THE PROBLEM WITH VOTER INDIFFERENCE

MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE writes that the worsening case of complacency among the Nigerian electorate should be urgently arrested

First, an arguably wild, probably unempirical, seemingly alarmist, but potentially valid statement: Today’s Nigerian political office seekers are far less bothered with what the electorates think about them compared with their counterparts in the previous republics and even those at the earlier stages of this Fourth Republic. The game of politics, once dominated by aggressive but sincere wooing of the voting crowd is now giving way to ignoble and blatant occurrences like “votes delivery”, phoney landslides, rushing for solace and protection in the “winning, largest party in Africa” and the “go to court!” retort from those declared winners by the not always transparently free Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

I’m almost certain that any Google search for last month’s council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would reveal “voter apathy” as a leading key phrase, not necessarily because it was a scientifically proven case of disinterestedness but mainly due to the heavy sentiments that were popularised by politicians in the opposition and also many residents of the federal capital who had cause to conclude that their interests were not among the considerations of the electoral umpire in carrying out that statutory responsibility. The election day movement restriction imposed by the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, also didn’t help matters one bit. It would be difficult to fault those who claimed that they couldn’t move to their polling units due to the long distances. Many others also complained about their inability to access the new units assigned to them by INEC without any prior notice.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in particular, declared that the below average voter turnout was a “damning verdict” on what he described as the mismanagement of the nation’s affairs by the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). You may call that the ranting of a rival but the Wazirin Adamawa is not alone in fingering Tinubu and his party for the perceived underperformance of this off-cycle voting. Very much like what previous opposition politicians did to the incumbents before. INEC has argued repeatedly that this year’s Abuja polls are actually better than 2022’s, as approximately 240,000 voted in the recent exercise while 149,000 did so four years ago. None of these data means anything to those who seriously feel that the sanctity of the election was roundly abused.

Feelings on their own do not win elections, however, even in very organised and progressive societies and countries. If it so obtains in such advanced places where people are more assertive about their civic rights and duties, what hope exists for Nigeria where citizens often sit on one spot, whining about their misfortunes and the recklessness of the political class, without lifting a finger? Quite frankly, the prospects aren’t assuring, even for diehard optimists.       

And in case you’re still wondering where our voters are in the scheme of things, they’re practically down below. Yes! Way under the level where the quest for survival is king but the chances of succumbing to despair is equally seductive. For many, voting is simply a useless piece of action. The last general poll further confirmed some of my fears concerning genuine public involvement in elections and, by extension, the sustenance of this democratic dispensation. I engaged my students – both undergraduate and postgraduate – to figure out their degree of awareness and anticipation. It was high. They were tired of the “old brigade”. Many of them pursued voter registration with every seriousness they could muster.

They would not put up with leaders who were running Nigeria aground any longer and were ready to vote younger, more active and dynamic candidates into positions of authority. Particularly for the presidential slot, majority of them rooted for Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). For them, he had all it took – agility of the mind and body and more – to lead the country out of the woods. Well, the D-Day came and went. The rest is now history. I share this experience, not exclusive by any stretch of the imagination, because of the feelers I received directly from those students.

The shocker and the attendant disappointments produced by the outcome of that poll culminated in the resolve of many of them to stay away from subsequent elections. They might be suffering from expectation management deficiency but those whose business it is to bother about the nonchalance of most Nigerian voters shouldn’t ignore the factors responsible for that sort of avowed aloofness.    

I’m worried about the average Nigerian voter and, indeed, the future of our democracy itself. Frustrations with our voting systems are real, widespread and enduring. Rigging, results-doctoring, open and covert sabotage of stipulated procedures, and undisguised impunity have continued to loom large in people’s consciousness. There is hardly anything in the horizon which indicates that we’re anywhere near viable solutions. Efforts are sometimes made by relevant agencies like INEC, National Orientation Agency (NOA), some private institutions and political parties. Those attempts are clearly inadequate, sadly. In the midst of this huge civic deficit, there’s one nagging concern that’s truly troubling. I haven’t read everything in the Nigerian constitution and the Electoral Act 2026 but I doubt if any of their clauses stipulates the minimum number of voters required to validate any voting exercise. Like legislating a quorum for voters. One can’t even see that as a shortcoming or lacuna in our laws since there’s hardly any such provision anywhere on earth.

Perhaps, scholars and developers of democracy should seriously look at this aspect and try to proffer ways of enhancing the functionality and acceptability of this system of government that has been received by the democratic world as the most ideal. Only one million voters or less can even determine who becomes the president of Nigeria. Yes! In a country of an estimated population of over 200 million people and about half of this figure registered to vote, that would be legally tenable. But not morally cool. If this sounds exaggerated and far-fetched, the statistics of the presidential election three years ago should sober everyone. Only 26.7 percent of the registered voters performed the onerous social duty in that epic encounter. And it became one of the country’s most miserable outings in terms of voter attendance and participation.

In whatever form voting complacence takes, it is a clear and present danger to the representative government we’ve adopted but which we keep making a poor job of deepening. In fact, some work tirelessly to undermine it. The real ‘wahala’ with this growing voter impassivity is that politicians may soon perfect it fully and install structures that can galvanise the process of achieving a much higher percentage of lethargy among voters. After all, just about anything that can earn them certificates of return is okay. Head or tail, the average citizen, most likely eligible to vote, pays the vicious, wretched price.      

Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board

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