DOING YOUR PART AS AN ELIGIBLE NIGERIAN CITIZEN
Voting in elections is actually more than just a right – it is also a responsibility. Certainly if you decide not to vote, that is a choice in itself, but in the real sense it is not fulfilling your service to the nation. Not voting should be understood as a choice with consequences. If you don’t vote, that means you are indirectly supporting whoever eventually wins – whether that is your favored candidate, or someone you did not want, or someone who will be bad for Nigeria. If you had voted, though, then you could have added your vote for the candidate you support, or else made it more difficult for the candidate you didn’t want to emerge as the winner. Voting could favor any candidate you decide to vote for. Abstaining from voting only benefits the winner of the election. So if you don’t vote, it is not really fair to complain about the performance of whoever eventually wins.
Voting is the only true leveler in any democratic society. Whomever you may be rich or poor, educated or uneducated, male or female, from any tribe or hold any religious beliefs, when it comes to casting ballots you only get one shot per candidate per election. This should show you the awesome power associated with voting. It is the one things that makes every Nigerian equal and nobody gets more than the other. Poet Maya Angelou made this very clear when she said (2012), “You may be pretty or plain, heavy or thin, gay or straight, poor or rich. But remember this: In an election, every voice is equally powerful -- don't underestimate your vote. Voting is the great equalizer.”
Ideally, voting is designed specifically to ensure that nobody is denied from expressing their choice, irrespective of their personal circumstances. This equalizing was also done because choosing the country’s leaders is a fundamental right and value for every citizen. If you now say that you are not concerned about choosing your leaders, then you are really turning your back on your country. Nigeria has made provisions for you to help determine how the country is governed and how it can take its place amongst the community of nations. You owe it to your country to help it become a part of that process. If you reap from Nigeria, then you should also sow into the future of Nigeria. Securing the right leaders into public office is a very potent way of securing the future of our country. Please don’t see this as a mere option, but as an obligation. It is something that you need to do.
Even if you are completely satisfied with how things are going in the country, wouldn’t you want things to keep improving? The fact that you have the leaders that you may want does not mean that there is no need to vote. Some other people who may not be what you want are making desperate efforts to come into leadership. To keep those who you are happy with at all levels of governance, you need to keep voting for them. So whichever way you look at it, you need to vote. But to vote, you need to get registered first. Stop thinking about whether or not you should register! Start planning to register to vote because it is one fundamental way of contributing your part to the success of this great nation.
If you want to join Nigerians who want to make a difference by exercising their civic rights, please you need to Register to Vote Today! It’s TIME TO GET REGISTERED! INEC has made it very easy for you to GET REGISTERED! You can walk into any voter registration centre, on any week day (except public holidays) between 9am and 3pm and GET REGISTERED (find out more and get the app at www.getregisterednaija.com). Just fix one day before the end of this year to get this done. Just a day! Arrive early and you’ll be registered in no time! Your vote is your quota to the development of Nigeria, so you need to go and register and make sure you vote! Now is the time! You need to register. Don’t delay anymore.
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