Daniel Nworie
Political apathy is becoming a consistent pattern in various Lagos State University’s students’ union elections. This is not only limited to Students; Union Government, it cuts across departmental elections. In recent years, it appears as though a large number of students are getting unconcerned with voting and the political climate generally. For instance, according to data gathered by the Independent Electoral Committee in the last Lagos State University Students’ Union (LASUSU) executive election held in August 2024, out of over 35,000 students eligible to vote, only 5,484, a little over 15% voted.
This is not just low, but also worrying, especially when considering that it is these few numbers that determine the set of leaders LASUSU has for a whole academic session. Another instance of this trend of Political apathy was when the Student Parliamentary Council (SPC) suspended the current LASUSU President Haroun Tobun. Many were not even aware, nor concerned.
Why the low turnout?
Bello Wasiu (Photo Credit: Daniel Nwories)
While political apathy continues to exist, students identify what they think could be the causes of it. “I am not interested because these guys in office are just after their personal interests. We do not feel their impact in any way. They just get there and forget why we put them there,” said Bello Wasiu, a student from the Faculty of Communication. “I do not like to get involved with political activities. How do you expect me to come and be queing up when we all know that they do not perform. Check the last two tenures. Except for a few shining lights, It’s so abysmal,” he continued.
Grace Mufutau from the Faculty of Education also blames the political apathy on bad governance. “In all honesty, it has been as though we do not even need them. There have been so many instances where we needed a voice, but they either kept mute, or their efforts yielded no result. Take a look at all increments in fees by the management in the last months.
From school-fee increment for newly admitted students to a new convocation-fee to other unnecessary fees. The people who are supposed to be leaders always do nothing about it. If not that the students themselves decided to stage a protest the last time, the newly introduced CBT and counselling fee would have stood. It was the students’ efforts of protesting without our leaders that saw them rescind the fee. How do you expect students to come out for them when they have failed to come out for us?”
Grace Mufutau (Photo Credit: Daniel Nworie)
The majority of the reasons for political apathy gathered focused on the poor performance of previous administrations, some like Victoria Iboro from Faculty of Management Sciences are not just interested. She said: “I am just not interested in all these politics. I am here for my studies, and I have to focus on it. I see people so passionate about this politics in school, and i am usually surprised as to why they would dedicate so much time to it, especially seeing that we will not be here forever. It just does not intrigue me, that is why i neither vote nor talk about it.”
Victoria Iboro (photo credit: Daniel Nworie)
A political figure in school who chose to be anonymous says involvement by third parties and “godfathers” is one of the causes of political apathy. “There are just so many that ought not to be involved trying to be in control. Even to simple faculty and departmental elections, you’ll see people who have even graduated trying to endorse or influence candidates selection. Look at the last SPC elections, unknown figures ensured all positions went unopposed. Nowadays, you must get endorsements from even lecturers to help you win. It is not supposed to be so. This thing is supposed to be completely by students alone. But that is not the case, so people are beginning to lose interest in it.”
Insights from the IEC.
In a conversation with the information officer of the Independent Electoral Committee, Giwa Rukayah, she admits the apathy, but also encourages more students to start showing interest. “5,000 plus is a huge number, but considering the total number of students on campus, it is small. The truth is while we have only four years to spend here, leadership is an important aspect of life that societies must get right. If you say you won’t vote or you won’t get involved, people you know that you are better than will get there and not perform well.
Giwa Rukayat (Photo. Daniel Nworie)
So students must know that they are not doing themselves good by showing apathy. I know we have really sound students in school who can do well in leadership, but they have to show up,” she said.
She also identifies efforts by the present IEC to curb apathy. “We have done our bit. We educated the people many times, we made sure every candidate had their voice and plans aired out in debates and manifesto presentations, but the truth is that the solution to apathy is when more people, especially those who know they have the leadership qualities show up. When the people see that you are good, they will be interested in putting you there”
#Daniel Nworie, A campus Journalist at LASU, is a fellow of Africa Foundation for Young Media Professionals ‘Campus Journalism Fellowship 2024 and sent this in from Lagos State University
