Youth Political Participation, Good Governance and Social Inclusion in Nigeria

Abstract

As the Nigerian population continues to increase, so does the number of youth. The population of youth (18–35 years) in Nigeria is 52.2 million (i.e., about 28% of the total population), which is more than the entire population of Ghana, London and Benin Republic put together. In spite of the prospects that this number holds, young people in Nigeria are largely marginalised from governance, leaving them helpless about their continued exclusion. This is evidenced in the low percentage of youth who hold political and leadership positions in the country. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between youth political participation, good governance and social inclusion in Nigeria. Using a quantitative approach, 1,208 youth aged 18–35 selected from Nairaland participated in the study. Data gathered was analysed using the Spearman correlation coefficient and the result indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between youth political participation and good governance in Nigeria (r _s^, (1206) = .615, p < .001), and that there is a significant positive association between youth political participation and social inclusion in Nigeria (r _s^, (1206) = .875, p < .001). It was recommended that government should create Leadership and Democratic Institutes [LDI] across the states of the federation and establish an Online Leadership Orientation Agency [OLOA] to utilise various social networking sites to provide free leadership courses, webinars, and orientation on the art of governance and the promotion of social inclusion among the youth.