Mr Seyi Thomas, a 43-year-old man from Kogi, has never voted in any election in the past as a result of what he described as the cumbersome electoral processes during elections.
Thomas also says that would prefer to sleep in his house or go to farm on election days, rather than participating in any election that “would benefit only a few citizens.
“However, a friend was able to convince me to vote in 2011; I reluctantly went to the polling unit but I could not vote due to some logistic problems facing the electoral body.
“The most annoying part of it is that it is only during campaign periods that you see politicians seeking our vote; once they are elected into power, they vanish and you may not see them again until next election.
“Besides, does my vote count anyway? Why should I go and waste my time when my vote will not count?’’ Thomas asks.
From all indications, Thomas is not the only Nigerian with such a negative mindset, as one of the major challenges facing elections in the country is voter apathy.
The development has become a serious concern for the government and INEC, the electoral body, as preparations toward the 2015 general elections gradually reach a crescendo.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has repeatedly decried the issue of voter apathy in the country.
Jega said that although democracy had come to stay in Nigeria, majority of the citizens still exhibited apathy toward elections, going by the statistics on voter turnout compiled on various polls conducted across the country.
“One of the major reasons for voter apathy and resultant low participation of citizens in elections can be attributed to the low level of public awareness of electoral matters,’’ he said.
Jega noted that the problem of voter apathy still subsisted in the country, in spite of the enormous resources which INEC and other bodies had committed to voter and civic education.
However, Prof. Roseline Onah of the Department of Public Administration and Local Government, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, identified low literacy level, violence, intimidation and lack of public trust in the electoral process as some of the factors responsible for voter apathy.
She also pointed at the cumbersome election processes, “especially when voters have to queue for a long time before they could to vote.
“If one has experienced such kind of situation at a polling unit, he or she may be very reluctant to go through that process again,’’ she said.
To ensure massive voter turnout in the 2015 general elections, Onah underscored the need for INEC, government, political parties and the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to give priority to voter education.
She also advised INEC to adopt measures that would ensure that voting processes were not cumbersome, adding that the measures should also entail how to promote credible elections.
She also urged the government and its relevant agencies to safeguard the safety of voters during elections.
Onah particularly stressed the need to ensure voter safety on election days, saying: “Voters should be sure that their lives are not exposed to danger in the course of performing their civic responsibility.’’
Meanwhile, INEC Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, said that since democracy was all about the people’s choice, INEC would always strive to educate the electorate on how to make the right choice.
Osaze-Uzi said that apart from tackling the issue of voter apathy, the commission was educating voters to eschew anti-social behaviour, electoral malpractices, violence and other aberrations that could hinder the integrity of the forthcoming election.
“We are at the forefront of the campaign for robust and comprehensive voter education in the country,’’ he said.
Osaze-Uzi said that the inauguration of National Inter-agency Advisory Committee on Voter Education and Publicity (NICVEP) by INEC at all levels of government was one of the tools of driving voter education in the country.
He was optimistic that the inter-agency committee would work to ensure the success of the 2015 general elections.
He, nonetheless, said that commission had initiated other measures that would build the confidence of the electorate on the 2015 elections.
According to him, the measures include the use of permanent voter cards and card readers for the elections.
Nevertheless, Osaze-Uzi underscored the need for all political parties to partner with INEC in efforts to sensitise the voters to their expectations during the polls, saying that parties should ensure that their supporters came out to vote.
Dr Tanko Yunusa, the National Chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said that political parties, INEC and non-governmental organisations had started mobilising eligible voters to exercise their voting rights in the 2015 general elections.
“For instance, we are already persuading Nigerians to collect their permanent voter cards, which is the first tool of accreditation for voting,’’ Yunusa said.
Similar sentiments, Prof. Mariatu Tunuche of the Department of Political Science, Kogi State University, said that in efforts to address voter apathy, political parties must demonstrate internal democracy, right from their primaries.
Besides, Tunuche stressed the need to put in place a mechanism that would make elected officials accountable to their constituents – the electorate.
“These measures will go a long way to motivate eligible voters to go out and discharge their civic responsibility during voting periods,’’ she said.
All the same, Jega, the INEC chairman, said that the commission could conveniently pledge that it would organise credible, free, fair and transparent elections, which would be much better than the 2011 polls, come 2015.
He stressed that INEC was working closely with security agencies to ensure the people’s safety on election days, assuring that the INEC leadership would never allow its workers, the voters and electoral materials to face unnecessary risks.
“Our hope and prayer is that in those areas where there are security challenges, the challenges will be minimised, while sufficient normalcy and stability are restored for us to be able to conduct the elections,” he said
Jega further explained that INEC would ensure that nursing mothers, the elderly and persons with disabilities were given priority attention whenever they came out to vote.
Going by these assurances, observers believe that with adequate voter education, less cumbersome voting procedures and adequate security, voter apathy will be minimised considerably in the 2015 general elections (NANFeatures)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)