POLITICAL APATHY

By Unwana-obong Victor

23rd July 2020

Elie Wiese once said, "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 give consent by way of marriage certificate, you cannot purchase a land and erect a structure 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? There is but one answer; Political Apathy!!!

Political Apathy is 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 is common among most Nigerians and it keeps increasing by the day. Political Apathy is characterized by blunt refusal to belong to or support any political party, low turn-out of Nigerians who are eligible to vote during voters’ registration process and poor turn-out of voters during elections. Political Apathy is in play when most Nigerians are not interested in protesting against bad governance and leadership in the country. The peak of Political Apathy is when Nigerians will say "Abeg, I don leave them to do their thing!!! Wetin consin akporo with overload!!! Wetin be my own, since I de start to vote wetin I gain, make I Sidon one place!!!, I vote, I no vote who go win, go win!!! etc. In Nigeria , political apathy is found mostly on the part of younger voters, the poor, and minority groups.

CAUSES OF POLITICAL APATHY

Political Apathy can be many reasons why people have a disinterest towards politics and governance.
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.

Votes Don’t Count Believe: 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 Candidates: 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 Dislike for 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.
Votes Insecurity: 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.
Lack of Confidence: Most politicians don’t perform to the expectations of the electorate, so people no longer have confidence in the politicians and this cause an high voter apathy.

CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL APATHY
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.

 Elections are not representative: Results of elections are supposed to be based on majority feelings. With political apathy, such is difficult
Hindrance of 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.
Reretarded 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.

Vote of No Confidence: 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.
Increased high voter apathy can erode checks and balances, accountability, rule of law, etc; this leads to bad governance.

EFFECTS OF POLITICAL APATHY

Politicians are not held 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 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 OF 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 and 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 is suppose to be a 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 etc.encompasses both the willingness and the capability of citizens to participate effectively in self-rule. This will help in understanding the fundamental principles and processes of democracy.

I suggest voting should be made compulsory, when one attain the age stipulated by the law. 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 . No Nigerian should get his voters card because it is a prerequisite for opening a bank account, getting loans, and other personal aggrandisement. It should be for the sole aim of fighting political apathy by getting a voters card ready to be engaged in voting.
Do not shy away from political activities .