If you’re anything like the audience we’ve written for over the years, you’re young, semi-curious about Nigerian politics, and frustrated with the way it affects your life. This shows up in the way you interact with daily news, your heated posts on X, your reposts, and your arguments in comment sections with people who just don’t get it.
You want to see Nigeria succeed badly. So, you wait eagerly, every election season, for that one candidate who’d convince you that voting is worth your time, but they never show up. The names you see on your screen are the same you’ve always seen; the very ones that refuse to attend town hall meetings and debates because it’s beneath them, the same ones who do not care enough to pitch themselves to you.
If you’re anything like what we’ve described, we understand you because we feel the same way. It’s why we’ve come up with our new election flagship, Young Voices to Follow.
What’s this about?
As its name suggests, Young Voices to Follow (YVF) will spotlight young, fresh voices contesting political positions in the 2027 general elections.
Why are we doing this?
The first paragraph of this article might have given you some insight, but we want to break it down further: Despite being Nigeria’s largest demographic and one of the world’s largest youth populations, young Nigerians have remained severely underrepresented in politics and governance. So, more than anything, YTF seeks to turn that around, and what better way to do it than by restructuring the status quo? For far too long, Nigerian youths have been portrayed as voters and onlookers, rather than equal participants in nation-building; our election flagship will change that.
As a vertical in a youth-facing publication, we know all too well the ingenuity of young Nigerians. We know they are capable of great ideas that could move our nation forward. We also know that their voices are often dismissed and stifled by factors such as ridiculously expensive party nomination forms, godfatherism, and older opponents with money to burn. YTF will spotlight young contestants in the coming election to give them a fighting chance against these factors.
What can you expect from YTF?
Over the coming weeks and months, Zikoko Citizen will put out the following under the YTF flagship:
- Articles detailing the profile, history, journey and manifesto of individual young aspirants.
- Videos that will show the audience how the contestants navigate daily Nigerian life, how that informs their political efforts, and what they intend to do differently about Nigeria’s problems.
- Conversations via X spaces. This will enable the audience to have real-time interactions and question-and-answer sessions with the contestants, free of fluff and filters.
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This is not a campaign
Zikoko Citizen has always been non-partisan and will remain so as election seasons come and go. YTF will not endorse young candidates; it’ll only spotlight them, affording young and old audiences alike to vet them and make their choices.
Who is a young voice to follow?
Some of them might be people you know; we hope some are people you’ve never heard of. Over the coming weeks, we will spotlight young Nigerians aged 22 to 40 who are contesting political office and have clear manifestos.
They are not members of the two major political parties in the country. They are not related to Nigeria’s current crop of leaders, and they do not answer to political godfathers. They are simply Nigerians, like you, tired of the perpetual cycle of suffering in the country. We bet they’d be happy to meet you.
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