Nigerian Youth
‘Not Too Young
To Run’ For
Office
YIAGA initially reached out to NDI
back in 2016 to seek partnership to
review the national youth policy,
but this soon blossomed into full-
on advocacy for a constitutional
amendment that would attract more
youth to the political fold.
President Signs USAID-
Supported Bill Into Law
T
by Zack Taylor
he two-year journey of a
bill supported by Nigeria’s
civil society to reduce age
requirements for running for legislative
and executive offices through Nigeria’s
National Assembly ended earlier this
year with President Muhammadu
Buhari signing the “Not Too Young to
Run” Bill into law. and extensive public advocacy.
The new statute reduces the minimum
age from 30 to 25 years to run for
legislative seats, and from 40 to 35
to run for presidency, representing
the first time the 1999 Nigerian
Constitution will be amended to
broaden youth participation in
elections into public offices. Through implementing partner
National Democratic Institute (NDI)
with co-funding from DfID, USAID
played a critical role in training and
mobilizing Not Too Young to Run
coordinators in each of Nigeria’s 36
states, sponsoring “National Days of
Action” on the issue and reaching out
to press across the country.
The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID),
in partnership with the British
Department for International
Development (DfID), contributed to
the success of the campaign through
advocacy capacity building for
campaign coordinators in all 36 states
“As the realization of the final step in
the . . . campaign draws nearer, young
Nigerians who propelled this bill to the
desk of the president are eager for their
opportunity to lead,” one activist for the
new law wrote shortly before the bill
passed through the National Assembly.
The movement was initially hatched
by the Youth Initiative for Advocacy,
Growth and Advancement (YIAGA),
a Nigerian civil society nonprofit
dedicated to youth empowerment and
mobilization for political participation,
transparency, and accountability.
As the campaign blossomed into an
all-out movement, YIAGA sought out
legislative champions like Senator
Jonathan Zwingina, who shared
important strategies and tactics on how
best to sell the ‘Not Too Young To Run’
agenda to legislators. Other critical
steps included training in strategic
communications to develop messaging,
and training for media interviews.
Through NDI, USAID advised YIAGA to
write and personally reach every state
house of assembly member through
state coordinators, pitch the idea for the
amendment, and track the responses of
the various legislators.
In the final stage of the campaign,
YIAGA appealed heavily to President
Buhari on different fronts including
a march on the presidential villa
and direct advocacy with contacts
within the administration to lobby the
president to give his assent.
With the bill now signed into law, the
campaign has shifted into a “Ready to
Run” program to help build capacity of
youth candidates to run for office in
the 2019 elections, giving the young
Nigerians who propelled this bill to the
desk of the president the opportunity to
lead they had worked so hard for.
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Not Too Young To
Run bill into law in May 2018 as youth advocates looked on
CROSSROADS | December 2018/January 2019
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