Political brutality is something that has ruined the lives of thousands of young people who have grown up believing that nothing matters in their lives and that they are worthless in society, living under the influence of drug or consumed because of their ignorance.
This is one of the few reasons that has allowed political violence to grow and by no means seems unstoppable until something is done to stem it.
Nigerian youths constitute about 70% of the country’s population, but according to various analyses, some of these youths are helpless and ruthless due to poor education or mental disorders due to excessive drug use.
Young people with the political thug mentality are mostly duped by powerful people who wish to achieve something by any means or seek to surround themselves with these young people to protect themselves or create chaos among the masses.
However, Nigerian youths are sometimes known as hard workers with ambitious spirits to struggle and make life good for themselves, but whenever political issues surround them, some cannot fight the urge to get involved in fighting, killing or stealing ballot boxes for a small reward. . They are mostly helpless young people with no direction for the future. They may have had dreams but the little money offered to them quickly made them change their minds to risk their lives and follow bad influences.
Some of them are under the influence of drugs and intoxicants offered to them by politicians to induce them to commit illegal acts. This is the time for young people to wake up in those ways that don’t bring them any positive impact but only end up losing their lives or ending up in jail.
Some politicians need power, and they always choose to ruin the lives of young people to help them achieve what they want. It should be part of Nigerian law to prohibit political brutality and prevent politicians from manipulating unsuspecting youths for their selfish interests.
The government should also improve the quality and capacity of the country’s education system, from primary to tertiary, to help reduce the number of uneducated youth.
In the meantime, the government should take action against the challenges of rising unemployment, which is one of the major issues driving young people to political brutality.
Fatima Isa Dikko, Department of Mass Communication, Borno State University
