Frantz Fanon’s Theory of Alienation, Powerlessness and Apathetic Political Behaviour in the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

Every democratically-elected government owes its legitimacy to the extent of popular participation of the citizens in the political processes. Oftentimes, governments under representative democracy make sense only when they are established by the concerted will of the greatest number of the population, as democracy itself is a game of numbers. By implication, where participation by the greatest number of the population declines, the legitimacy and accountability of the government becomes questionable. While literature abound, interrogating political participation and apathetic political behaviour in the 2019 general elections, efforts have not been made to trace the root cause of apathetic political behaviour in the 2019 general elections on psychic alienation arising from the individuals lived experiences of socio-political marginalization, oppressions, exploitations and inequalities. Complementing the existing literature, this study focuses on apathetic political behaviour in the 2019 general elections in Nigeria and how it interfaces with Frantz Fanon's theory of alienation. Utilizing Fanon's psychopolitical tool, the study contends that the apathetic political behaviour in the 2019 general elections was substantially a manifestation that aligns with Fanon's theory of alienation on account of widespread feelings of political powerlessness and normlessness.