Eight million Nigerians are yet to collect their Permanent Voters Cards ahead of the February 16 elections in Nigeria, which is only about a week from now. While this has become an issue of concern and bickering between political parties and the electoral umpire, there are large pockets of Nigerians who have picked up their voters cards, but have decided not to exercise their constitutional rights.
According to the data released to the public by INEC, 51% of Nigeria’s 84.27 million registered voters are young people between the age of 18-35. Within this pool are students who make up 26% of the registered voters, by occupation, and many of them who registered in their various colleges and universities are already disenfranchised as a result of the ongoing academic union strike that has seen the shutdown of most public universities. But that is another kettle of fish.
I spoke to a number of these persons, whom I reached out to via social media. Among many of the underlying factors behind their decision to abstain from the polls include; rumours of violence, logistical nightmares, issues bordering around trust in the integrity of the elections and the quality of candidates offering up themselves for public office.
“I have had a PVC since 2011, I voted in past elections, but not this one,” says Oluwamayowa Tijani, 28. “I don’t see my future or Nigeria’s future in any of the leading candidates. I was aligning with Oby Ezekwesili, she had my vote, but she pulled out. Well, I have not lost faith in Nigeria, I’ve only lost faith in the current crop of candidates.”
30-year-old psychologist in Kogi State (name withheld) chorused Mr. Tijani’s views. “We need reorientation as a people, mind cleansing. Believe it or not, the majority of us don’t think we deserve any better.” He chided the two leading candidates, President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling party, APC and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar for refusing to debate. “How can someone say the presidential debate is inconsequential when it clearly has shown the incompetence and nonchalant nature of the leaders? A leader who does not know what’s happening in his country,” he said.
A report titled “Nigeria’s 2019 Elections: Six States to Watch,” by the Brussels based International Crisis Group predicted widespread violence in Nigeria that would supersede the levels recorded in 2015. ICG specifically listed Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and Adamawa states as the states particularly at the risk of electoral violence.
Early reports of violence in various cities across Nigeria and heated rhetoric by politicians and their fanatic supporters have caused some potential voters to abstain out of fear. Gbenga Olotu, 40, informed me of his plans to evacuate his neighborhood Fadeyi, Lagos State on election day. “I now live in a volatile area of Lagos. PDP just acquired a campaign office in Fadeyi. I don’t even want to imagine what would happen.”
The psychologist in Kogi shared similar fears, “Kogi is a danger zone for another party asides APC. Secondly, the issue with our country is deep and it is not just the government. We are mostly laid back and easy to adjust to the status quo.”
Lucia Edafioka, 27, believes the elections would be rigged. She hinted that there is a systemic disenfranchisement of voters within her demographic group.
Edafioka has been unable to transfer her PVC since she relocated from Warri to Lagos after following the procedure outlined by INEC on their website. Some other people complained of the same issue to me.
Festus Okoye, who chairs the Information and Voter Education Committee at INEC said in an interview with Punch Newspaper that “the law provides the period for those that want to change their polling units to do so.”
“I feel disenfranchised, they have found ways to make people not vote,” Edafioka tells me.
While another Mrs. Jamila Mariam Obionu from Bauchi, complained of her last experience at a polling center during the 2015 election. She said that voters were treated unequally. “They expect us to come out for accreditation and preferential treatment is given to an aspirant. Why should I queue under the scorching sun then an aspirant will only drive in, jump queues and vote? Leaving us thirsty and hungry. We are three in my household who won’t be repeating such a mistake.”
This story first appeared on our site dedicated to tracking the Nigerian elections, here.
