Title:   POLITICAL LEADERSHIP MARGINALIZATION IN NIGERIA: A CONSIDERATION OF THE YOUTH IN THE FOURTH REPUBLIC (1999 - 2022)

Abstract
Political leadership marginalization is a topical issue in Nigerian politics. The youths in Nigeria who are constituents of the society are not effectively integrated into political leadership opportunities at all levels of governance and desire for inclusion. The quest for political leadership participation has always occupied the political discourses of the youth but the spate for inclusiveness intensified in the Fourth Republic to the extent that the “Not too Young to Run” bill of 2018, signed into law by President Mohammadu Buhari, provides for the youths to vie for any elective position in the country became obviously evident. This free rein came at a very critical period of Nigeria’s history characterized by tumultuous challenges such as COVID 19 pandemic, high in security, immense poverty, large scale corruption, hunger, high inflation rate and general alarming economic quagmire. This paper attempts to examine Nigeria’s political leadership experiences leading to youth marginalization. The method of data collection and analysis were based on qualitative descriptive approach while the conflict theory was adopted in explaining the problem investigated. The study found out that the youths who are an integral segment of the Nigerian society are actually marginalized in holding political leadership positions in the country. It is, therefore, imperative to make politics a level-playing activity to allow them participate and attain political leadership positions.
Keywords: Political Leadership, Marginalization, Youth, Inclusiveness, Fourth Republic.

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Publication Date: 2023-04-05