Some Nigerians have made up their minds not to vote during the forthcoming elections because they believe the politicians will rig as usual. Rather than engage in the futile exercise of voting in vain, they will not bother voting at all. Voter apathy is high and many have decided to sit on the fence.
Why must Nigerians vote during the 2011 April polls? Has anything really changed that's worth the effort? Won't the politicians rig themselves into office as usual? What difference would the genuine votes make against the established rigging machinery? How much difference will their votes make against the humongous fraudulent ballots? Why not sit on the fence and watch? Adopt the "siddon look" approach?
Well, one problem with sitting on the fence for too long, according to David Lloyd George, is that the iron on the fence enters your soul. When you sit on the fence it is also easy to be shot from either side by the warring parties. Another reason not to sit on the fence, according to John Locke, is that the only fence against the world (and despicable politicians) is a thorough knowledge of it. You don't get that knowledge by sitting on the fence. You have to get off that fence sometime; otherwise no progress will be made. Wherever an opportunity or choice is given, one should exercise that right. That’s why we must not sit on the fence but choose! Let our voice be heard through our votes. Only actions give life strength.
We must decide, who among those aspiring for public office, best fits our vision of a leader. We can easily identify a leader. A leader is someone who walks the talk, someone who knows the way and can show the way. A leader is one with a proven track record that can turn around the tide of slippage. After identifying the candidate of our choice, we must act to support our decision.
We all need to take a stand. Our power lies in our choice, our vote. All that might be needed to deter a burglar from robbing a house is the sound of a barking dog or voices speaking in the house. If we all sit quietly on the fence, the era of stolen mandates and rigged elections will not come to an end. We must let our voices be heard by casting our votes and protecting those votes as much as we can. Even if the preferred candidate isn't the perfect or the ultimate true leader, he should at least be heading in the right direction and be markedly different from those in the times past who got us to this sorry state. It is time to start the journey to building a new Nigeria - wielding our powerful votes as the weapons of change.
Prof. Attahiru Jega, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, seems to be a man of integrity and honour, determined to deliver free and fair polls. But he is just one man and can't do it alone.
Nigeria won’t make it out of the doldrums without the determination of the people to rescue themselves from poor leadership and governance.
The change we want may not come in one day. But the ship of democratic change and good governance will eventually berth in our country if we are resolute about the change initiative. We need to empower ourselves with knowledge and vote for capacity and capability and not religious leanings or ethnic background. It is by practicing the democratic tenets that we can strengthen our democratic processes and institutions.
Make that decision to vote! There is no value-added to the democratic ethos by being apathetic. Our effectiveness in bringing about positive change is zero when we don’t care.
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