The Oncoming 2023 Election in Nigeria
With 2023 elections in Nigeria around the corner the scarcity of fuel, hiking prices of fuel, and food have become a popular lamentation. The most pathetic part of the national predicament is the fact that students of universities have been sent home due to the ASUU strike extension by another two months. The system keeps falling apart and we Nigerians continue to lament our predicament.
This was the same situation that breed a national riot gone wrong. Students were reduced to idle citizens but the whole ordeal was a grand eye-opener for many young Nigerians. And this led to the popular mass protest called ENDSARS Protest in 2020. It still remains the most patriotic movement in 21st-century Nigeria.
The lives of young Nigerians once again, continue to be put on hold. Due to the incompetence of an administration that seems to care less about the well-being and progress of its university students. This proves that Education is not really a priority to those in power.
This has been the lamentation of every public university student in Nigeria.
Different Types of Voters In Nigeria
2023! Another electoral year is by the corner and three kinds of voters will emerge;
The first set is those who will not vote at all. It is a painful truth that with all the rallies and advocacy, there are people who have totally given up on this country, Nigeria. Their Permanent Voters’ Card (PVCs) are reduced to just a means of identification and not a weapon for voting. Most Nigerians are just living to get by and all the matters of patriotism mean nothing to them. So, there are people who are alive, healthy, and eligible to vote who will not vote due to one of these two reasons.
One, they have lost hope totally and do not care what happens. They are least interested in participating in the decision process because they do not believe their vote counts anymore due to the countless disappointing electoral processes.
Two, they are unable to travel due to the hiked fuel prices and as the economy keeps deteriorating the possibility of people growing deeper political apathy is very likely.
The second set of people is those who are tired of the deplorable conditions of the country but are still hopeful that Nigeria would be great again if only the right people would be elected into power. They are also well aware of the dangers and possibilities of unrest but will still take the chance.
The last set of people is the “dying minute voters”. These are people from the first category who eventually have a change of heart due to one of the two reasons. The reasons are;
The first reason is they get paid to vote and they decide to vote out of their desperation.
The second reason is they get a change of heart at the dying minute due to convictions from their conscious.
Hope for a Better Nigeria
The fact is people are wary of voting. It has become a tradition for votes to be cast and in the end, do not seem to count. So the general mindset being imbibed in the people is that “my vote does not count”.
But the BIGGER TRUTH is there is still hope for Nigeria, the people will still rise, and the young people will let their voices be heard. And they (the young people) will get involved in the processes. The system can get filtered this coming election. This is the Hope that Nigerians will rise and vote. In the end, Hope is all we have to get Nigeria working again.
