by Ajadi Daniel
The 2019 election is a little more than a month away, and for the first time in a long while, it does not seem as if Nigeria’s general election is around the corner. Their is more buzz about the 2019 election internationally than it is here in Nigeria.
The question then is, what should the electorate be doing when an election is this near. Should prospective voters still be evaluating each candidates to determine which has the interest of the people at heart. Yet research has shown that elections does not usually go in tandem with the theories on paper, especially when it has to do with a developing country.
Politicians will lay anything at their disposal at your doorstep just to get your vote, but it is important that the electorate understand that their is no finality in any vote cast, and there is exactly nothing to regret when you actually vote from the right conscience that is devoid of material or pecuniary influence.
The right candidate will be consistent with the reason why he wants your vote, and if you wake him in the middle of the night, he won’t read it out of a book, he does not see your vote the way others sees it, what he sees is your trust. So when he/she is campaigning, he is asking for your trust directly, and wants you to be committed to it with your vote. Your ideal candidate is driven by a conviction, and he/she is usually not a political jobber, who does not have a life outside politics. He does not make promises he cannot fulfil, neither does his manifesto eschew reality. He is competent, he has character, he has capacity, and he is true to his conscience. It is your duty as an electorate to critically consider the options at your disposal and make the right decision with your vote.
However, the quality of the electorate determines the quality of leadership, and usually the people deserves the kind of leaders they get, eventually votes in an election are not an ends in themselves but a means to an end, a pointer to a better expectation., thus challenging the perception of ‘Wasted Vote’ .
Hence, even with a little more than a month to the election, the voter still has ample time to observe the various candidates to determine those that will deliver. You are not under any pressure to make your decision on who to vote for in the upcoming elections, and if you have decided already, it is not casted on stones.
Be sure to vote wisely, with the future in mind and with your conscience, your one vote is a chance to a better tomorrow.