This paper examines youth engagement in the conduct of the 2015
general elections in Nigeria, against a backdrop of historical experiences.
Discounting the doom youth theory of youth bulge, youth in crisis or lumpen
youth culture, the article illustrates a paradigm shift in youth engagement in
the conduct of elections. Youth engagement in the 2015 elections was more
constructive than in prior elections. Within the context of dual motivation
theory, the destructive engagement by youth in the prior elections was
motivated by the need to change the outcome, whereas their constructive
conduct in the 2015 elections was driven by duty to participate in public
affairs in Nigeria. This change in political attitude is explained by a growing
consciousness of the potential of young people to act as agents of change.
This awareness arises through the aid of social media, coupled with the
recent success story of the Arab Spring driven by youth, the inflammable
repercussions of previous elections, and the high stakes the 2015 general
elections held for Nigerian governance.