Our vote is our voice, we should make it matter

BEGINNING from 1999 when civil governance was restored, Nigeria has been among the world’s continuously working and unbroken democracies, yet, experience has not equalled enthusiasm. To be sure, elections are held every four years and while every adult is given the right to vote, irrespective of sex, class and occupation, data from the last two decades have shown that many people do not participate in election, even when they have been registered by the nation’s electoral body. It has also been observed that despite the increased rate of voters registration owing to the rise in population and political awareness, the rate of voting in Nigeria has continued to be parlous, with virtually every new election experiencing deeper voter apathy even as the number of unclaimed voter cards keeps increasing. Simply put, the last 20 years have witnessed an increase in the number of registered voters in Nigeria but the percentage number of people who actually participate in voting continues to somewhat decline every election circle.

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With that in mind, the much anticipated 2019 general election is finally here and prior to the set dates, some Nigerians already made up their minds not to vote with reasons ranging from the persistence of corrupt politicians, lack of qualified candidates, gerrymandering and electorates’ inability to defend their votes as rigging is always suspected at the end of the polls. However, this isn’t altogether surprising as there are many ills dogging the political and electoral process in Nigeria to make the citizenry very disinterested. In addition to the problems stated above, there is the very negative influence of money in Nigerian politics coupled with the recent eleventh-hour postponement of the election by INEC that would make plenty of citizens feel as though their vote doesn’t and wouldn’t matter. Under those circumstances, it could indeed be seen as tedious standing in line – often for a significant period of time – to do something that you’re not sure will make a difference. And if you’re like many Nigerians who are already tired of the promise and fail syndrome of Nigerian politics, your day is already crammed full of must-do tasks and errands you consider more important, so you simply don’t have time queuing to cast your vote.

Yet, it’s important to know why our vote really matters. In many democracies, the most important right for the public to use is the right to vote, which is also the first right in any free country. Without this right, we do not have a say in the decisions our country makes. In fact, voting is the most significant right of free persons, for it is that right which makes us truly free, by giving us a voice and an opportunity to stand up for what we believe in. This is the sense in which the former  American President, Lyndon Johnson, has averred that “the right to vote is the most basic right, without which all others are meaningless”. The purpose of every government is to develop and implement various policies for the benefit of its citizens, and it is the right and responsibility of the citizen, on the other hand, to elect the leaders through the ballot. Hence, one of the key pillars of any such establishment is the right of every eligible person to vote.

While many of us, purposefully or not, tend to carelessly cast aside the significance attached to the right to vote, it must be recalled that throughout history, countless have fought for and even sacrificed their lives in the effort to achieve the full realisation of this right. Take away the right to vote and what remains is a totalitarian state, since in so doing, it eliminates “the will of the majority and replaces it with the will of the minority.” Do we remember the struggles martyrs like the late MKO Abiola endured just for the cause of this democracy? Deliberately choosing not to vote would mean taking such struggles and sacrifices for granted. In any case, voting is not just a right, it’s a sacred responsibility as there are no more influential personal civic activities than voting. It takes a few minutes but has impact for years to come as we vote to make a difference in the lives of our families and communities to the extent that we determine those who would take up the mantle of government and governance.

In the final analysis, every election is determined by the people who show up. In spite  of all the negativities, vitriol and divisiveness in today’s politics, we need to decide and come to a place that brings us to pledge to participate as informed, active and dedicated voters in lieu of falling into the trap of complacency. We need to take every opportunity to accept the obligation to be full participants as citizens of this country by coming out en masse to choose our various representatives come February 23, 2019 and March 3, 2019 respectively. Our vote is our voice, hence, we have to affirm our status as free persons by exercising our most significant right despite the unmotivating ambience. For one thing, let’s not devalue the struggles many have endured to provide us with this right in the first place. As the former military head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar, recently at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos rightly said: “every citizen has a duty to register and to vote in elections; and this is a duty we must take very seriously.” This is not the time to engage in the unending criticism of the failures of government as one way of intervening to stop that trend is to decisively use our votes to give a new direction. Let us, therefore, resolve to use the power of the vote to take out all those we have determined are not doing a good job in government and recruit new ones we believe would do better. This way, we could be setting the country on a new positive direction by igniting responsible leadership for it through the current general election with our massive purposive votes.

•Yakubu is with the Department of Mass Communication, Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria.