The Place of the Youths in Nigeria’s Democratic Leadership 1999 - 2019

The period 1999 marks the return of democratic rule after the exit of military occupation of Nigeria’s leadership space. One of the cornerstones of this turning point is the reintroduction of participatory democracy which, in its practice, accommodates participation and leadership from all qualified citizens. Nevertheless, since 1999, the youths of Nigeria are seemed to have been skewed out of the country’s leadership structure. Unarguably, the most repressed and marginalized segment or group in Nigeria since the return of democratic governance is the youth. Consequently, cries of perceived and real marginalization of the youth in leadership have resonated in the country. Against this backdrop, this article examines the place of the youths in Nigeria's leadership and isolates some of the encumbrances inhibiting them from having access to the structures of power. The article attempt to explore and interrogate these and other variegated issues arising from youth political marginalization in Nigeria and suggest a way forward. The article essentially adopts historical cum descriptive and analytical methods of analysis at arriving on a conclusion. The paper argues and demonstrates that youth’s political involvement in terms of holding political offices since 1999 is marginal. The article opined that talent infused leadership devoid of age discrimination is the only desideratum to youth political participation and leadership in Nigeria.