Shaming young Nigerians for voting old politicians is silly

The Chocolate City boss got into an argument with Ohimai Godwin Amaize who claimed M.I supported the candidacy of Buhari during the 2015 general elections.

In the Twitter back and forth, M.I maintained that the youth shouldn't be ashamed for seeking change and voting an old politician into power which by and large was an extension of the burning topic on social media on Wednesday, February 8, 2017.

Yesterday, co-founder and Managing Partner of RED Media AfricaChude Jideonwo wrote an article titled "The irony of the youth-led frustration that keeps electing old men into office across Africa" for Quartz Africa.

He articulately explained why young Africans keep voting for old politicians in contrast to global trends. His valid points were somehow missed by the political Twitter mob.

Jideonwo who is also co-founder of StateCraft Inc was attacked for running the campaign of President Buhari. Truth be told, Jideonwo & Co did a good job on tweaking the public image of the President. They succeeded in flipping the public perception that he is a zealot into a man of change that millions could relate with.

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Yesterday, Chude Jideonwo was an object of some people's discontentment with this present administration. His critics said he had no right to complain about a government he helped put into power. This is a silly assertion.

Like Chude rightly pointed out in his article "Elections are made by comparing the candidates that are available to be voted, rather than to a non-existent ideal. To this extent, many of these young people decided to choose either the best of two available options or decided anything but the status quo was a much better alternative to skipping the process."

Buhari did not win the election, rather Goodluck Jonathan lost it. Millions of Nigerians were fed up with his administration and would have voted for anyone apart from him at the last elections.

The last election did not present us with an ideal situation. There was no Barack Obama on the ballot box. We didn't have a good looking, young politician who had the right words and a catchy slogan.

The choice was simple, stick with the ineffective and clueless PDP administration or give a new party a chance. There is no shame in exercising your fundamental right.

This is the beauty of democracy, the option to vote a government out of power for not delivering on its promises. The taunts Chude Jideonwo has received are most likely from the losing camp or from immature people who do not understand how democracy works. It doesn't have to be perfect. The beauty of democracy is that it gives you options on who to give a mandate.

Those arguing with M.I also miss the point. There is this belief that young people in government will produce magic and old politicians have nothing to offer.

Rtd. General Yakubu Gowon was Head of State at 32 but it was during his watch the Biafran War occurred. As a matter of fact post-colonial Africa has been damaged by youthful leaders who have morphed over the years into dictators. There is this romantic myth about youth and how it automatically leads to political excellence. This is false.

Young people voted for Buhari because he was the best candidate available. It is simple as that and there is no shame in it. The big deal is that young Nigerians exercised their electoral in 2015. In 2019 they will do so again until our democratic system is perfected.