The
truth is that, our votes’ counts. But the criminal politicians would boast at their
campaign rallies that they have connections that can sway the INEC, and that
the results and outcomes of the elections has already been determined, and that
Mr. President who appointed the INEC Boss at his prerogative has already instructed
INEC on what to do, bla, bla, bla and more blas. My brothers and sisters, it is
a big lie, if that was true, the APC would have won the aforementioned states
elections, as party stalwarts go around boasting and insinuating that the power
to sway the election lies with the party that controls the INEC and security
forces before the elections..... toney etido
Senior Staff writer.
Nigeria is a great country, and as
it is with many great countries on the globe, Nigeria has her challenges and
concerns too. Most of these challenges and concerns are often time unfounded
and imaginative lies that are predicated on ignorance on the path of the people.
And as we are aware that when falsehood and lies are allowed to fester unchallenged,
they somehow, become a myth that the people live with, and transferred them to many
generations, until someone or group of people rise up to challenge them and lay
them to rest.
Today in this discuss, I would be doing my utmost best to disabuse
the minds of Nigerians, including educated Nigerians on some of the mythological
conceptions we hold about our electoral system, the electoral body, Independent
Electoral Commission (INEC), our security operatives, and other partners of the
Nigerian electoral system which are not all together true that is not allowing
us make progress in our democracy.

1. OUR VOTES DO NOT COUNT: The “our
votes does not counts” myth is the greatest of all the myths that has kept many
Nigerians away from going out to excised their fundamental civic rights of
determining who leads us in all tires of our government in all our elections. This
myth has disenfranchised many for several years, most especially our inform
class since the return to democracy over twenty two years ago. It is this myth
that would make many Nigerians who should have all come out en mass to join
with other Nigerians of goodwill to dethrone leaders that has not delivered on
their mandates and manifestoes. It is this myth that has continues to leave
power in the hands of our corrupt and ineffective politicians as against “power
belonging to the people”, which is the norm in every democratic setting. The
truth is that, our votes’ truly counts. We can take some lessons that can
disabused and lay to rest this “conspiratory” myth from the 2019 general election
of Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bauchi states gubernatorial election respectively,
not forgetting Zamfara, and of recent, the 2020 Edo State gubernatorial election,
etc.

The truth is that, our votes’
counts. But the criminal politicians would boast at their campaign rallies that
they have connections that can sway the INEC, and that the results and outcomes
of the elections has already been determined, and that Mr. President who
appointed the INEC Boss at his prerogative has already instructed INEC on what
to do, bla, bla, bla and more blas. My brothers and sisters, it is a big lie, if
that was true, the APC would have won the aforementioned states elections, as
party stalwarts go around boasting and insinuating that the power to sway the
election lies with the party that controls the INEC and security forces before
the elections. This is where INEC needs be commended, as we know that those
pressures and innuendoes from these interest bodies usually lie heavily on them
like morning fogs. But because of the international standards that we as a
country had pledged our membership to and the needs to conform to them, not
forgetting that the international observers are always breathing on INEC’s and
the government in power’s neck, they can’t but conform. So as 2023 approaches, lay
off such fifteen century myth, go out and register if you had not, get your PVC
and get ready to take back your power. For they don’t hold the power, you and
your vote do.
2.
FEDERAL
MIGHT WOULD PLAY A HUGE ROLE: You see this is another myth, falsehood, and lies from the
figment of the imaginations of some politicians that has blinded them and made
them arrogant and irresponsible to the electorates who voted them into power,
as most of them believed once they joined the party that controls security,
INEC and other federal parastatals, including the judiciary that has one thing
or the other to do with the electoral process, then, that settles it for them. Well,
we are aware of the ruling party, sometimes maneuvering to get some of their
members or sympathizers included as INEC commissioners as in the case of the
APC and PMB’s government nominating a lady with sharp mouth and quick to abuse
anyone who disagree with the APC government and President, the special adviser
to President Mohamadu Buhari on social media, Ms. Laureta Onoche as part of the
country’s electoral empire, and sometimes posting police commissioners and army
chiefs they trust could do their biddings to states they have interests and
what have you, but the truth is that, their agenda and machinations don’t
always stand. It is a huge lie, as it is not going to be only their people that
would constitute the umpire body. And plus the fact that international
community and other foreign observers are watching. Any police and Army chiefs,
and any umpire would also be mindful to the fact that their hard years of
career labour could just go up the flame because of someone’s inordinate
ambition of four years of one Politician who would not be able to help you should
the bubble boast. The personnels of the federal parastatals know these, that
there are eyes scrutinizing them, and if they laid down their guard, they would
live to regret. So let’s lay aside this
myth and lies and come out and vote as 2023 approaches.

3.
Another
myth is the fear that thugs and cultists loyal to politicians might come with
guns and other arms and killed people. This is another lie that is not
always true. You think the politicians that these thugs work for and the thugs
themselves no dey fear??? Even them, they are mindful of the law, and in this
21st century of technology and social media, they just don’t know who
could be looking and capturing. So let’s come out and take our power back from
selfish and corrupt politicians. For power belongs to us, not them.
The truth is that nobody owns the electoral
process, as long as it a democracy that we are practicing. We all hold the
power to determine who is voted into an officer or not. If you, a good person
don’t come out to vote, holding the above mentioned mindsets, the truth is that
the criminal and manipulative politicians would bring their few evil people
that has no regard of sanity and sense of right, and give them one one thousand
naira to vote for them, and at the end of it, the few bad people among us would
determined the fate of the majority of us that are law abiding, not bad people,
that truly want to see Nigeria go in the right path. I am going now to
register, so that we can take back power come 2023. What about you???