The Role of Ict in Electoral Process in Nigeria

TITLE:

ICT, Youth and Electoral Process

NAME:

ODEKANMI Benedicta

OCTOBER 2010

“Great Nigerian Students … Great”. This is no doubt the way Nigerian Students in Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education greet themselves in social gatherings and the likes. And they make a great number of the youths but who is a Youth? A Youth could be described as someone between childhood and maturity stage in his development. This implies a youth is someone who can be described as an adolescent getting into the adulthood stage of development. The developmental stages of Psychology will say this is a Trial and Error period in of human development. Our society is in a state that it is the youth that make the greater percentage of those involved in ICT. ICT means Information and Communications Technology. This includes the internet, phones, GPRS system, GPS system, computers especially the laptops and mini-laptops and so on for the youth. Though some youths use more of Communication Technology than Information Technology by being on facebook all day, others use the Information Technology better by surfing sites that provide informative kind of things and yet, others are indifferent.

To some, a youth is someone who is 18 and above but to others it involves a greater part of the teenage years. You would agree with me that Nigerian Students in these various tertiary institutions make a great number of the Youth in Nigeria. That says at least that we value education to an extent in Nigeria. But in reality, not all students admitted into the tertiary are above the age of 18 years. Some are even as low as 14 year of age. It is this “youth” that are the most seen during elections because they are on the active side. They have their physical and mental minds sharp. It is this period of their lives they want to try new things and see whether it works out or not. However, it is of no doubt that the youth are the future of the country. They are the future leaders in the various sectors of life. In Nigeria today, there are nearly 45 million young people with estimates that by 2025 that number will be in the range of 62 million. It was reported on World Youth Day August 12, 2010 that youths gathered in different venues around the country to take part of their role in the future of Nigeria. Many of the persons aged 18-35 years, gathered for the discussion in Abuja, made known their anxiety about fraud and vote rigs. The Youth Discussion Group decided to send a white paper to the Government on the significance of the role of Youth in the upcoming 2011 election. The deduction is that the youths want their voices and their votes to make a difference and also count.

ICT is helping the electoral process in relation to the Youth. Some non-partisan movements and organizations have been founded for the sole process of the youth to participate in the 2011 electoral process and get across their information through the internet. The Youth include those at home and abroad. According to Dayo Israel, a member of the alliance of EnoughisEnough Nigeria (EiE) in the UK: “Although Nigerians abroad are unable to vote themselves, the purpose of the Diasporan Town Hall Meetings is to discuss how young Nigerians abroad can employ Technology and New Media in sensitising friends and family back home towards participating.”

The 2011 elections gives Nigeria with an opportunity to change the relic of electoral fraud, political violence and delayed democratic development that has spoilt the past civilian rule in the country since May 1999. This has led to appointment of a new chair of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) who is in charge electoral process in Nigeria.

It has been mentioned earlier that the youth are the future. You would agree with me that it is the children that develop into the youth. It has been reported by The Children and Youth Democratic Electoral Model (CYDEM) that since 2006, elections have been conducted in several schools to teach democratic integrity and develop good leadership skills in young persons in order to enable them begin to elect their school prefects by means of a model electoral process. Although The CYDEM has not been added to school curriculum by the Federal Ministry of Education, they are still making their mark in the lives of young persons.

In conclusion, use of ICT in the electoral process has not but been found frequently and the Youth have the greatest influence on this subject matter. Children grow up to become the Youth and are best to be trained in ICT so when they are grown, they are sure of what they want to contribute to the electoral process.