Across the globe, young people are abandoning the very institutions designed to protect, guide, and empower them. From Washington to Warsaw, millennials and Gen Z are questioning governments, courts, schools, and media. Their skepticism is not mere cynicism. It is a reaction to decades of unfulfilled promises, corruption, and structural failure.
Nigeria, and Kogi State in particular, epitomizes this crisis. Among the youth, the refrain is constant. Institutions are broken, elections are rigged, and leaders serve themselves, not the people. This perception fuels a dangerous combination of voter apathy, emigration aspirations known as the japa syndrome, and social disengagement. The very engines of democracy are at risk because the next generation refuses to believe in them.
Take elections, a core democratic ritual. In Kogi State, many young people perceive voting as an exercise in futility. They watch elders manipulate outcomes while their own voices vanish into the void. Civic education fails to ignite action when lived reality contradicts textbook ideals. When the youth lose faith in fair elections, governance itself becomes a hollow promise.
This distrust extends beyond politics. Universities, religious organizations, and even the media struggle to capture young Nigerians’ trust. When institutions fail to reflect fairness, merit, or accountability, the youth turn away. They retreat into social media echo chambers, expatriate dreams, or entrepreneurial spaces divorced from civic responsibility. Disengagement becomes survival. Emigration becomes a rational response to persistent systemic failure.
Globally, this trend carries warnings. In countries where youth reject institutions, polarization, populism, and social unrest follow. In Nigeria, the stakes are higher. A youthful nation risks its energy, innovation, and moral authority on the altar of skepticism. The japa syndrome is not just a personal choice. It is a symptom of collective disillusionment. It is a barometer of institutional decay.
Reversing this trend requires more than speeches and token programs. Institutions must earn trust by demonstrating transparency, fairness, and accountability. Leaders must confront corruption openly, reward merit, and create tangible opportunities for youth engagement. Civic education must evolve from rote memorization into lived experience, showing young people that their participation can reshape their communities.
Nigeria’s youth are not inherently disloyal or apathetic. They are keenly aware of the gap between promise and reality. If the nation hopes to survive politically, socially, and economically, it must bridge that gap. Institutions must become worthy of belief, or the next generation will simply look elsewhere, abandoning their nation in pursuit of dignity, security, and justice.
In Kogi State and across Nigeria, the message is clear. Institutional decay has a cost, and it is paid in the currency of youth trust. If we fail to act now, the social contract may be broken beyond repair. The question is no longer whether young people believe in Nigeria’s institutions. The question is whether Nigeria itself deserves that belief.
– Inah Boniface Ocholi writes from Ayah – Igalamela/Odolu LGA, Kogi state.
08152094428 (SMS Only)
