As elections loom round the corner and countless debates on youth participation pervade every conversation, young people themselves hold differing opinions on the coming elections. Ranging from the belief that a single vote could change Nigeria’s tides to apathy and despondence, the students of University of Ibadan voiced their opinions on the coming elections.
Q: Are you currently a registered voter?
Rahmat: No, I’m not. However, I’m planning to get my permanent voter’s card before the coming deadline.
Tayo*: No, I’m not.
Aribiyo: Yes, I am.
Haleemah*: No, I’m not, but I’m currently registering for my permanent voter’s card.
Adekunle*: No, although I’ve started the process of getting a PVC.
Toyin*: No, I’m not. I wasn’t aware that the third phase of PVC registration had started, so I haven’t gotten my PVC yet.
Q: Did you vote in the last election? If you could, would you have loved to vote?
Rahmat: No, I didn’t, but I would’ve loved to, so that I’d know the person I voted for wasn’t the person who entered office. I’ll always love to vote honestly; we should always exercise our fundamental human rights.
Tayo*: I didn’t, and I wouldn’t have loved to vote either.
Aribiyo: No, I was a minor then. honestly, I wouldn’t have liked to vote. I, likely, would have been influenced into supporting the current administration.
Haleemah*: No, I didn’t. I wasn’t of age then, but even if I had the opportunity to vote, I probably wouldn’t have. I don’t have much hope for Nigeria.
Adekunle*: No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t have loved to vote because I wasn’t a fan of the political landscape at the time and had little knowledge about the candidates.
Toyin*: I wasn’t able to get my PVC for the last elections either, so I didn’t vote. Yes, I would have loved to vote because I supported a candidate last election, but he lost the position.
Q: What is your attitude to Nigerian elections presently?
Rahmat: Currently, I feel a lot of apathy towards Nigerian elections. I think they’re useless. If the people in power want a particular person elected, they’ll get elected by crook or by hook, it doesn’t matter what the masses want. At the end of the day though, we have to try. We’re human beings and we need to keep holding onto hope. At least we’ll know we tried, not that we just sat down at home. I don’t expect much from the Nigerian government, INEC, or the bodies that conduct these elections, but I expect us as Nigerians to go out to vote and exercise our fundamental human rights.
Tayo*: I’m not exactly sure. I would like to play a role in choosing our representative because it’s my responsibility. Although, I’m yet to get my voter’s card.
Aribiyo: Contrary to what most people believe that no vote counts, I actually believe that if people truly come out to vote, there is a real chance our realities could change.
Haleemah*: To me, Nigerian elections are a joke. It’s whoever dispatches the thugs, rigs the ballots that wins, not who the people voted for. The people aren’t even making informed decisions on who to vote for: they do so based on ethnicity and religion, without taking into consideration what the politicians promise. I think the failure of proper Nigerian elections is due to both the government and the people.
Adekunle*: I’m indifferent, really.
Toyin*: Do we really have elections in Nigeria? It’s just a formality to make international bodies assume we actually have elections. Right now, we’ve already come to a conclusion on who would win the election, even though we support other candidates. We, honestly, run an autocracy, so our votes don’t really matter. It just makes the elections a waste of time and resources.
Q: Do you intend to vote in the coming elections?
Rahmat: Yes, I do.
Tayo*: Yes, I do.
Aribiyo: Of course I do. Very actively.
Haleemah*: Yes, I do. I want to know that I tried at least.
Adekunle*: I’m weighing my options but due to my previous reason for not wanting to vote in the last election, I still don’t see myself voting.
Toyin*: I’ll vote in the elections if I find a candidate I like.
Q: What are your views on the candidates for the Oyo Governorship?
Rahmat: To be honest, I think it’s only Adelabu I know. I don’t know any of the other candidates vying for the position. I’ll have to educate myself more on that.
Tayo*: I do not know all the candidates for the Oyo Governorship, although I’m aware that there are quite a number of them. From my perspective, some candidates may have motives that do not fully align with the good governance they claim to represent.
Aribiyo: I’m not an indigene of Oyo state, so I don’t know much about the Oyo elections.
Haleemah*: I know about Adelabu’s intention to run for governor. I’ve also seen countless “Vote for Ajadi” banners around UI. I honestly don’t know much about the Oyo gubernatorial race, but I saw one of the Ajadi banners stating “candidate from Seyi Makinde’s party” and I wondered why that was the selling point he was going for. Does he have nothing else to offer us apart from being the governorship candidate of Seyi Makinde’s party? Then there’s the SDP candidate, Saheed Oladele who I’ve heard “not-so-good” things about.
Adekunle*: I’m not a native of Oyo State so I haven’t really paid much attention to the gubernatorial election
Toyin*: I know of Adelabu, because he was the former minister of power. However, the APC (All Progressives Congress) primaries haven’t been conducted so he might not be the candidate chosen for the party due to controversies surrounding his time in the power sector. I think whoever comes in should continue Seyi Makinde’s work along with their own plans.
Q: What are your views on the Presidential candidates?
Rahmat: Tinubu is a terrible man and a bad person. I think we all know that. For Peter Obi, I’m a bit torn about how to feel about him at the moment. He’s what I view as “the lesser evil”, but he’s still a politician, and we can’t trust him a hundred percent. We should learn from our past. Buhari also came looking like an angel and the best option, but he did a lot of damage to this country. Another reason I don’t fully trust Obi is his jumping from one party to another. It’s a red flag for me. I wanted to vote for Sowore because I think he’s the only one who actually stuck to his beliefs since his university days.
Tayo*: Still the same opinion as the previous question. Some run for pockets, while others run with the aim to promote the nation’s welfare.
Aribiyo: Peter Obi is the best fit in my opinion.
Haleemah*: We’re all witnessing and experiencing Tinubu’s administration, so I think my opinion is the same as the majority. We need to get that man out of power. People say, “The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know?” but I don’t want that, please. Then there’s Peter Obi, he’s the one I’ve been rooting for and who I intend to vote for in the elections. When he was the governor of Anambra , he did a lot, so I’m hoping he’ll do something for Nigeria too. Seyi Makinde just expressed his interest in going for the position. I don’t know how to feel about that yet.
Adekunle*: Until recently, my view has always been that politicians are all the same and we just gaslight ourselves with the concept of “lesser evil”. I feel that way about all the presidential candidates
Toyin*: That’s a difficult question, because we have a cutthroat election. We have Peter Obi who’s left ADC (African Democratic Congress) to NDC (National Democratic Congress), and Kwankwaso, who also decamped stating he wouldn’t mind being the vice presidential candidate of Peter Obi. However, there are so many people vying for the presidential candidacy in ADC, like Atiku Abubakar, so we won’t know who’ll be picked until the primaries have been conducted. There’s also Seyi Makinde, who decamped to APM and may have the votes of Oyo citizens due to his time as the governor. Then we have our current president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who promised us heaven and earth, but has done nothing worthwhile. With how he has handled this tenure, he’s telling us he can’t do more than this and cannot sacrifice and go all out for the people. I don’t want to choose a candidate based on popularity but on what the person is bringing to the table: Feasible and sustainable plans, solutions to insecurity, and provision for the needs of an average Nigerian. We need someone who will get into the office and actually do something, unlike “the winner of the last election”.
Q: Do you believe in democracy and the version of it currently obtainable in Nigeria?
Rahmat: I believe in democracy in a functioning country. Even the U.S, as dysfunctional as it is, still has a thriving democracy. I think democracy is dead in this country. I don’t believe in the version that’s obtainable in Nigeria; I don’t think we’re in a democracy. I think we’re in a “hellish” version of it.
Tayo*: Yes, I believe in democracy as a system of governance. However, the version currently obtainable in Nigeria appears to be weakened by excessive self-interest, political ego, and the desire to retain power, which can undermine its intended purpose.
Aribiyo: Yes, I believe in democracy, but not the democracy currently obtainable in Nigeria. It’s tarnished by corruption, electoral credibility issues, no accountability from leaders and too many weak institutions like the police force, courts, and INEC.
Haleemah*: I believe in democracy because it’s nice to know that the people’s opinions matter. However, Nigeria’s version of a democracy involves oppression and the fear of speaking out. When Raye, the NYSC corper, spoke out about how expensive the country was becoming, she was forced into silence. It boils down to even our institutions, like what happened with the students of UI who were expelled for protesting the school fee hike. People’s opinions don’t matter here as long as they are critiques against the system. I don’t believe in Nigeria’s democracy at all.
Adekunle*: I don’t believe in democracy at all.
Toyin*: Democracy is defined as the government of the people, for the people and by the people. However, have we enjoyed democracy in Nigeria? We should be asking if we’ve enjoyed or benefited from democracy in this country from the inception of the fourth republic which started in 1999 until now. About 27 years of witnessing the shambles of the Senate, and the House of Representatives and wondering how those government officials made it to the seat and were entrusted with the power to make our laws. Have we really enjoyed democracy as we watched our country go from bad to worse? Democracy is supposed to listen to the voices of the people, but with the insecurity problem that started in Goodluck’s time, we still haven’t managed to proffer a solution. Are you trying to say we have dumb people in this country who couldn’t curtail the problem? No, the cries and the solutions of the same people democracy is for, weren’t heard. Have we enjoyed democracy in terms of infrastructure? Why do we have a part of the country lacking and another apart swimming in excess? Have we enjoyed democracy in terms of education? The recent occurrence with JAMB is a sign of a dilapidated education system. Have we enjoyed democracy in the health sector? In security? I don’t think the question should be whether I believe in democracy in Nigeria, but whether we’ve enjoyed it at all as Nigerian citizens?
In the end, politics might seem like a world a mile away from ours, but everything that occurs in that sector affects us whether we like it or not. Even with differing views on how much we should participate in choosing our leaders, we should remember that we’ll all be affected by whatever the outcomes are. Whether you think the elections are a foregone conclusion, or you believe your one vote can make a change, remember that the person that enters the position rules over us all.
If anyone is interested in getting a permanent voters’ card and participating in the coming elections, the INEC portal (https://cvr.inecnigeria.org/) is currently open.
*Name changed at request for anonymity.
Hameedah Uthman
