Better Nigeria: Making My Vote Count

By Iphie Obiechina

2015 is no longer as far as we think, slowly but steadily the four years that we thought would never come to an end is gradually rounding up. In the coming year, we would be badgered with posters, rallies and the campaign antics of those who want to rule Nigeria. One thing remains certain through all this, the power lies in our hand to choose the direction we want our beloved country to head towards.

Let us look at ourselves, the voting masses, as a beautiful bride and the politicians as numerous suitors seeking our hand in marriage. In the Nigeria we live in today, the power ultimately lies in the bride’s hand to pick the man she gets to spend the rest of her life with, gone are the days when the decision was left in the hands of her father, today the bride has a say. It is basically up to us to pick who would get to rule us for the next four years after the 2015 election, we ultimately get to decide who we are seduced by.

The responsibility of choosing a leader that Nigeria needs ultimately lies in your hands; the power to move Nigeria forward and out of all her woes, ultimately lies in your hands. Such an important responsibility should be treated with the highest importance. So ultimately, it is up to you to decide, if you want to keep suffering, or if you want to see change come to Nigeria.

The first step towards changing Nigeria is by educating yourself about the basic requirements for being elected to rule in Nigeria. Grab a copy of the 1999 constitution and read up on what is required of anyone aspiring to be elected into any position that’s up for election. To be able to make a good choice, you have to know what is required of the aspirants and know if they tick off the entire requirement. You need to know what you are talking about before you can to others on the importance of voting right?

Step one complete, next is step two, go out and register!!!! Brave the long line, brave the stress involved, give up a whole day if possible to get yourself registered. This step is really important, without it you are just clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s progress, just like the leaders you have learned to curse everyday.

The last but definitely the most important step is to actually turn up and vote, protect your vote. By turning it to vote, you get to express yourself, by picking the leader you want to move Nigeria forward for the next four years. Now it can be argued that ‘it doesn’t matter if I turn up to vote, they would still rig the election and impose the leader they want’. My counter argument to that is, if you turn up to vote that is one less ballot that they can steal, now imagine if 80% of registered Nigerian turns up to vote, they have less ballots to steal. Don’t give the ‘rulers’ of Nigeria the opportunity to steal your voice, come out and vote. Protecting your vote doesn’t end at just voting, you have to stay back after voting to ensure that the votes are correctly counted and that there are loophole which can be used to rig in a ruler that wasn’t properly voted for. This doesn’t mean, you have to resort to violence, protect your votes in the most peaceful way possible, the elections are not worth killing for or dying for.

But before 2015, you have the opportunity to pick out the leader you want to move us forward. You might think it is too early to pick a leader, we don’t even know who is going to present him/herself for the election. That is true in one sense and false in another sense. You have the opportunity to take the time out to come up with a list of what you want in the leader. Don’t wait till you are bamboozled and wooed by the aspirants, know what you want from the beginning so when you finally have to pick a leader, you pick the leader that ticks all the boxes for you. One thing is important, don’t pick a leader based on his ethnicity, his religion or his affiliation. Pick a leader that you know can pull Nigeria forward, pick a leader based on the qualities you see in him or her that can move Nigeria forward.
Before 2015, you have the opportunity to educate people around your little community about how to about the elections. So educate yourself first, pick up the 1999 constitution. You also have the opportunity to reach out to the young people around you, young people who are prone to being used as thugs to carry out the election crimes. Take the time out to let them know that they would only be punishing themselves by allowing themselves to be used to rig the election, effectively giving the leaders another four years to continue to oppress us.
I was taught, in primary school I think, that if during an election, you are given a bribe to vote for someone, you pocket the bribe and still come out to vote the person you want to vote for since voting is done by secret ballot. I don’t think this is the right approach, but it seems to be working in Nigeria, what do I think you should do when faced with a bribe? I say don’t take it, go ahead and vote for who you want to vote for, taking the bribe only makes the temptation to vote for the bribe higher, since like all humans we have a conscience. Ask yourself this when faced with a bribe, ‘why does he want to lead us so badly that he is willing to bribe everybody to vote for him’? Then go ahead to imagine the corruption and looting that would go on while he is in power and remember how you and your family would suffer for the next four years. If that doesn’t motivate you out of taking the bribe, I don’t know what would.

Leadership of Nigeria doesn’t belong, to a northerner, a southerner, an easterner, a westerner, a Christian or a Muslim. Leadership of Nigeria belongs to a Nigerian. Let us make sure we vote in that Nigerian in 2015.

The Me For Change Initiative (M4C) is an initiative aimed at changing Nigeria one person at a time.
Follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/meforchange
Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/433831589997052/
Let us change Nigeria one person at a time.