For most a Nigerian youth who just turned 18, an age that makes them eligible to vote in a national election, February 25, 2023, will remain a memorable date. It was on that date that they were given the opportunity to have a say on who governs the country. For most of them, it was fun, immensely exhilarating and carnival like. And that is why we plead that no one must kill that fun, deliberately or inadvertently.
For them, the equally stressful process of acquiring the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) was forgotten as they queue up in the presence of the electoral officers, in bated breath, to have their particulars authenticated in preparation for the voting proper, for the first time in their lives.
The turnout, the determination to effectively participate in the whole process, the refusal to be daunted by the contrived obstacles intended to frustrate the voters were all signs of a people tired of the shenanigans of entrenched political interests. Those were a portrayal of a commitment to use the wonder card, the PVC, to change the status quo and re-direct national discourse and ways of doing things in the preferred direction that will lead to positive development.
The fire in the eyes of the voters said it all. It aptly conveys the bottled-up anger, the unacceptability of a situation that suppresses and forces a country so richly endowed yet with a leadership of doubtful quality to subject its citizens to life in undeserved bondage – of poverty, joblessness and insecurity compounded by unmitigated concupiscence prodded by corruption in high and low places.
There were challenges in trying to locate polling units, booths and confirming names on the list provided by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). These young people took those challenges in their strides and went on with a relentless mission to perform their patriotic duty which comes, in some cases, with a measure of discomfort. For the voters on that day, the delay in commencement provided the young ones a platform to interact and make new friends. The wait after voting conveyed the feeling of one protecting a treasured item, the mild rain was like divine showers of blessing that energized and invigorated the spirit. Even the older ones joined in the fun fare, relieved that, eventually, they are handing over the baton.
Previously, in past elections, the trend was low turnout of voters. The argument, then, on the part of most eligible voters, was that “my vote will not count”. Or that it didn’t matter as the result of the election had already been decided before the election date. But this time round, the hardship in the land and the urgency of changing the narrative of suffering to one of prosperity, convinced the eligible voter that, indeed, every vote counts. The confidence of the voter was buoyed by assurances that technology will bring about changes that will serve the nation well.
It is from this perspective that this newspaper frowns at the disturbing news of this same youths who had made themselves available at the polling stations armed with their PVCs not being able to vote, to exercise their franchise in this epoch-making national exercise for reasons that are not of their own making.
The electoral body has been striving to explain the glitches that visited the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the difficulties encountered in uploading the result to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal as well as other unexpected technological hitches. But they are hard pressed in getting the electorate to understand the imagined handicap of being in the right place at the right time as a result of logistics related to transportation. Or for that matter, the insufficient supply of inputs like ink and ink pads that are available in the open, local markets as well as the persistence of under age voters.
The electoral body can go ahead and make all the excuses they deem appropriate to explain what most voters consider, rightly, as evidence of inadequate preparation for a monumental exercise that is expected to produce men and women who will oversee the affairs of the nation for, at least, the next four years. It is pertinent to note that in all their explanations as to what went wrong, they have not complained of funds. Which leaves this newspaper to conclude that money was not part of the problem even in these distressed times where the banks are broke.
We are persuaded to argue that this national election, especially the Presidential and National Assembly leg of it, means a lot, not just to the youth who are convinced that with the right people in the Presidency and the Legislature, policies that will alleviate their plight will be meaningfully assured. But also the rest of the electorate who desire a positive paradigm shift.
As pointed out earlier, the anticipation, or, the heightened apprehension that preceded the February 25 date provided the people the chance to hope for a better future. INEC and their co-travelers among the politically exposed class must resist the inclination to be killjoys. The youth, under such circumstances of disappointment and or betrayal, can be unpredictable. May it not happen.
