How Do You Win Back Young Voters? The APC Has an Answer

What seemed like just another high-profile night in Lagos’ nightlife calendar has proven harder to read as just that. Earlier this month, Black Coffee headlined a major Afro-house event at the Royal Box Event Centre in Victoria Island, organised by M:E Entertainment and Dapo, with support from Caiiro, Da Capo, and Enoo Napa. It drew the expected crowd – young, urban, culturally attuned – and, among them, Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son. His presence, captured in circulating clips, might have passed without comment during a different time. However, against Nigeria’s current political climate, it prompted a different kind of interpretation.

Seyi Tinubu is increasingly present in youth-facing cultural spaces, forming part of a trend that has been taking shape in recent years. His appearance at the Lagos event echoed the effect of last year’s viral birthday compilation, where celebrities like Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, and others publicly celebrated him. Neither moment was framed as political, yet both carried a similar undertone: a steady embedding of a political actor within the networks that shape youth culture and attention. It is a more subtle form of positioning, one that relies less on overt messaging and more on familiarity, proximity, and repetition.

This new political approach can be traced back to the outcome of the 2023 general elections. The voting patterns from that cycle revealed that younger Nigerians, particularly urban, middle-class voters, largely rejected the ruling APC. This followed years of growing frustration that had already surfaced during the End SARS protests of 2020, where demands for police reform widened into organized protest and broader calls for accountability and governance. By 2023, that energy had translated into direct political participation. Young people accounted for roughly 76% of newly registered voters, with a significant proportion identifying as students. Their engagement, driven by lived economic realities,  political sentiment, high youth unemployment, persistent university strikes, and inflation created a cohort that was not only politically active but also openly critical. 

With this in mind, the APC’s current recalibration is only logical. After youth resistance in 2023, winning in 2027 requires meeting them in the spaces they already occupy. Cultural events, entertainment networks, and importantly, digital platforms offer that access. Seyi Tinubu’s positioning within the entertainment industry, both socially and institutionally, places him in a useful position to facilitate that connection. Beyond appearances, he sits on the board of several companies across broadcast media and entertainment, serves as Chairman/CEO of Loatsad Promomedia, is a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, and acts as Grand Patron of the Tinubu Media Force, a grassroots media organisation supporting his father’s interests.

This convergence of politics and culture is not without precedent. During the 2015 presidential elections, Red Media Africa, led by Chude Jideonwo and Debola Williams, played a central role in reshaping the public image of the late Muhammadu Buhari. At the time, Buhari’s reputation was one of rigidity and authoritarianism with critics framing him as a tribal and religious hardliner. The campaign’s strategy humanised him through visual rebranding, narrative reframing, and targeted outreach to younger audiences. It was a coordinated effort that repositioned him as a disciplined reformer seeking to address the excesses of the preceding administration. Figures who are now aligned with the opposing ADC, including Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, and Atiku Abubakar, were central to that campaign infrastructure.

In a February 2026 episode of the Mic On Podcast, Jideonwo reflected on both the effectiveness of the strategy and his subsequent disillusionment with the Buhari administration. What his account underscores is the extent to which political success in Nigeria often depends not just on policy, but on narrative construction. The current political era suggests an evolution of that approach, adapted to a media environment that has shifted significantly in the past decade.

Where traditional campaigns once relied heavily on rallies, town halls, and mainstream media appearances, political communication now operates across a more fragmented digital landscape. Social media platforms such as X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have become central to voter engagement, allowing targeted messaging at scale. This shift accelerated ahead of the 2023 elections, as online discourse, hashtags, and viral content shaped public opinion in real time. Political actors have since leaned further into these strategies, working with influencers and digital mobilisers who are tasked with promoting candidates, amplifying narratives, and in some cases, discrediting opponents. The result is a more diffused but also more controlled communication environment.

The advantages of this shift are evident in the platforms political figures now prioritise. In February 2026, O’Tega Ogra, Senior Special Adviser on Digital Communications to President Bola Tinubu, appeared on Nairametrics TV’s Drinks & Mics podcast. During the conversation, he made several claims about the cost of living that were widely criticised as inaccurate. What stood out, however, was not just the content of those claims but the context in which they were made. The format offered minimal scrutiny, little pushback, and the discussion moved forward without sustained interrogation of the figures presented.

When Daniel Bwala tried a similar approach on Head to Head with Mehdi Hasan, it quickly unraveled. Unlike the softer, more accommodating podcast format, Hasan pushed back insistently on the claims being made, pressing him on contradictions and obvious falsehoods. More importantly, Bwala could not do what Nigerian politicians sometimes do in local media spaces: intimidate the interviewer, talk over the questions, or sidestep scrutiny through bluster and disrespect.

This dynamic mirrors the approach taken by Donald Trump during the 2024 US elections, where he relied heavily on podcasts and livestream platforms to communicate with audiences. By engaging with personalities such as Adin Ross and Theo Von, Trump was able to bypass traditional media gatekeepers and avoid the more adversarial questioning typical of established news outlets. These informal and conversational spaces provided an environment where any kind of messaging—including bigoted or false claims—could be delivered with fewer constraints. 

In Nigeria, these platforms appeal because of their reach and their relative lack of friction. They offer access to younger audiences while allowing political narratives to circulate with limited resistance. This is further reinforced by the involvement of cultural figures who command significant influence within these same demographics. Support for the APC from individuals like Cubana Chief Priest and Obi Cubana reflects a broader strategy that blends political endorsement with aspirational messaging. Through the “City Boy Movement,” these figures frame political alignment as a pathway to opportunity, focusing on access and personal advancement over policy.

Cubana Chief Priest, for instance, has argued that aligning with the current administration is pragmatic, suggesting that support can translate into tangible benefits. Obi Cubana’s role as South-East coordinator within the movement highlights how these networks are  mobilised regionally, with culturally influential figures acting as intermediaries between political actors and younger audiences.

At the same time, the spaces in which these interactions occur continue to expand. For example,  Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Lagos Fashion Week runway appearance drew attention, highlighting how political visibility is being integrated into cultural moments. Similarly, concerts, raves and nightlife events – often sponsored directly or indirectly by state governments or politically connected entities – reinforce this proximity.

Together, these developments point to a broader transformation in how political campaigns are conducted in Nigeria. The change is not just offline to online, but from explicit messaging to subtler, embedded forms of influence. Where earlier campaigns relied on clear, transactional endorsements like Olamide’s participation in the 2015 Ambode campaign jingle, current strategies operate with greater subtlety. The messaging is less direct, but also more pervasive.

This does not mean that traditional methods have disappeared. Physical rallies, branded merchandise and grassroots mobilisation remain part of the political landscape. However, they now exist alongside a parallel system of digital engagement that allows campaigns to shape perceptions continuously, rather than episodically. For parties like the APC, this dual approach offers reach and flexibility, especially with demographics that are less responsive to conventional political communication.

Seyi Tinubu’s appearance at the Lagos concert shows this evolving landscape. It reflects a recognition that political influence now extends beyond formal arenas and into the everyday spaces where culture is made and consumed. It also highlights the extent to which younger Nigerians have become central to electoral strategy, not just as voters but as active voices in conversations about governance and accountability.

As the 2027 elections approach, the interplay between politics, culture, and media is likely to become even more pronounced. The methods may continue to shift, but the underlying objective remains consistent: to shape perceptions that translate into political support. For a generation that has already demonstrated its capacity for mobilisation, the challenge will be to navigate these strategies with the same level of awareness that brought it into the political arena in the first place.