Today, Nigerians will go out to vote for a president from amongst eighteen candidates and members of the national assembly.
Since the inception of the fourth republic in 1999, Nigeria’s elections had been fraught with vote buying; ballot box stuffing and snatching; under age children voting, especially in the North; impersonation of voters; over-voting; thuggery; murdering of candidates; and pre-writing of election results ahead of elections, etcetera.
In all of the above malfeasance, money is a dominant factor.
In the political history of Nigeria’s elections, from the first republic, through to the present fourth republic, even presently, elections in Nigeria are a do-or-die affair, fueled by the desperation of criminally-minded, political candidates to win. Majority aspirants are not driven by a passion of patriotism to serve the people, but are persons with no visible means of living, encouraged by the lure of humongous salaries of politicians.
The recent policy by President Buhari to redesign the Naira, was in the main, a laudable policy, directed at reducing the role of money at elections and vote buying, thereby encourage men and women of integrity to participate in elections, especially considering the humongous cost of financing election campaigns, with the cost of logistics involved.
In the past 48 hours, perhaps to validate the fears of President Buhari, on Thursday, in Portharcourt, security operatives arrested a federal lawmaker, Dr. Chinyere Igwe, with $498,100 on suspicion of vote buying and money laundering. Another sum of N32.4m new Naira notes suspected to be used for vote buying was intercepted by the EFCC in Lagos on Friday. These incidents come amid scarcity of the new Naira notes, subjecting millions of Nigerians to hardship.
We can imagine the effect of the effect of these monies if not impounded by security operatives on today’s election.
For those who are led to sell their votes under the guise and excuses of poverty at the rate of N5,000 each, they should do the simple Arithmetic that 365 days make a year. When multiplied by 4 years, it is 1,460 days. When the N5,000 is divided by 1,460 days, it gives N3!
Nigerians should ignore agents of Vote-buying politicians at the polls today.
If you sell your vote, for instance at N5,000, you will survive and live on N3 daily for the next four years. Do not sell your vote for the sake of your children and other children.
Politicians who engage in vote buying are directly responsible for hospitals not stocked with ordinary paracetamol, not to talk of equipment for surgical operations; unending, open-ended maintenance of our refineries; bad roads; importation of petroleum products; high cost of fertilizer; unemployment; crime and brigandage across the nation; ‘japa’ syndrome; brain drain; and the almighty corruption that has pervaded our nation.
Every voter should ask themselves as they go out to the polls to cast their votes today, “Is my vote worth N3 daily for the next 4 years? Can I survive on N3 daily?”
A vote based on integrity, without the blemished influence of tainted money is the panacea to enthrone a government that defines democracy as a government by the people and for the people.
In the midst of electing the president, and other candidates, we must learn to accept the results without engaging in acts of violence.
May the votes of Nigerians across the nation count.
God bless Nigeria.