2019 ELECTIONS: LET'S SAY NO TO VOTE- BUYING

2019 ELECTIONS: LET'S  SAY NO TO VOTE- BUYING 
                           By:
           Nurudeen Dauda
February 10th 2019
nurudeendauda24@gmail.com
nurudeendauda24@yahoo.com
nurudeendauda.blogspot.com

Tomorrow the 23rd day of February, 2019, by God's willing, all Nigerians of voting age will go to the "Polls"to exercise their franchise.

Let the INEC, Media, Religious bodies, Traditional Rulers, Legal Practitioners, Socio- Cultural Groups and Civil Society Organizations, use the remaining days to the General elections to campaign vigorously against "Votes Buying on elections day.

Our security agencies must be patriotic enough this time around in order to stop Votes -Buying on elections day. Our security agencies must not compromise. 

Nigerians should and or must not sale their votes and must equally discourage their compatriots from selling theirs on elections day . Nigerians should and or must assist the security agencies with information in their "Polling Booths" in order to prevent the menace. No Nigerian should cooperate with votes buyers.

INEC officials and the security agencies at the "Polling Booths" must make sure that no voter goes to the "voting cubicle"with a "smartphone" or any phone that could be used to get a picture of a ballot. They should also not accept voting and display to the fellow voters. These are methods use by votes buyers to know that you have voted their candidate for reward.

Soon after the primary elections by the two major political parties, many observers predicted that the 2019 electioneering campaigns will be money -driven which in the first place is not supposed to be so. Thank God, it is now less than a week and the money is not forthcoming even though some political observers still believe that, desperate politicians reserve their "money" to buy votes on elections day.Too bad!  

The recent ugly trend of open vote-buying in Nigeria politics, according to observers, began  from the off reasons elections in Edo, Anambra, Ekiti ,and Osun states. There were allegations of vote-buying in Edo and Anambra states governorship elections. Those allegations were were less pronounced in comparison to the widespread allegations of same in Ekiti state elections. Similar allegation was equally reported in the Osun state governorship elections. 

In my understanding , the issue of votes buying has more to do with the "character" of our  politicians  and their levels of "desperation" to power. Greediness among our electorates is also another factor. For votes to be "bought" and "sold", there must a willing buyer (a desperate politician) and a willing seller (a greedy electorate).

Our politicians are the culprits to the alleged vote-buying and so do not expect them to stop it especially when they benefit from it . Some politicians are only tempted to partake in the act of vote-buying even if they do not believe in its in order not be outdone by their opponents. 

The security agencies must rise to the occasion . Let them be patriotic enough not to be party to the alleged crime .They must do their work with all sincerity and  patriotism.

The INEC, Media, Civil society organizations, Legal practitioners and the people of conscience have a lot of work to do in order to stop menace. Let them continue to educate the electorates on its undesirability and consequences.

Let's tell the electorates that having sold their votes for a "token" they would have automatically lost their moral rights of asking their leaders for security, electricity, roads, hospitals, and schools etc. 

May God bless Nigeria!

Popular posts from this blog

ISRAEL V. PALESTINE :THE HYPOCRISY OF TWO STATES SOLUTION

ISRAEL V. PALESTINE :THE HYPOCRISY OF TWO STATES SOLUTION                             By:                 Nurudeen Dauda                October 19, 2023 nurudeendauda24@yahoo.com nurudeendauda24@gmail.com nurudeendauda.blogspot.com "The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict"-Martin Luther King, Jr. Permit me to add my voice on the ongoing massacre of women, children, and armless civilians in Palestine. In my thought, it is not about who triggers the present massacre of the Palestinians , but it is time to talk about the 76 years of massacre of women, children, and the armless civilians of Palestine by the state of Israel which is being watched helplessly by the entire world. Before 1948, the Jews worldwide lived predominantly outside Palestine.They lived predominantly in easter...
Read more

INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY ON THE WAY

INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY ON THE WAY                                By:                          May 19th, 2023 nurudeendauda24@yahoo.com nurudeendauda24@gmail.com nurudeendauda.blogspot.com Barring any last minute changes a "bill" for the recognition of an independent candidacy will be transmitted to Mr president for his "assent". In my thought, if the "bill" is finally "signed" into law it will largely "checkmate" the "excesses" of "governors" and "moneybags" politicians who often denied "credible" candidates "tickets"in order to pave ways for their "anointed" ones no matter their weaknesses. In our modern day politics, we have had enough cases where "credible", "competent", and "popular" candidates loss primary elections due to lack of "money" or "godfather" or state governor's anointment.  In my thought, allowing independent...
Read more

ZAINAB'S ORDEAL: A CASE OF INSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES

ZAINAB'S ORDEAL: A CASE OF INSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES                         By              Nurudeen Dauda                May 5, 2019 nurudeendauda24@gmail.com nurudeendauda24@yahoo.com nurudeendauda.blogspot.com To begin with, there is now an alleged "drug cartel" in our airports which specialised in planting drugs on unsuspecting airtravellers. Of the six alleged members of the drug cartel arrested in connection with planting of Tramadol in a bag bearing Zainab Habibu Aliyu's name, three were said to be "clearing agents", two were said to be staff of a"security company" and one a staff of an "airline handling company". In my observation, the arrest of Miss Aliyu in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in respect of 2000 packs of "Tramadol" said to be found in a bag bearing her name has nothing , but succeeded in exposing our institutional weaknesses.Heads shoul...
Read more