REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD GET REGISTERED FOR THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS: REASON 7

VOTING DOESN’T MAKE YOU A POLITICIAN 

I have heard many people saying that “I am not interested in politics and therefore I will not vote”. This is so queer and actually absurd. The statement makes it appear as if voting is the same thing as getting involved in partisan politics. There are so many differences. Some people will say, “anything politics I’m not interested”. Somewhere and somehow a number of Nigerians have correlated exercising their franchise with getting into politics. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It should be clearly understood that voting in an election doesn’t make you a politician. 

While it is good to get involved in politics, if you feel that you have something to offer the country, it is however not compulsory. Definitely not everyone can or should be a politician. However everyone should vote! As of the time of writing, Independent Candidacy has not yet been legalized in Nigeria so you cannot vote any candidate without voting his/her party as well. That is because it is the party that produces the candidate. This however does not mean you must be a partisan. You can and should choose to vote on principle. For example if you are stickler for the fight against corruption and you have candidates in two different political parties (one for governor and one for senator for example) who both meet your ideals then you are free to vote your choice. John Quincy Adams, second president of the United States of America said that, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost".

As the political parties in Nigeria mature and build ideologies it will get to a time when parties will be associated with certain traits and it will be much easier to vote along party lines. For example if a political party is known for its stance on anticorruption and want voters to identify it with that, then such a party will have to ensure it fields candidates who voters accept as being non-corrupt. This will mean that candidates who have a track record for being corrupt will not be able to get membership in such parties or nominations for public office even if they scale through the membership hurdle. 

So while some believe that politics is a dirty game, voting is certainly not. You have the right to vote for anybody you like and that does not mean you must be a card carrying member of any political party. You need to get involved and register to vote so that you can ensure that those who are involved in the politics of this country are the kind of people that you want and will be proud of at any time.  

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! Voting doesn’t make you a politician! Just get out and register, then make sure you vote! So now is the time. You need to register. Don’t delay anymore. 

CLICK THIS LINK TO GET THE APP NOW!!!