Who Killed The Nigerian Vote?

By Dorcas Achi 

Voting, the first duty of democracy is currently doubted, neglected and even dismissed by average Nigerians. It is no more greeted with enthusiasm, hope and passion for positive change.

When patriotic Nigerians preach about voting, the quick response from majority is "Will our votes count?" Followed by "No need of voting because the result is already decided"

Formally, elections in Nigeria were anticipated, hoped for and utilized to bring about the choice of the majority. Political atmosphere changes during elections. Everywhere gets busy. The electorates suddenly feel important, relevant and needed because they are aware of the power they wield in deciding who occupies the corridors of power. Elections and voting were about the people's voice, choice and mandate.

 Electorate power centered on the citizen's ultimate authority through the ballot. Sovereignty belonged to the people, who held the power to choose, challenge, and remove their leaders.

Now the tides are shifting. The narrative is changing drastically. The power now does not ultimately belong to the people. The people can decide and INEC will redecide. The people can choose their leader and Judiciary will reselect. Institutions have commercialised our democracy. It is now survival of the fittest. 

Broken trust in INEC, the judiciary and the political class have created a crisis of confidence. People are no longer excited that another electioneering year is coming. This is because the change is no more in their hands to create absolutely. The trust in their capacity to cause a change is no more. The hope that they can enjoy true democracy is dwindling. They have lost the power to ask the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.

The Nigerian vote died by a thousand compromise and a million electoral fraud. It died by several broken promises of transparency. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, assured Nigerians that technology is the cure, we believed, voted but were disappointed. Results fail to transmit in real time as promised. The judiciary contributed immensely to voter's apathy. Many now believe the courts deliver judgments, not justice. Before, court decisions can never be influenced by the "lords of the ring." It was rarely manipulated by power, money or personality. But can that be said now?

We have been taught harsh lessons, repeatedly, that in Nigeria today, power, money, and connection matter more than the ballot. These are the prime suspects that killed the Nigerian vote. 

Visualizing the memory lane. 2023 election came with zeal, passion and commitment to bettering Nigeria by disgruntled citizens who formed movements and forces to oppose bad leadership.

For the first time in a long while, hope was alive. Students left their hostels. Market women closed their shops. First-time voters queued for hours. People left Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt to travel back to their villages just to vote.

The killing of the Nigerian vote began a long time ago. It has been death by a thousand cuts, across generations. The first attack on our votes was during the first republic, barely 4 years after independence. The 1964 federal elections and 1965 Western Region elections were characterized by ballot box snatching, intimidation, and “Operation Wetie”, a period of extreme political violence in Western Nigeria where political opponents’ houses were set ablaze with petrol. That violence collapsed the First Republic and ushered in military rule.

The “mother of all rigging" followed suit in 1983 when the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government was accused of allocating votes to itself across the country. Results were written before voting ended. The outrage was so massive that it triggered another military coup in December 1983.

Then came the June 12, 1993 Annulment

which was the closest Nigeria came to a free and credible election. MKO Abiola was clearly winning. Nigerians across ethnic and religious lines voted. Then the military annulled it. That single act taught a generation that even when you vote correctly, power can still cancel your choice.

After the Abiola experience, the Era of “Writing Results” emerged from 1999 to 2011. Under the Fourth Republic, rigging became industrialized. Underage voting became rampant in the North, ballot box snatching in the South-South, and “magic figures” appearing at collation centers.  

In 2007, even President Umaru Yar’Adua admitted: “We acknowledge that our elections were not perfect and had some shortcomings.” That confession remains the most honest statement by any Nigerian leader about our elections.

However, the introduction of card readers gave us glimmers of hope. We believed technology would end rigging. Unfortunately in 2023, technology disappointed us. BVAS and IReV were sold as the cure. The high and mighty voted. The ranks and files voted. My 56 years old uncle voted for the first time that year. People traveled across states to vote. Then results failed to transmit in real time. The gap between promise and reality broke that zeal, and believe in the possibility of achieving a better nation.

From 2023, the method changed from guns and fire to servers and “glitches” but the aim remained to make the people’s voice irrelevant.

We believed in BVAS. We believed in real-time transmission of results. We believed that with our PVCs, we could finally decide the future of this nation without godfathers deciding for us. We dared to hope for a new Nigeria. The energy being exhibited was apparent. People believed that the revolutionary change has finally come. 

But what followed broke that hope. The masses after trooping out to vote felt robbed and cheated. The wide gap between what was promised and what was delivered created a deep wound in the soul of our democracy. And now, when you talk about voting again, the response is not excitement. It is weariness. It is: “Why bother? My vote won’t count anyway.”

 The gradual erosion of a free society where everyone's right is respected, and majority opinion upheld has contributed to voter apathy. Institutions and constitution are weakened to be controlled. Loyalists are appointed to block accountability. Election rules are rewritten to discourage opposition. Government silences independent media operations. With all these happening how can our voting survive?. 

Patriotic Nigerians are still eager to vote. The masses who lack basic amenities, food, shelter and clothing are obviously dismayed by the gross leadership failure. Citizens who cannot sleep with their two eyes closed. People who cannot travel on roads with their hearts at peace. Making money and spending it now feels like an offence. Looking like a millionaire has become a crime because the society is unsafe. Nigerians passionately desire a change. We want a stable society. We want food on their table. We want to go out to hustle and return home safely. To achieve these we must vote.

We must not bury our franchise. We are still in a democratic dispensation. We still possess the right to determine who rules us. We must not give up on our country because of a few greedy leaders. We have the numerical strength. Apathy is the final blow. The moment we all stay home, we hand the country over to the very people we complain about. We surrender our future to the whims and caprices of a few.

Even though the system is flawed and INEC hasn't truly worked as an independent institution, we still don't have to retire. The judiciary must be reformed and seen to be truly independent. Democracy, as fragile as it is, only works when we show up.

Voting may not be a magic wand. But silence is a vote for the status quo. Silence means surrender. Surrendering for the same people to further impoverish our children and our future generations. Complaining at home, in the bar, in your office, or on social media will not change the abnormalities we lament about.

If the vote is dying, it is dying because we are refusing to defend it. We vote and run home. We vote and don't demand accountability. The ballot is still stronger than the bullet as asserted by Abraham Lincoln.

The only way to demand an autopsy (what killed our votes) and then a resurrection (How to make our votes count) is to keep showing up. From the polling unit, to the collation center, to holding our leaders accountable after elections. To keep demanding transparency. To keep documenting. To keep insisting that we must enjoy our democratic dividends. 

The Nigerian vote isn’t dead yet. But it will be, if we don’t show up to defend it.

One day, our votes will count. But that day will only come if we refuse to bury them ourselves. 

Arise Oh Compatriots!

Let's save Nigeria.