Forms of political apathy in Nigeria
Political apathy is a dangerous thing. Have you ever thought of the forms of political apathy in Nigeria? How does this ‘monster’ reveal itself? Is it a real danger to democracy? Let’s discuss the five forms of the lack of interest in political issues and understand how this can influence your life and the future of your children.
How much interest do you have in Nigerian political life? Do you fail to give your vote to the best candidate during elections? Are you closely following the political problems and all the news in your country? Are you afraid to make decisions at different levels? Try to answer all these questions to see if you already have signs of political apathy.
Even if you are interested in the political life of Nigeria, you could recognize your friends and relatives as being indifferent when it comes to the future of the country.
What is political apathy?
Apathy is a word with a long history. It was used by ancient Greeks to describe a ‘lack of feelings’. So what is ‘political apathy?’
This is a political term. It means the lack of interest of a person in the political area of his or her country. In other words, the citizens of Nigeria who don’t participate in political processes (don’t vote, don’t express their opinions towards political issues etc.) show political negligence or apathy.
How many forms does this negligence take? Is it dangerous to modern democratic processes? How important is it for the future of Nigeria? Keep on reading to get into details that can truly change your life.
Forms of political apathy in Nigeria
There are five forms of political apathy. A lot of us can recognize ourselves in these forms. They are:
- No interest in registration of voters.
- Ignoring electoral activities.
- Ignoring elections.
- Showing no interest in protecting the electoral process.
- Showing no political position.
Meaning and forms of political Apathy
Now let’s take a closer look at each type of political apathy. What does it mean exactly?
Every election procedure consists of several steps. Each step is extremely important because it can influence the results and define the winner of the elections.
It is important to register voters and this is the first step. If you don’t want to be serious and help with the registration process, you show political apathy. You cannot treat this process as something unimportant. Devoting some of your time to the registration can make it faster and more accurate.
The second step involves understanding who candidates are and what political parties are possible leaders in your country or state. It involves a number of activities such as political campaign, political debates, meeting with people etc. If you ignore these events, you express your political apathy.
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The third main step is the process of election. Some people believe that their vote changes nothing. So what do they do? Exactly! They ignore the elections and simply don’t vote. This is political apathy. Sometimes one voice can change history.
The electoral process is very sensitive to manipulations. It’s not a secret that every political party wants to lead the country. Some parties are willing to buy votes and manipulate the whole process of elections. Staying indifferent and not helping to protect each vote is political apathy. It is important to protest any type of malpractices in the election process from the very beginning to the end.
What does political position mean? It’s your vision of the future of your country which you can express by belonging to a political party. This is how you can express yourself, voice your political position and influence others to stop being politically indifferent.
Political apathy = No future
When a citizen like you and your friend shows no interest in the politics, it is impossible to bring positive changes. It doesn’t matter what your attitude towards elections and political events is. Staying indifferent is the most dangerous thing that can happen. It is important to voice your public opinion, participate in elections, and be responsible for the future of your country.
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Source: Legit.ng
