Our Votes Now Count! Let's Get Our PVCs!

[Evergreenpost]

With reference to the recent Osun State election, it is evident that our votes can now make a difference, especially with the growing influence of social media.

Gone are the days when political godfathers could single handedly influence elections, manipulate results, and impose their preferred candidates on the people without anyone being able to challenge them.

I have heard some people still arguing that our votes do not count. However, I am convinced that our votes can now make a difference while  I know that political godfathers may still have some influence over the selection of candidates before elections, I strongly believe that those who will emerge as a winner in the next election would be those genuinely supported by people

This means we now have the power to vote anyone out of office if we are dissatisfied with their performance. However, the problem I see among Nigerian youths is our inability to take the right steps at the right time.

One of the most important things you can do right now is to get your Permanent Voter's Card (PVC) or renew it if necessary.

Recently, I found myself in the midst of eleven young Nigerians who were passionately complaining about the state of the nation and how inflation has negatively affected our economy. They compared the previous administration with the current one and expressed their dissatisfaction with the country's situation.

I then asked them a simple question: "If you are unhappy with this administration and its policies, do you realize that you have the power to vote it out in the next election?"

To my greatest surprise, seven of them did not have PVCs, while some of those who had their cards admitted that they hardly voted during elections and had no intention of going out to vote in the future.

I tried my best to convince them about the importance of participating in elections, but they were unwilling to agree or cooperate with me.

How can we continue to complain about bad leadership when we are unwilling to exercise one of the most powerful democratic rights available to us?

Nigerian youths must do better. We cannot continue to demand good governance while neglecting our civic responsibilities.

I affirm that our PVC is our power to change any administration we don't like and it is our voice, or our democratic right. The best thing we can do is to get our Pvcs and participate in the next election.

The change we desire begins with our willingness to participate.

[Umulala-alala]

I wish our vote counted in last presidential election, Nigeria wouldn't have been so messed up the way it now but of all effort, the struggle and fight yet our vote didn't count that was when i said i won't be voting again.

This coming election i won't go and stress my self they way i did in last election, i might even not be going out on that day, then if the vote of the masses counts it will be then i can start voting as a Nigerian again that's from another four years.

[Ishicryptic]

As a Nigerian who wants the best for the country I also want our votes to count in the coming election because a lot of observers were of the opinion that the last election was rigged and if we're going by that I doubt that most people will be willing to come out and waste their time to vote again. But we have to give a benefit of doubt that this time around it wouldn't be business as usual for election riggers, I hope that INEC will also have the decency to conduct a credible election. The important thing for us now is to get our PVC our voters card is our rights, we shouldn't be pessimistic that this coming election will be rigged as most of us thought about the last one, let us go out and vote our conscience, even if it is rigged which I don't pray, atleast you have done your own part.

[SOKO-DEKE]

I wish our vote counted in last presidential election, Nigeria wouldn't have been so messed up the way it now but of all effort, the struggle and fight yet our vote didn't count that was when i said i won't be voting again.

This coming election i won't go and stress my self they way i did in last election, i might even not be going out on that day, then if the vote of the masses counts it will be then i can start voting as a Nigerian again that's from another four years.

I know it is really painful for people to go out and struggle to cast their votes, only for it to seem as though their votes do not matter at the end of the day as INEC may end up announcing the people they want in power, as we know that the commission is being controlled by the Nigerians on power. As a result, the efforts of voters may seem wasted because the people they voted for may not be the ones eventually declared winners.but, we should not allow these challenges to discourage us from voting. Let us keep believing, fighting for our rights, and going out to vote for our preferred candidates. It is possible that this coming election will be different from the elections we have experienced in the past and if we give we may love our chances.

Even I had decided not to go out and vote, but after receiving advice from some people, I changed my mind. The advice was that if we continue giving up, we are not helping the situation. We cannot keep complaining about the system while refusing to participate in the process of changing it. We should continue to believe in our votes and exercise our right to choose the leaders we want.