ‘Gen Z’—“the trending representation of those between 18 and 35 years,” would determine the way forward for the country at the elections.[1] Indeed, “Nigeria’s youth were seen and heard throughout the 2023 general elections, both online and on the ground.”[2] The reasons for Nigerian youth participation in the 2023 General Elections may not be only socio-economic and political, but also religious and theological. Seeking a theological hermeneutics of this encounter, as well as of the role of the Church, is the focus of this article, bearing in mind that social-life situations and activities remain significant means by which Christians can serve God and their neighbour.[3]
This essay is developed in four parts: an overview of the history and dynamics of youth engagement in politics, particularly the 2023 General Elections; theological interpretation of this engagement; and lessons for the country. This theological exposition is valuable in understanding how to protect, sustain, strengthen, and manage democracy in Nigeria and Africa. It is aimed at repositioning the Church in Nigeria towards an effective compassionate and prophetic mission of social transformation. Furthermore, this article does not lay claim to present an exhaustive and comprehensive theological examination of youth participation in governance and elections. Rather explored in this piece are those significant aspects of participation and governance that pertain to youth in the Nigeria’s 2023 elections. Second, the theological analysis is not of the Nigerian system or the electoral process itself, but the Church in Nigeria’s participation in the election process, particularly with youth.
Historical Overview of Youth Participation in Nigerian Politics
Young people represent a significant portion of Nigeria’s population. Their participation in the electoral process is crucial for ensuring a truly democratic and representative government. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, about 70% of Nigeria’s population is under the age of thirty-five.[4] Young people can significantly affect the outcome of any election, and in shaping democratic processes in Nigeria. Moreover, youth engagement in the governance process helps ensure their interests are represented in government policies and decision-making. The youth is neither a homogenous nor static group. It is diverse in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background, abilities, and identification with and membership in minority groups. As well, individuals constantly enter as others constantly leave as they age.[5]
Youth participation or engagement in politics can be divided into formal and informal aspects. While the formal include voting, joining a political party, and standing for public office, the include ‘bottom-up’ activities such as signing a petition, and purchasing or boycotting products for political reasons.[6] Since the late twentieth century, youth have tilted more to informal than formal participation in politics. This often associated with young people’s dissatisfaction with mainstream politics, and their exclusion from formal political processes. Youth are becoming more involved in ‘participatory politics’—grassroots, interactive, and peer-based activism designed to influence issues they care deeply in society. The surge in social media usage has transformed how they participate and communicate. Information and communication technologies influence the scale and reach of their demands and messages.[7] Hence, political discourse highlights the understanding and classification of what constitutes political participation and the meaning of political engagement. However, both the formal and informal political participation contribute to a sustainable democracy.
Credible elections and inclusive political participation are essential to democracy. In Nigeria, youth participation in elections has been low. The Nigerian Youth Parliament noted that only about 30% of eligible youth voted in the 2019 General Elections.[8] This low turnout can be attributed to voter apathy, lack of political education, and limited access to information. Additionally, young people have been under-represented in elected positions and policy-making. Only about 2% of members of the Ninth National Assembly in Nigeria were under thirty-five.[9] This has made it difficult for young people to have their voices heard, and for their concerns to be addressed. Youth indisposition to formal participation in governance may be due to their negative perception of mainstream politics and its processes.
Generally, a culture of political apathy pervades across Nigeria, due to perceived dissatisfaction with political governance and leadership. A fellow of the Chatham House finds some 77% of Nigerians as dissatisfied with Nigeria’s democracy, and 88% think the country is headed in the wrong direction.[10] A continuous drop has been seen in electoral participation, from a high of 69% in the 2003 presidential elections, Nigeria recorded its worst voter turnout in presidential polls in 2019, less than 35%.[11] The fact that youth political participation is critical to elections is considered here regarding electoral positions, volunteering and voting.
2023 Nigerian General Elections
These elections, and particularly for president, are seen as a turning point in Nigeria’s political and election history— “the Nigerian youth public manifesto for radical change.”[12]
Pre-election Phase
Beginning with the registration process (June 2021-July 2022), many Nigerian youths volunteered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They assisted with distributing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), until it was stopped in February 2023. Apart from the direct assistance with INEC, youth embarked on extensive mobilisation processes including online and physical presence through urban and rural communities to encourage active political participation. The Nigerian youths were visible and effective mobilisers than the INEC and the National Orientation Agency (NOA). From INEC’s records for the 2023 General Elections, the population of registered youth was 70,473,990 of 93,469,008 registered voters (about 75%). This is disaggregated to 18–34 years at 37,060,399 (40%), and 35–49 years 33,413,591 (36%), with 26,027,481 (28%) students.[13] Youth advocate Jude Ojo concludes: “The point being made essentially is that the 2023 general elections will be conducted by youths and the new set of leaders that will emerge from the 1,491 constituencies where elections will hold on February 25 and March 11 will be determined by the Nigerian youths.”[14]
The Election Phase
Youth were central to INEC during the elections, especially in the areas of availability and technical expertise. They were part of the INEC’s over one million ad hoc staff recruited to conduct the election including polling, collation, and returning officers as well as technicians and managers, and ancillary temporary staff. Many youths were part of over one million accredited observers at the 176,606 polling stations. An impressive turnout of youth contested various electoral positions, especially during the primaries in the various political parties. Nevertheless, the number that made it through the primaries was discouraging. This unfortunate situation re-echoes the systemic injustice of exclusion inherent in most Nigerian political parties. However, many of the youths voted in the 2023 General Elections and were vocal in defending the vote– some youth groups launched parallel collation projects to verify the INEC’s declared results.[15]
Nothing deterred youth from participating in the 2023 General Elections. They defied the scarcity of fuel and the Naira, coupled with insecurity, widespread corruption, and a sense of dissatisfaction among citizens.[16] This attitude not only showed their determination for a credible election, but also counteracted the prevalent narrative about Nigeria and its citizens as a hub of poverty and corruption. They were taunted as social media ‘brats,’ but showed that the social media may not be too different from real life. Nigerian youth inaugurated a shift in Nigeria politics. “The election results may be disputed, but there’s no doubt young Nigerians are becoming a force to reckon with.”[17] They moved political discourse from the usual divisive issues of ethnicity, religion, class, and other forms of bigotry to socio-economic problems, ethics, accountability, values, and other indices of good governance. A Nigerian student activist Maurice Emelu observes that the Nigerian youth were “working toward a shared goal—a radical change from corruption to ethical, political leadership.”[18] The Nigerian youth found their voice to advocate for change through the various political platforms provided by political parties.
Post-Election Phase
Youth participation in the 2023 General Elections was obvious in the post-election period, in substance and process. They are demanding electoral accountability and transparency as well as challenging electoral irregularities and impunities that marred the 2023 General Elections. This political demand is heightened by their documentation of the entire voting process during the 2023 General Elections. The youth have failed to accept politicians’ tendency of ‘weaponising’ elections through inciting destructive and violent reactions to election results. As noted by the Augustinian Centre for Advocacy Justice and Peace (ACAJP): “Election Status Report 2023,” with the post-election atmosphere of distrust and betrayal a majority of Nigerians were dissatisfied with the outcome of the last election as not reflecting the people’s mandate. Nigerians, mostly youth, have handled their disappointment and frustration with civility instead of resorting to violence, as the parties seek legal and constitutional redress to the issues raised during the election.”[19]
Seeking Motivating Factors
A sociological analysis of Nigerian youth participation in the 2023 General Elections suggests motivation primarily based on their own perceived condition. There was a widely held belief, albeit arguable, that youth participation stemmed largely from their dissatisfaction with the socio-economic situations of the country and their common good. Nigeria’s youth deal with unique disappointments and frustrations. These include dire poverty, unemployment, exclusion from political governance, incessant strikes in the university system, extra-judicial killing by security agents, and federal government handling of the #EndSARS protests in 2020, which revealed the ruptured of social contract between the Nigerian state and citizens society.[20]
Nearly 43% of young Nigerians in their millions are unemployed. In this group, over 53% are aged 15–24, and 37% aged 25–34.[21] To some extent, this goes against the tide of popular thinking where apathy could be an expected consequence. The psychology of politics suggests a strong desire for democracy. Political psychologist Sarah Harrison identifies “the paradox of citizens’ frustration,” and asserts that “democratic frustration–result of a mismatch between expectation and perceived reality, may lead to unprecedented citizens engagement, as opposed to criticality or disengagement.”[22] In same vein, Augustine of Hippo in his liberative theology of hope explains this reality with another paradox that of hope and its two daughters—anger at unjust structures, and courage to make things right.[23] Further, policies and institutional fiats such as “the not-too-young to rule” amendment of the Nigerian constitution in 2018, and actions such as the National University’s Commission’s instruction that universities close during the election, provided incentive and allowed for mass turnout. In addition, mobilisation, and sensitisation programmes—carried by civil society organisations, religious groups, and other institutions—were of immense contribution to the number and quality of youth participation in the 2023 General Elections. In the pre-election period, civil society organisations such as Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) Africa and several youth-focused organisations encouraged Nigerians, especially youth to register, participate, and vote.[24] These groups organised musical concerts, seminars, town halls, radio jingles, television programmes, and newspaper publications. They also conducted social media campaigns to encourage youth to register collect their PVCs and become educated voters.
As in the 2015 General Election, antecedent youth-led public agitations and movements had affected election outcomes. The #BringBackOurGirls campaign, initiated by young people following the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram, helped galvanise support for Buhari’s candidacy, as he pledged to tackle insecurity and terrorism in the country.[25] Similarly, the 2023 General Elections included motivation, organization and outcomes of the “EndSARS” protest.
The Church in Nigeria and 2023 General Elections
Attempting a theological interpretation of youth participation in the 2023 General Elections, “we are met by an age-old question of how to confront a social concern of this world so that our response is more than a merely secular exercise and is seen as specifically Christian. It bothers on how we can claim an authentic, active Christian participation in our world’s affairs within the economy of salvation, especially when it concerns social transformation of the human person?”[26] In undertaking a theological reflection of this civil activity, can we seek the theologically descriptive and normative bases that provide the impetus and so justify their designation as Christian discipleship?
This approach finds support in the Second Vatican Council’s revitalised soteriology that identifies everything human (along with its entire history) as places where God can be encountered, as places in need of God’s salvation. The Council’s Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, affirms that “nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in the hearts of the followers of Christ.”[27] Beyond considering youth participation in the election processes, the outcome of this reflection can benefit the church in her social mission, offering her a theological, hermeneutical basis for promoting and assessing Christian social encounter in relation to national governance.
We use two related, interactive approaches. The first identifies and analyses the various activities, roles and influences of the Church in the 2023 General Elections. The second seeks an interactive and critical engagement that clarifies these activities of the church and the presence of the youth in the election processes by subjecting them to principles of Catholic social action drawn from the scriptures and Catholic social teaching. Relying upon popular narratives obtained from various sources and upon the theological analyses of a range of theologians (Augustine and Karl Rahner)[28] our approach attempts to transcend sociological and historical descriptions to constructs a theological analysis that appreciates these encounters as a genuine Christian apostolate and confronts its challenges and limitations.
Many Christians stay away from politics because of the perception that politics is a ‘dirty game.’ However, there has been an increasing call for Christians to be involved in politics. The Catholic Church’s inspiration is drawn from the instructive words of Gaudium et Spes “nothing that concerns or worries the modern [man] that does not concern or worry the church.”[29] Referring to the most recent elections in Nigeria, Fredrick Adetiba welcomes the Christian openness to politics, but suggests the church focuses on nation-building, good governance, and development. His argument sees these and not the religion of a candidate as critical issues to the too-many challenges bedeviling the country.[30] The challenge with this position is the difficulty in separating politics and election dynamics from all these others. Also of concern are its simplistic perspective on religious influence, and insensitivity to the volatile susceptibility to manipulation of this influence by politicians.
In a way, the unprecedented presence and activism of the church and Christians in the 2023 General Elections may have been heightened with the APC selection of two Muslims as their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, the infamous “Muslim-Muslim” ticket. The undercurrent of the ‘Islamisation’ thesis perceived in that choice erupted in what Charles Ekpo sees as “political spiritualities and Pentecostal republicanism”[31] that drove the narrative of the 2023 elections.
This was seen in reactions from Christian quarters for example pastor Bolaji O. Akinyemi’s, “‘Muslim/Muslim Ticket: Tinubu Dares CAN and Entire Christian Faithful.’”[32] The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) called Nigerians to reject the agenda, maintaining that the current situation in Nigeria makes this unsuitable. This is “totally reprehensible and not acceptable,” as Catholic bishop Matthew Hasan Kukah put it.[33] Most of these reactions received negative and positive counter-reactions, in a stream of publications in traditional and social media. Sometimes, rejoinders were offered by the authors who claimed they were mischievously misunderstood or misconstrued by biased minds. In some cases, harsher words, especially of aspersion, were the case, exemplified in Akinyemi’s retort, “…misconstrued by the wearied spirits and borderline Christians who are neither hot nor cold like the water of the stream at Ephesus the symbol in Christ’s stern warning to her church.”[34]
The true picture of the motivation for the Church’s interest and participation in the 2023 General Elections is not as one-sided as presented by the “Muslim-Muslim ticket” narrative. Much earlier, before the presidential primaries and the appointment of vice-presidential candidates, the Church had embarked on awareness and sensitisation activities, especially during the pre-election registration and collection of PVC processes. What may be ascribed specifically to the “Muslim-Muslim Ticket” is the awakening of the Church in Nigeria and Christians to urgency in collective responsibility to protect the Christian faith, which is inextricably intertwined with protecting the nation.
Political Participation and Advocacy for Good Governance
Actions taken by the Church and its affiliated organisations geared toward the 2023 elections include prayer, sensitisation, mobilisation, volunteerism, conciliation and, above all, sustenance of hope. The Nigerian Church called for and engaged in prayers for a successful election. ‘Successful election’ is all-embracing, including, peaceful, transparent, inclusive, free, fair, adhering to the law, and yielding a desired result.
Within the Church in Nigeria, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria presented a prayer for free, fair and peaceful elections in Nigeria. The prayer was christened “Prayer for Free, Fair and Peaceful Elections in Nigeria.” This prayer acknowledges God’s blessings on Nigeria, petitioned God for forgiveness of sins as well as inspiration to vote for the common good of Nigerians.[35] The format of this prayer was a departure from the previous ones, particularly those in the 1990s. In these prayers, the Church realised that she does not seek the will of God by simply praying and leaving everything to God, while she stayed aloof and did nothing, as in the past. Instead, the Church prayed for the will of God, became actively involved, knowing that like the South Africans during apartheid, heaven helps those who help themselves.[36] This departure from the past is obvious in the prayer of the Archdiocese of Lagos. In the fifth stanza of the prayer, the Church declares its preparedness to engage, and her resolve to be resilient despite any pressure in the process, with courage from God: “Give us courage to engage, support and play our part in the process that brings about good leaders in Nigeria. Help us to be resilient in spite of the forces of opposition that use corrupt means to get power.”[37]
In terms of mobilisation and sensitisation, the Church was at the forefront in many areas. Beginning with the registration and collection of permanent voter cards, to coming out to vote, the Church used any available opportunity, not excluding the pulpit, to inform people of the grave responsibility and the values inherent in their participation. Many in the Church, particularly priests, were not shy to weigh into some hot topics at the heart of 2023 elections’ political debates, such as the Igbo presidency. George Ehusani, speaking at event in Abuja in May 2022, said, “Let it (zoning) go round the six geopolitical zones first before we cancel it. I believe it is gross injustice and unfair to say the South East should ignore it. We should not.”[38] As well, Catholic Caritas Nigeria and the Justice, Development and Peace Commissions of various Catholic dioceses, and a number of church-affiliated organisations led awareness campaigns and programmes: For example, the Centre for Women Studies and Intervention (CWSI), NGO of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, addressed female marginalisation, apathy, and passiveness in Nigeria’s electoral processes, and implemented the Action for Better Female Participation in elections in Nigeria (ABIPIN) project, with the support of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) Nigeria. The aims of the project include boosting interest and increasing young females’ participation and inclusion in elections, mobilising youth through social media, and establishing female-led cohorts to promote “Women exercising their power and voice by voting and supporting more women in politics”[39] Augustinian Centre for Advocacy, Justice and Peace (ACAJP), NGO of the Order of St. Augustine, Province of Nigeria, under its Initiative for Citizenship Engagement (ICE), equally organised voter education for youth, engaged about fifty youth election observers. ACAJP involved the Augustinian Young People Association Nigeria (AYPN) in executing the project.[40]
Some priests may have gone overboard in their sensitisation initiatives, with claims of unguided thoughts, talks, and actions in contradiction with the Church’s teaching on social action. There was news of some priests’ threat of withholding Holy Communion from people without a voter’s card. Some also used the pulpit to promote certain candidates, such as the Christian presidential candidate, not only based on competence, character, and commitment, but more so because of his faith. This was interpreted as a direct reaction to the “Muslim-Muslim ticket.” Equally, there were prophesies and counter-prophesies as to which direction the election was going. Priests were rumoured to have sponsored political candidates, in the manner of ‘godfatherism.’ Interestingly, a Catholic priest contested and won a gubernatorial seat of a state—Hyacinth Alia now becomes the second priest-governor of Benue State following Moses Adasu in the 1990s.
Theological Interpretation
We are seeking a theological and ethical hermeneutics for an effective Christian socio-political responsibility. The participation of the Church (youth) in the election hinges on understanding of key Christian principles. This is important because it is to these principles that those who would discourage such participation turn. Here, we consider two of these principles, anthropology and soteriology. Regarding anthropology, those who would oppose active Christian participation in the election as the Church did in the past elections rely on a theological position that privileges scholastic spirituality built on Neo-Platonists’ dualistic interpretation of the human person as a composite of two unrelated natures—spirit and matter. The former is superior, pure and holy, and the latter inferior and corrupt. The problem of this spirituality is not with its insistence on heavenly things. Its deficiency lies in the inability of its theology of salvation to see any correlation between this world and other worlds. Thus, they would encourage apathy as the rightful Christian action in socio-political issues like elections. However, while the Church does not impose her teachings on political life, the Church remains committed in the formation of consciences in political life to stimulate greater insight into the authentic and integral development of the human person and society.[41] The task of building a just, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria is essential the responsibility of every Nigerian and institutions.
Contrary to this dualism, theologians such as Karl Rahner advance an integral anthropology that sees the human person is a substantial unity. Dealing with totus persona (the totality of the person),Christian anthropology is distinct from other sciences which concern themselves with parts or aspects of the human person, what Rahner refers to as limited or “regional” anthropologies.[42] Within the cosmic implication of his anthropology, Rahner teaches that humanity is inseparable from its history, and whatever we know about God, we know by knowing the world. This is because the salvific acts of God, and God’s self-communication of himself to humanity, are mediated by our human, world history. “All history is the history of salvation insofar as all history is the concrete, historical actualization of the acceptance or rejection of God’s self-communication.”[43] Thus, against the modern world that claims (scholastic theology) that belief in God alienates one from the world and its historical contingencies, Rahner in his anthropology shows that the Christian, who by his/her faith affirms God, equally affirms the world and human history. “It is in history that the subject must work out his salvation by finding it there as offered to him and accepting it.”[44] However, Rahner holds this thought in the dialectics of contraries, realising as he concludes, “he [the Christian] never realizes completely his possibilities in the world and in history. Nor can he distance himself from them and withdraw into the pure essence of pseudo-subjectivity or pseudo-interiority in such a way that he could honestly say that he had become independent of the world.”[45] This healthy balance lacked in scholastic’s anthropology is very fundamental for Christian social encounter.
Rahner’s cosmic anthropology extends the same idea promoted in Gaudium et Spes, as it teaches that the “Spirit who leads the Church also ‘fills the earth,’ and the same grace with which the Church is blessed is equally at work in the heart of ‘all men of Good will.’”[46] In this case, the Second Vatican Council and Rahner suppose that since the universe and all people are already under God’s saving grace, it becomes impossible to separate the world into two, as the Scholastics did, indicating there is a realm where God is not found. By implication, there is a place where a Christian responsibility cannot be extended, namely the secular world, the socio-political milieu.
Rahnerian anthropology is complemented and completed by his soteriology, for all he says about the human person as a substantial unity, and about the inseparability of the human person from his/her history, is summed in his idea of salvation and eschatology. Salvation, from its Latin root salus, includes in its basic meaning things like, health, or wholeness.[47] The Hebrew word often translated as salvation, yesha, has the capacity for a wide meaning that includes, happiness, wealth, prosperity, victory, and even peace.[48] Rahnerian salvation follows from this basic understanding, seeing a holistic event that describes the fulfilment of the entire human project, including body, soul, and history.
Rahner taught that salvation of the human person is not spoken of the soul only, but must include the whole person, body and soul, and includes his/her history. This teaching puts him in sharp contradistinction with the rationalists of the Enlightenment, to whom the unity of soul and body is only temporary, in this life until the time to come when the soul shall be finally liberated from the body. Salvation for them is merely the liberation and immortality of the soul. On the contrary, Rahner holds that this so-called present life, that is the unity of the body and soul, is now the only state of life, even in the reality of immortality of the human person. A human is not a spirit imprisoned in the body and the history from which it must be liberated. On this ground he concludes, “Christian anthropology would be incomplete and even false if it wanted to understand the individual’s final state merely as the salvation of an abstract human soul, and if it wanted to ascribe immortality only to this soul and to make its destiny independent of the transformation of the world and of the resurrection of the flesh, that is, independent of the salvation of the single person.”[49] This complete liberation or fulfilment of the human person and history occupies Christians committed to social justice, and by extension provides impetus for a faith-encounter interpretation of a mere social or civic action, like participating in national political elections.
Rahner’s positive appreciation of human history cannot be mistaken for cheap optimism. Rahner recognizes that there are truly evil in the world to which he recommends pessimistic realism as a characteristic of Christian life. He thus, draws the line between optimism and true hope. This is vital and a grave responsibility for participants in social justice activities in a world that misconstrues economic progress as true development. “Christian life does not oblige [the Christian] to see the reality of the world of his[/her] experience and the reality of his historical experience of life in an optimistic light. On the contrary, it obliges him to see this existence as dark and bitter and hard, and as an unfathomable and radical risk… and hopes that the totality of the life which we can experience is encompassed by the holy mystery of eternal love.”[50] Hope contrasted with optimism is critical to our theological interpretation of the 2023 general elections especially from St. Augustine’s theology.
As discussed above, dissatisfaction and frustration with the socio-economic and political issues of Nigeria at this time were major factors motivating the unexpected participation of Nigerians, especially youth. We earlier provided a political-psychological interpretation and justification for that claim. Augustine’s theology of hope offers opportunity for a theological perspective of this claim. This is consistent with the Augustinian hope, whose two daughters are anger and courage—“anger that things are not what they ought to be, courage to make them what they might be.”[51] Indeed, hope was the overarching anchor of the young peoples’ determination to engage in the 2023 General Elections, despite competing and threatening odds. They were visibly angry at the devastating state of the country, but at the same time courageous in working for the birthing of a new Nigeria.
As Augustine taught, the young peoples’ hope did not insulate them from the pain of the moment with a simplistic promise that the sufferings of the present life cannot be compared with the glory that awaits us hereafter. Neither did that hope compel them to continue living passively in their present condition. Included in their hope was the cry of anger that contrasts present misery with past serenity, sees the suffering of the vanquished, and petitions for release and the hope of mercy. Rather than blaming, such hope acknowledges a collective responsibility for the crisis, and calls for a common effort to redress the situation.[52]
Contemporary advocates for social justice lean on this Augustinian thought to elucidate the liberative force of the Christian hope in all circumstances, particularly those of systemic injustice and its attendant debilitating effect on human prospect. Jim Wallis, the American Evangelical political activist and founder of Sojourners Community argues that hope is “not simply a mood or a rhetorical flourish.” It is a dynamic engine with the capacity to transform history. Vaclav Havel, first president of the Czech Republic, says hope, “gives us the strength to live and to continually try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do” today.[53] We saw this in the various ways the Nigeria’s youth defied odds and threats to push for a new Nigeria. They came out to obtain their PVCs, to vote, to wait at polling units and collation centres, and to follow the post-election review processes to defend their vote.
From these Rahnerian and Augustinian thoughts we draw the implication that every human situation, however secular or worldly, offers an encounter with God and the call to his kingdom. Our faith commits us to practical involvement, socio-economic and political, that otherwise limit opportunities for people to realise the fullness of life the Father has willed for all. Rahnerian and Augustinian theological interpretations are retrospectively obvious in Christian action and inaction during the 2023 General Elections in the prayers, awareness, and sensitisation programmes, and in direct engagement such as voting.
Undertaking a theological reflection of a purely secular and civic action like this does not represent ‘armchair theology,’ wading into unnecessary territory. Neither does it serve to unnecessarily cast a religious halo on civic action so as to justify the act. In a simple and direct sense, reflection reclaims theology from the isolated actions of the elite and returns it to the everyday faith experience of people who provide meaning to their faith in the ordinariness of their daily lives, discerning actions they are called upon to take. This is the unthematic level of theology of Karl Rahner, which pastoral theologians Howard Stone and James Duke call implicit theology.[54] They are unthematic and implicit because these are not results of reflective actions, but ordinary actions bearing faith inspiration. This exercise gives credence to the many efforts of African emerging theologies and theologians who are constantly but innovatively seeking ways our theologies can become truly authentic. They are orthodox because they are rooted in the ancient traditions of our faith, and our African soil. As Idara Otu, focusing on theology of development, rightly notes, African theology of development’s focus is intrinsically bounded to “the societal concerns and social questions that impede the experience of the fullness of human life.”[55] The ways the church exerted her influence in 2023, irrespective of the perceptions they attracted, are pure demonstration of a church that is awakened, and ready to awaken society. This comes with challenges, but challenges help to introduce us to our strengths. The church cannot afford again to shy away from this responsibility. Not even the threat of her own weaknesses can prevent her full commitment to this act that shows her as truly incarnated and leading society to its full glory. We cannot hope to make progress where we have not taken action. As demonstrated in the pragmatic prayer action for elections by the Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, we are seeing a Nigerian, Church in Africa that prays like all things depend on God, and is willing to work as though everything depends on us.
Lessons for the Church and Nation
Youth presence in the 2023 General Elections transcended association with any political party or candidate. While the youth were more visible within the Labour Party and support for a dynamic candidate as characterised by the Obi-Datti Movement, youth also held the narrative in other political parties including the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). The APC Youth Forum was led by Seyi Tinubu, while the PDP relied on the Youth Wing under the leadership of Hauwa Atiku-Uwais. Regarding election violence, the youth were victims and perpetrators. Some peddled divisive rhetoric, and others championed calls for unity. They helped spread as well as resisted politics based on geography, religion, ethnicity, class, and party. The Obidient Movement (supporters of presidential candidate Peter Obi) had encounters with the Jagaban-Army Movement (supporter of presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu), just as Atikulate Soldiers had disputes with Jagaban-Army and the Obidient Movement.[56] Youth were victims and perpetrators of political thuggery used for vote buying, intimidation of opponents, and wanton disruption of the election that disenfranchised many people. While widespread, such events in Lagos State and Rivers State were popular and distasteful.
Challenges Limiting Youth Participation
From the perspective of being contestants, youth participation in Nigeria’s elections is beleaguered by structural issues. Despite the “Not-Too-Young-To-Run” Act that reduced the minimum age for vying for office, youth candidacy in the 2023 elections declined from 2019’s 34% to less than 29% in 2023.[57] Costly nominations and other electoral processes rank first among the structural issues inhibiting youth. Though the Electoral Act of Nigeria, as amended in February 2022, put a cap on campaign funds, it is silent on the cost of obtaining nomination forms, which is the pre-qualifying criterion for an electoral contest in political parties. The uncontrollable excesses of the political parties in this area have continued to shrink the spaces for youth involvement. From the introduction of moneybags and money-politics at the return of democracy in 1999, and worse in 2011, the cost of “Expression of Interest” and “Nomination Forms” of political parties has continued to be prohibitive for many potential youth politicians. For the 2023 General Elections alone, the costs of the APC and the PDP nomination forms were so excessive and outrageous that despite 50% discounts for young persons and women, the ambition and hope of youth to run for office were dashed.[58]
The conduct of the institutions responsible for the electoral processes, including INEC, the security forces and the sitting government lack of transparency, accountability, justice, and integrity bred lack of trust, frustration, and apathy from the youth. The short- and long-term effects of these ills are detrimental to Nigeria’s democracy and development. Manipulation and weaponisation of social identity—such as religion, region, and ethnicity—by the political elite as a stratagem for electoral success by mobilising one group against another discourage youths from participating. For example, the divisive rhetoric that escalated to physical violence during the Lagos State elections harmed the growing cohesion among urban youth.[59] This goes with the unchecked and unpunished impunity that scare youth from venturing into politics, as contestants, voters, and volunteers.
Opportunities for Better Youth Engagement
The growing digital economy is contributing to the gradual shift of economic power to young people, which can eventually translate to political power with an opportunity to cultivate a new crop of political leaders.[60] The enthusiasm demonstrated in efforts by Nigerians to register to vote, to vote, and to defend their vote during and after the election signals hope in the Nigerian project and democratic process. This great potential needs to be harnessed and strengthened to build and sustain the future of youth engagement in governance and election.[61]
Lessons from Theology
The levels of Catholic and Christian engagement in the 2023 General Elections show progress in theological self-understanding of the Church, realising that its mission is to the salvation of the human persons bonded to his/her history. We recall numerous calls on the Church to awaken to her socio-political existence and responsibility, as Christ did even to the risk of misunderstanding of his identity. We call to mind the likes of George Ehusani and John Odeh in the 1990s and early 2000s.[62] Such calls in the past were met with antagonism and ‘scapegoatism.’ These reactions did not deter them, nor the many emerging scholars who would extend their path. The developments in the 2023 General Elections are encouraging, despite the shortcomings inherent in some actions of the church, especially its ministers. There was seemingly a conscious realisation by the Church about the bitter consequences of historical non-participation in public life, such as the Second World War, namely complete withdrawal from politics or failure to respond to emerging new realities such as the rise of active voice of the disadvantaged, robs her of her ethical voice against injustices.[63]
Conclusion
History was made at the 2023 General Elections. Nigeria and indeed the world witnessed, as the young Nigerian enthusiast Maurice Emelu remarked, the emergence of a new generation of Nigerian youth. They have realised their agency in political participation. Who knows what the future offers? Nigeria’s youth accomplished what billions of naira could not in election reform in Nigeria. They showed that rather than party, money-bags and power, honesty and integrity and the collective will of the people are the soul of true democracy, and can deliver real change for the well-being of the people.[64] Maximising youth participation in elections and governance, by addressing existing challenges and harnessing identifiable opportunities, brightens hope for a new Nigeria.
From the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) guiding principles for decision-making, these strategies guide any agenda for maximising youth participation: genuine, respectful, and rights-based; transparent; accountable; youth-friendly; relevant and purposeful; inclusive, flexible, and open to innovation; sustainable, voluntary, and safe. Youth must be engaged for the right reasons, while ensuring that their contributions are valued. They must be recognised as agents of change, with the right to ownership and governance. There must be an open, accessible mechanism for participation, and monitoring and evaluating post-election governance processes. These mechanisms must have equal representation of the youth, in number, process, language, and issues. The capacity of youth must be enabled, with flexibility that adapts to ever-evolving youth dynamics, while protecting what is gained today and securing tomorrow.[65]
Theology is a useful partner in the discourse, and charting the horizon of sustained, active youth engagement in elections for transformative change. Reflecting, deepening, and contextualising theological hermeneutics identified here will be of immerse help not only in sharpening the Church’s voice, but in mobilising Christian action. Also needed is realising that our faith and hope in salvation hereafter are inescapably tied to the salvation of here and now—the socio-milieu of our time.
This is necessary in Nigeria, where enthusiasm can become easily frustrated, and where hope could be confused with optimism. The outcome of the 2023 General Elections witnessed these dynamics. Those who identified with the movement for a new Nigeria sometimes were overly optimistic, even as they were aware of the complexities and entanglements associated with Nigerian politics. The post-election atmosphere of distrust and betrayal, as a large majority of Nigerians were dissatisfied with the outcome, frustrates the enthusiasm of youth. To this end, evoking Augustine’s theology of hope and later theologian would help people accept reality as they look to the future. Hope builds not on certitude of outcome, optimism on the contrary as the Canadian Augustinian theologian Gregory Baum states, “Optimism prompts people to overlook the destructive possibilities of the present and paint for themselves a rosy picture of the future.”[66] What hope does, Baum maintains, is dare “to confront the evidence of possible future.”[67]
Sustaining the demonstrated youth enthusiasm for good governance during the 2023 General Elections can come from theological hope, generating in us the confidence that, even though our expectations and efforts may be frustrated, the future will be blessed. This keeps youth striving, not just because we stand a chance to succeed, but because our goal is good.
[1] Jude Ojo, “Nigerian Youths and 2023 General Elections,” Punch, February 15, 2023, https://punchng.com /nigerian-youths-and-2023-general-elections/. (accessed 7.5.2023).
[2] Tayo Teniola, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls,” Premium Times, April 4, 2023, https://www. premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/591659-nigerias-youth-take-centre-stage-in-the-2023-polls.html. (accessed 7.5.2023).
[3] See Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “The Participation of Catholics in Political Life,” https://www. vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20021124_politica_en.htm (accessed 7.5.2023). Emeka Xris Obiezu, Seeking Global Justice and Peace: Catholic NGOS at the United Nations (Washington D.C.: Pacem in Terris, 2019), 162.
[4] National Bureau of Statistics, “National Youth Survey 2021,” file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/NYS%20Report %202020%20(1).pdf (accessed 10.5.2023); see also Akanni Ibukun Akinyemi and Jacob Wale Mobolaji, “Nigeria’s Large, Youthful Population could be an asset or a Burden,” Premium Times Online, July 21, 2021 https://www.premiumtimesng. com/news/top-news/544043-nigerias-large-youthful-population-could-be-an-asset-or-a-burden.html?tztc=1. (accessed10.5.2023).
[5] See. Yvonne Goudie et.al., “Youth and Elections,” in ACE Project, ed. Aleida Ferreyra(New York: United Nations Development and Peace, 2018), https://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/yt/onePage. (accessed 7.5.2023).
[6] Goudie “Youth and Elections.”
[7] Goudie “Youth and Elections,” see also Fiona Mary Robertson, “A Study of Youth Political Participation in Poland and Romania,” https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/1687593.pdf. (accessed 7.5.2023).
[8] Nigerian Youth Parliament, “Youth Participation in the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria,” https://www. nyparliament.org/youth-participation-in-the-2019-general-elections-in-nigeria/ (accessed 8.5.2023).
[9] UNDP Nigeria, “Young People’s Participation in Politics and Governance in Nigeria,” https://www.ng.undp .org/content/nigeria/en/home/library/democratic_governance/young-peoples-participation-in-politics-and-governance-in-nigjke.html (accessed 8.5.2023).
[10] Leena Koni Hoffmann, “Whoever wins Nigeria’s Election Faces Crisis of Inclusion,” las modified February 3, 2023, https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2023-02/whoever-wins-nigerias-election-faces-crisis-inclusion?gclid=Cj0KCQiApKagBhC1ARIsAFc7Mc5mTS3ulUJNJ_E1ZkK4beWvyDCTwzM-iA7X_ELd2mCF FyCjO9oqTR0aAkh5EALwwcB (accessed 8.5.2023).
[11] Hoffmann, “Whoever wins Nigeria’s Election Faces Crisis of Inclusion.”
[12] Maurice Emelu, “Nigerian Youths emerge as Heroes in 2023 Presidential Election,” https://www.vanguardngr. com/2023/03/nigerian-youths-emerge-as-heroes-in-2023-presidential-election/. (accessed 15.5.2023).
[13] Teniola, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[14] Teniola, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[15] Teniola, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[16] Fidelis David, “The Youth as Active Participants in 2023 Election,” This Day, February 2, 2022, https://www. thisdaylive. com/index.php/2023/02/22/youths-as-active-participants-in-2023-election/. (accessed 6.5.2023).
[17] Tinola, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[18] Emelu, “Nigerian Youths emerge as Heroes in 2023 Presidential Election.”
[19] Augustinian Centre for Advocacy, Justice and Peace (ACAJP), Augustinians and the Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections: Election Status Report 2023 (Abuja: ACAJP, 2023). ACAJP is the is the Nigerian arm of the Augustinian International (AI), the NGO of the Order of St. Augustine in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
[20] Tayo, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.” See Hoffmann, “Whoever wins Nigeria’s Election faces Crisis of Inclusion.”
[21]Hoffmann, “Whoever wins Nigeria’s Election faces Crisis of Inclusion.”
[22] Sarah Harrison, “Democratic Frustration: Concept, Dimensions and Behavioural Consequences,” Societies 10, no. 1 (2020) https://doi.org/10.3390/soc10010019. (accessed 10.5.2023), 19.
[23] See Emeka Xris Obiezu, “Christian Hope in the Times Global Economic Crisis,” Catholic Register Special, January 8, 2009, https://www.catholicregister.org/opinion/guest-columnists/item/10077-christian-hope-in-times-of-global-economic-crisis. (accessed 5.5.2023).
[24] Tayo, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[25] BBC News, “Nigeria elections: How #BringBackOurGirls shaped the race,” https://www.bbc.com/news/ world-africa-31814989. (accessed 8.5.2023).
[26] Obiezu, Seeking Global Justice and Peace, 161.
[27]Second Vatican Council, “Gaudium et Spes,” in Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents ed. Austin Flannery (New Delhi: St. Paul’s, 1975), no. 1. Subsequent references from Vatican II documents will be cited from this version and translation.
[28] We are using Augustine for the fact that his theology of hope offers a liberative hermeneutics for interpreting the kind of hope exhibited by the Church and the youth during the elections. Karl Rahner’s is one of the theologians whose theology influenced Vat II and also guides further interpretation of the Conciliar teachings.
[29] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, no. 1.
[30] Frederick Adetiba is a transformation specialist, social reformer, management consultant and the lead pastor of The Finishing Church, Abuja. See Fredrick Adetiba, “Nigeria Church and the 2023 General Election,” https://www. premiumtimesng.com/opinion/558561-nigerian-church-and-the-2023-general-elections-by-frederick-adetiba.html? tztc=1. (accessed 8.5.2023).
[31] Charles Ekpo, “Praying for Peaceful Polls: The Outsized Role of Religion and Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Elections,”https://republic.com.ng/nigeria/religion-and-nigerias-presidential-elections (accessed May 8, 2023).
[32] Bolaji O. Akinyemi, “On Tinubu’s V.P Appointment: Don’t Get Me Wrong,” https://saharareporters.com/ 2022/07/14/ tinubu%E2%80%99s-perceived-islamization-agenda-don%E2%80%99t-get-me-wrong-bolaji-o-akinyemi. (accessed 8.5.2023).
[33] Ekpo, “Praying for Peaceful Polls.”
[34] Akinyemi, “On Tinubu’s V.P Appointment: Don’t Get Me Wrong.”
[35] “Prayer for Free, Fair and Peaceful Elections in Nigeria,” https://www.nigeriacatholicnetwork.com/prayer-for-free-fair-and-peaceful-elections-in-nigeria/ (accessed 10.5.2023).
[36] Emeka Christian Obiezu, Politics of Compassion: A Socio-political Dimension of the Christian Response to Suffering (Indiana: Authorhouse, 2008), 71.
[37] Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, “Prayer Concerning Elections in Nigeria.”
[38] See Tayo Olu, “2023: Let Igbo Produce President Before Zoning Is Cancelled—Abuja Catholic Priest,” https://thewhistler.ng/2023-let-igbo-produce-president-before-zoning-is-cancelled-abuja-catholic-priest/. (accessed 8.5.2023).
[39] See Centre for Women Studies and Interventions, “Action for Better Female Participation in elections in Nigeria (ABIPIN),” www.cwsi.or.ng. (accessed 8.5.2023).
[40] ACAJP, “Augustinians and the 2023 Nigeria’s General Elections.”
[41] For the above arguments See Pope Benedict XVI, The Encyclical—Deus Caritas Est (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005), nos. 22-30.
[42] Karl Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith: An Introduction to The Idea of Christianity, trans. William V. Dych (New York: Crossroad 2007), 27.
[43] Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith, 142, 143.
[44] Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith, 41.
[45] Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith, 42, 190.
[46] Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, nos. 11, 22.
[47] Robert McAfee Brown, Spirituality and Liberation: Overcoming the Great Fallacy (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1988), 64-72.
[48] Brown, Spirituality and Liberation, 64-72.
[49] Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith, 41.
[50] Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith, 403, 405.
[51] Obiezu, “Christian Hope in the Times Global Economic Crisis.”
[52] See Obiezu, “Christian Hope in the Times Global Economic Crisis.”
[53] See Obiezu, “Christian Hope in the Times Global Economic Crisis.”
[54] Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke, How to Think Theologically (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006), 13-15.
[55]Idara Otu, “African Theologies of Development: Successes and Limitations of Methodological Approaches,” in Faith in Action Vol.I: Reform, Mission and Pastoral Renewal in African Catholicism Since Vatican II Stan Chu Ilo et al (Abuja: Paulines Publications Africa, 2020), 245.
[56] Tayo, “Nigeria’s Youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[57] Tayo, “Nigeria’s youth take Centre Stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[58] Hyginus Banko Okibe, “Youth Participation in Elections in Nigeria: The Emerging Trends and Changing Perspectives,” https://africaupclose.wilsoncenter.org/youth-participation-in-elections-in-nigeria-the-emerging-trends-and-changing-perspectives/ (accessed 8.5.2023).
[59] Tayo, “Nigeria’s youth take Centre stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[60] Tayo, “Nigeria’s youth take Centre stage in the 2023 Polls.”
[61] Busayo Akinmojumarch, “Did a New Generation Decide? Youth Participation in Nigeria’s 2023 Elections,” Republic, March 6, 2023, https://republic.com.ng/februar-march-2023/youth-participation-nigeria-elections/ (accessed 8.5.2023).
[62] See works such as George O. Ehusani, A Prophetic Church (Ede: Provincial Pastoral Institute, 1996), John O. Odey, Church and State: Profiles in Costly Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Helder Camara, Oscar Romero (Enugu: Snapp Press, 2001), John Odey, The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shall not keep Silent in Face of Injustice (Enugu: Snapp Press, 2007).
[63] Obiezu, Seeking Global Justice and Peace, 175.
[64] Emelu, “Nigerian youths emerge as heroes in 2023 Presidential Election.”
[65] United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Enhancing Youth Political Participation through the Electoral Cycle (New York: United Nations, 2013), Restless Development and Plan International UK, “Principles Guiding for Decision Makers,” (2018) http://restlessdevelopment.org/file/guiding-principles-pdf. (accessed 8.5.2023).
[66] See Gregory Baum, “Hope in Times of Crisis,” in “Christian Hope in Times of Global Economic Crisis,” Catholic Register Special, January 8, 2009, https://www.catholicregister.org/opinion/guest-columnists/item/10077-christian-hope-in-times-of-global-economic-crisis. (accessed 5.5.2023).
[67] Baum, “Hope in Times of Crisis.”
