By Cosmas Odoemena
The mass turnout of young people more than ever before in the recent general elections challenged the vexed stereotype that our young people are “lazy Nigerian youths” with no mind of their own. But sadly, when it comes to deciding their future, that is generally left in the hands of older people. It’s time this is changed. We need to bring in more young people to vote. The legal voting age for Nicaragua, Scotland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, and Austria is 16 years. It’s time Nigeria embraced it. Naysayers often interrogate the competence of those aged 16 to vote based on informed choices. They believe teenagers lack the ability and motivation to participate effectively in elections. Other arguments are that they are impulsive and immature and that their brains are not well-developed to make such decisions.
But I beg to disagree! In looking at the intellectual capacity of 16-year-olds, it’s imperative to consider what is referred to as “cold” and “hot” cognition. According to Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University and the author, most recently, of “Age of Opportunity: Lessons From the New Science of Adolescence,” “Cold cognitive abilities are those we use when we are in a calm situation when we are by ourselves and have time to deliberate and when the most important skill is the ability to reason logically with facts.” Voting is a perfect example of this kind of situation.
Several studies of cold cognition have shown that by age 16 the skills necessary to make informed decisions are well-established. By that age, adolescents can bring information together and process them, weigh pros and cons, reason logically with facts, and take time before making a decision. No doubt, teenagers may sometimes make bad choices, but based on scientific data, theirs is no more than it happens in adults. According to Fielhouse et al., the level of turnout at elections is often perceived as an indicator of the health of a democracy. And Wagner et al., fear that democratic legitimacy may reduce as elections increasingly fail to act as the “institutional connection” between citizens and the state. Generally, there has been voter apathy among the Nigerian electorate and this is seen more among older voters who may feel they have been disappointed enough. Contrariwise, young people seem to have brought in new colour, new dimension, and new optimism to the Nigerian political firmament. Involving more young people is likely to have far-reaching effects. Young people under 18 would probably still be in school and live with their families, two points that have been shown to encourage turnout through an array of socialization mechanisms. In other words, enthusiastic young people are more inclined to influence their parents who may be apathetic to vote. Younger persons who are politically savvy are more likely to have the courage to interrogate their leaders and ask for accountability than the older people who cautiously run towards the pension finishing line.
Some critics might still argue that under-18s are not able or motivated to participate effectively in politics and their electoral choices are of lower quality. Wagner et al., in their research in Austria where a 16-year-old can vote, tested whether these criticisms have an empirical basis. They found that under-18 are not particularly unable or unwilling to participate effectively in politics And importantly, they did not find that “the vote choices of citizens under 18 reflect their preferences less well than those of older voters do”. In essence, reducing the voting age does not seem to hurt input legitimacy and the quality of democratic decisions.
Critics might still say it’s difficult to generalize and that Nigerian youths might be different. It is the world’s youths that are making their voices known and influencing the world. Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist was 17 and in a chemistry class in secondary school when she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 becoming the youngest person to ever win the coveted Prize. She started her activism well before the age of 17 and her voice still shapes the politics in Pakistan and indeed the world. God forbid Nigerian young people to be outliers!
Another important aspect is the nature of participation among today’s young people. Dalton et al. argued that younger generations are more engaged in a variety of social and political activities beyond voting and that they were more likely to engage in more direct, action-oriented participation. Younger people are also more likely to demonstrate to press home their points and to employ non-electoral forms of participation to influence political outcomes.
As a family physician who attends to adolescents, I appreciate their growth stages and their mindset. Young people at a certain stage in their lives need to be given more room to explore and be involved in the things that ultimately affect them. They should have a say in the democratic process and how it affects their future. And it can start by legitimizing young people to start voting from 16.
Dr. Odoemena, a Consultant Family Physician, and Fellow of the West African College of Physicians, writes from Lagos. Twitter: @cuzdetriumph