They’re leaving looters untouched. Election riggers are in safe hands, secured and protected. But these “deviant” voters MUST be jailed. They won’t pass a bill to kill sponsors and financiers of insecurity. They are no-go areas, sacred. Those realms are consecrated to our lawgivers all alone.
Their hatred against voters is deep-seated, deep-rooted. Crude and cruel. It’s abyssal, unfathomable. We can’t comprehend what they hate about us that much.
They won’t stop moving against us all the time. They refuse to rest until they finish us completely. We can’t understand why they so much detest our existence. We’re lost. Why are we irritants and irritations to them?
They can’t stand us for a second. Yet. They live on us. Without us, they can’t be. They are lifeless, useless, worthless and empty. They flourish because we exist. They explore and exploit us.
They plunder us at will. And to the very core. They toiled hard throughout their lifetime. But their greed remains insatiable forever. They loot and milk us dry. They care not whether we live or die.
Still, they disgust our faces. Why? They are in great pain, seeing us smile. They keep piling heaps of burdens on us. We’re heavy-laden. May we not labour in vain!
They unleash their terror. And watch us groan in excruciating pain. Then, they laugh their wicked hearts out. Clinking glasses of wine in approval. As we wail, lament and howl
These characters are our executioners. The very beasts of no gender. They are the parasites that have come to live on us. Our lawmakers are the locusts on our endangered lives. And they feast on us without mercy.
The House of Representatives turned the tables against us last Thursday. It was a gang-up. A betrayal of no small means. They broke the pact with us. And rubbished our memorandum of understanding. Though unwritten, unsigned. They literally declared war on us.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Daniel Asama jointly led the assault. Daily Sun’s report is our guide: “The proposed legislation prescribes six-month imprisonment or fine of N100,000 for anyone who has attained 18 years and fails to vote during elections.”
Does this make meaningful sense in the face of our horrifying plight? Unperturbed, Asama pushed further the eerie narratives. He strived to convince us but to no avail: “Nigeria has consistently recorded alarming low voter turnout rates in elections.” How?
“For instance, in the 2023 general election, less than 30 per cent of the registered voters participated.” Whose fault is that? You caused it all. Our gruelling experiences in previous elections informed our apathy.
He sought legitimacy for their illegitimacy: “This trend undermines legitimacy of elected governments and weakens democratic institutions. By making voting a legal obligation we will instil in the citizens a sense of civic duty and shared responsibility in the governance process.”
They are miserable, distressed and in despair. The legitimacy they couldn’t secure at the polls. They laboured to obtain through the back door. That is the type of abnormal solution they want to make normal. And their proposed mandatory voting fits their bill.
But, an unexpected exception surfaced. A lone ranger of some sort. This lawmaker dug deeper on the jail-the-deviant-voter bill. He did it differently. He was open-minded. He saw beyond the ordinary. And threw up some posers. Awaji-Inombek Abiante is it!
He cautioned his ravaging colleagues: “There are certain questions that I would have loved us to seek answers to, so that it would be very encouraging, very appetising and very appealing to those who would want to vote.”
Calculated and meticulous: “What would be the mode of enforcement? It is not just good enough that we have it in our books that voting is compulsory. How will it be enforced?”
He held the voters high up: “What are the incentives? What are those things that citizens even enjoy? Is it that you’ll be denied security? What exactly would be denied to any man who has refused to vote in Nigeria?”
He was sincere to himself. And he demonstrated it in clear terms: “I don’t think there is anything that can be denied to any man that has refused to vote.” He parted way with them, insisting: “Voting should be free.” Agreed!
Abiante’s knotty posers took his mates off-guard. They could not make any spirited effort to confront the vexed questions. The House ignored Abiante and surged ahead. It dared the consequences. It speedily okayed the bill for second reading. Desperation at its highest height!
That’s how our wild and weird lawmakers stay afloat. Certainly, that’s not how to legislate responsibly and responsively. They miss it big time. Will that guarantees that our votes count moving forward? Great doubt!
Our votes last counted on June 12, 1993. After that, our votes never did again. That has to be scrutinised holistically, with sincere honesty.
But, if out of self-obsession these law manufacturers legislate to jail us. Just because we refuse to legalise their illegality. We still won’t come out to endorse their selection dubbed election. Kill us all dead if you can!
Instead of aligning with us, this species of lawgivers are undermining our interests. They are variously pushing inanities to further entrench themselves in power. The reason they vow to remain on our fragile and dangling necks. They don’t know any decent way to survive. No other means over livelihood. Other than being moochers, spongers, bloodsuckers, et al.
Voting is the least of our daunting challenges, much less coercive voting. These are our encumbrance; beasts of burden. If they are magnanimous enough, they should let our votes count. Then we will do the needful unprompted. We will troop out like never before on any election day.
We will vote with all our hearts. We will be glad we did. And all will be better for it. You can’t force us to vote simply because you have the luxury of legislation at your beck and call. We’ll resist you with the last drop of our blood. It’s a determination.
We know the elements these humans are moulded of. We’re cocksure they won’t stop fuming. They’re always swift in seeking relevance from other lands. They would attempt to flaunt the 22 countries that made voting mandatory. As if we don’t know.
Twelve of them are in South America including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Altogether, an estimated 744 million people live in nations with compulsory voting laws. Courtesy: CIA World Factbook.
In the countries where they pick their semblance, voter’s vote counts. No snatching of ballot boxes, no violence of any magnitude. No glitches on election day. No server failure at any given time. They won’t mention all these.
The exact opposite is our lot here. And they are the reasons for our apathy on election day. This gale of defections is going to worsen this apathy. But they would not address the issues. Our legislators are buried in validating the process that unleashes terror and hardship on us.
Here, candidates are involved in election malpractices of different forms. They keep upping their devilish games in every new election. Legislators won’t address this for they are heavily involved, indicted and implicated.
The voters are genuinely worried. Even if they vote their choice and by a stroke of luck, their votes count. Will they deliver on their campaign promises? Our lawmakers are not doing our biddings. They are walking far away from the voters by their actions and inactions.
They are hell-bent on criminalising mere civic responsibility. And weaponising crime and criminality. That’s their newfound order. Making the situation unbearable.
One vital point they missed. Voter’s apathy didn’t start on the day of election. No. It is an unpleasant experience during voter’s registration. That exercise erects obstacles that breed apathy.
You will struggle to register. You struggle to collect your voter’s card. You struggle to locate your voting centre. You endure to vote. If you scale these Herculean hurdles. Your vote still does not count, you are frustrated. Apathy sets in and rules the waves.
Voting remains strictly a civic duty and a right. It’s at your privileged discretion. You can’t make its enforcement anywhere compulsory. That will be an infringement and violation. It’s your choice. It’s your life to live, not anyone’s else.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), did show up for us on Tuesday. Its president, Afam Osigwe, SAN, issued a stern warning: “No citizen should be compelled to vote under threat of prosecution.
“The NBA will resist any attempt to enforce such draconian provisions and will challenge any law that seeks to weaponise civic participation against the people.”
Well said, well taken.
Forever. We remain rebellious and deviant to your killer bill. We won’t vote at your terms or discretion. Jail us if you dare. But first, jail those devilish election riggers in your midst. They’re in legion.
We’re encouraged to say: Your bill is obnoxious in intents and purposes. It’s tyrannical, wild and weird. It ought not to be. And it must be made not to be. Whether now or in the farthest future.
So help us God!