POLITICAL APATHY: CAUSES, EFFECTS and REMEDIES
by JOSEPH UDOFIA (PARAGON)
Gov. Kashim Shettima, Borno State Governor, Trek Africa Governor of the year 2018
PREAMBLE
I want to start with the word of Elie Wiesel, which says, “we must always take side. Neutrality helps the oppressor,never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented” in other words, Aristotle posited that,he who is unable to live in the society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god, and he concluded by saying that every man is by nature a political animal. Then, I return to ask, in the society of ours in which you are not borne until government say so by way of birth certificate, you cannot marry until government say consented by way of marriage certificate, you cannot purchase land and build without certificate of occupancy and other permits, you cannot even die until government approve by way of death certificate, what will make an average surviving human being to be neutral, silent or apolitical when he is neither a beast nor a god? In this paper we will xray what is political apathy, causes or reasons for political apathy, effects of political apathy and most importantly remedy and how we can fight political apathy.
Political apathy refers to the lackadaisical attitude of a citizen towards the political or other affairs of government of his or her state. It is indifference on the part of citizens of any country or state as regards their attitude toward political activities example civic responsibilities, elections, public opinions etc.
Political apathy is one of the major challenges of democracy in Nigeria today.It is usually a case where a person shows no interest in the matters and state of politics in his or her country. This means that he or she does not care about political parties, politicians, electoral processes, and even governance as a whole. Political apathy may be in three forms or types: Apathy due to lack of information, Apathy due to lack of interest,and Voters apathy. Political apathy is common among most Nigerians and it keeps increasing by the day. The most common is lack of interest and voters apathy. Political apathy in Nigeria is expressed in so many ways: Many Nigerians refuse to belong to or support any political party. The low turn-out of Nigerians who are eligible to vote for the voters’ registration process. The poor turn-out of voters during elections. Most Nigerians are not interested in protesting against bad governance and leadership in the country.its common place to hear things like Abel leave let them do their thing, Weston ‘consin’ me, Weston be my own, since I d start to vote Wetin I gain etc.
Chief Dele Momodu, Trek Africa Awards and National Discourse 2018 Guest Speaker
CAUSES OF POLITICAL APATHY
Causes of political apathy can be many reasons why people have a disinterest towards politic and governance. But here, we have listed major reasons for political apathy in Nigeria;
*Rigging of Elections: This is a major reason for the growing political apathy in Nigeria. Over the years, elections have been plagued with rigging and malpractices. And that is why most Nigerians don’t believe in elections.
*The Popular Belief That The Votes Don’t Count: Most Nigerians believe that their vote do not count. This is one of the main reasons why a lot of Nigerian always refuse to turn out for voters registration. And during elections, most decide to stay back at home because of the general feeling and belief that their votes will have no impact on the outcome of the election.
*Lack of Credible Candidate: Since the beginning of the post-military era, there has been a continuous cycling of politicians. People do not have so many options from which they vote.
*Current Condition of Governance: This is probably the number one reason for political apathy in Nigeria. The government has failed to provide good leadership and governance for the country, as a result, the level of apathy towards politics and governance has increased.
*Nigerians Don’t Like Politicians: Large percentage of Nigerians don’t like politicians for so many reasons. But the number one reason is that they do not believe in them and see them as thieves, liars, thugs, and people who have no compassion for the populace.
*Lack of Trust in Governance: This is different from the dislike of politicians. In this case, this is an issue of not believing in the way of governance and lacking the interest to see governance improve. Most people also have lost hope of a better governance and therefore a reason for their political apathy.
*Campaign Violence: Due to the level of violence that always occur during the build-up to elections, most people stay away from electoral process for the safety of their live. Also, the violence seen during campaign always damage the credibility of most political parties and their candidates among the people. And because of this, the level of political apathy keeps growing.
*Chaos In The Political system: In Nigeria today, there is so much chaos going on in politics and in the government. They include political oppression and victimization, political infighting, Weak security measures during elections etc.
*Past History of Political Occurrence: People who have some
family members, friends or relatives who have been victims of
political unrest, tend to withdraw from political activities.
*Most People Believe That Their Votes Are Not Secured During Elections: This is as a result of the history of election rigging, snatching of ballot boxes, disruption of voting centres by thugs, etc. And as a result, people don’t participate in the voting process.
*Negative Media Coverage: There is a lot of negative media coverage of politics and governance which builds up disinterest among voters.
*Another major cause of high voter apathy is that most
politicians don’t perform to the expectations of the electorate.
CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL APATHY
1. Political Apathy threatens Democratic dispensation – When a
politician wins an election in a high voter apathy political
election, such a winner wins with a minority vote. Such a vote
doesn’t give the winner confidence that he is a popular
political representative in a given area.
2. Elections are not representative – Results of elections are
supposed to be based on majority feelings. With political apathy,
such is difficult.
3. Political Apathy hinders good governance and decision making
– When elected political leaders win with a minority vote, such
leaders feel reluctant to mobilise majority citizens in the area
who might not have voted for him or her. As a result, such
political leaders fail to organise good governance or community
development related meetings in local communities as most of
the residents might not be coming to such meetings as they feel
that the political representative concerned is not a leader of
their choice; and is not popular in the area.
4. Political Apathy retards community and national
developmental processes. instead of a political leader to
concentrate on spending more time facilitating development
related projects, he or she might spend more time justifying
that he or she is current ward councilor, member of parliament
or a current president or governor.
6. High voter apathy is a vote of no confidence in political
representatives as most citizens feel there is little or nothing
they benefit from spending time and energy voting for someone
who might benefit more from politics while a voter gets poor and
poorer every year.
7. Increased high voter apathy can erode checks and balances,
accountability, rule of law, etc; this leads to bad governance.
EFFECTS OF POLITICAL APATHY
What are the effects of political apathy in Nigeria? Here is just a summary of some of the effects of political apathy in Nigeria;
Politicians are not hold accountable for their actions. Continued imbalance of power can lead to civil wars and revolutions. High level of corruption and lawlessness flourish in the country. Greedy politicians keep getting into power. The development of the country becomes very slow.
Political apathy is a threat to our destiny because leaders will
tend to act arbitrarily. some scholars posits that when people run away
from politics they will end up been led by the interiors.
It’s effects on the economy , government and leadership is multifarious. Political apathy can lead to low voters turnout and stagnation in a state’s government. Furthermore , it’s a threat to democracy.
It’s also have psychological damage due to lack of personal interaction. Many political analyst is of the view that lack of political participation can lead to what they referred as” political ills ” they went further to say that this political ills has components which includes corruption and dishonesty among politicians as they are not held responsible and accountable. And unless there is an increasing level of interest towards political activities and elections, democracy might be in danger in Nigeria.
REMEDIES OR FIGHTING POLITICAL APATHY
Political Education; Educate your family members and friends about political participation “initiate” behaviors and ask
others to encourage participation in political activities.
Knowing &Defending Our Right; people should get conversant with the constitution and it will help in fighting political apathy since no one can infringe upon your voting right.
Participate in Elections; It suppose to be priority and duty of every eligible citizen to participate in an election either by contesting or voting.
Joining Popular Organization; The process of belonging to popular organization like trade union, labour congress, NLC, NYMSA,etc.
political engagement which encompasses both the
willingness and the capability of citizens to participate effectively in self-rule. And understanding of and a commitment to the
fundamental principles and processes of democracy.
I suggest voting should be made compulsory, when one attain the
age stipulated by the law.
In Nigeria , political apathy is found mostly on the part of younger voters, the poor, and minority groups. This apathy won’t do any good to our country. that is the reason we have always advocated for active as opposed to passive participation in political affairs, because there lies our destiny and we must take our destiny in our hands to avoid being led by inferiors . Every one should get his voters card ready because our votes MUST count.
I will like to conclude with the word of Martin Niemollor, “First they came for the communist, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist, then they came for a socialist, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist, Then they came for the trade unionist, I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist, then they came for Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew; then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak out for me”
Do not shy away from political activities .
I stand against political apathy .
(Joseph Udofia is a political enthusiast who writes from the enclave of Ikot umoh-Nkwot, Ikono; the cradle of ibibio)
