The My Vote My Vote campaign is an advocacy campaign by YMonitor, an initiative of The Future Project. The campaign aims to galvanise citizens’ interest to actively participate in electoral processes through collection of voter’s cards, voting the right candidates and holding officers accountable after elections.
The campaign started with a two-day Social Advocacy Workshop held on the 26th and 27th of April. Four seasoned industry experts engaged over 600 participants on the need for youth participation in government, roles we all can play as social advocates and how it can foster development in Nigeria.
Participants of the workshop were then inducted as advocates who proceeded in amplifying the campaign across all parts of the country. With the resilience of these young advocates, the My Vote My Voice Campaign has so far recorded tremendous success as we have been able to spread the message to a large, diverse demographic of people across different cities and communities in Nigeria.
Through the My Vote My Voice advocates, we have sensitised members of different communities on the need to get their PVCs, and we also engaged them with a copy of the #MyVoteMyVoice pamphlet, a voter education comic series. In Lagos, our advocates had engaged corp members serving in Surulere Local Government during their Community Development Service. The youth corps members were engaged on youth participation in political processes and why every youth should use their voice as a catalyst for change in Nigeria.
The My Vote My Voice advocates also took the outreach to the Ebonylife Creative Academy where they met with young creatives and filmmakers to discuss how the youth can use media and the creative space to foster development in Nigeria. Participants at the Lagos state symposium and scientific conference were also engaged and each participant was given a copy of the My Vote My Voice comic series. Several religious houses; churches and mosques in Lagos were also directly engaged by the advocates.
In Katsina, our My Vote My Voice advocates visited Dankama town in Kaita LGA, Babban Mutum town in Baure LGA and Dr Yusufu Bala Usman College Daura for PVC Drive and distribution of the My Vote My Voice pamphlets. The advocates also met with the Treasurer and Chairman of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations in Katsina state, charging them with the need to intensify efforts on active political participation.
In Anambra state, our volunteers visited Njikoka LGA, Idemille LGA and Oyi LGA. Here, they spoke to the members of the communities about grassroot participation in governance and how we all have a role to play in fighting for the Nigeria of our dreams. In the Federal Capital Territory, our volunteers visited Karu, Maraba and Nyanya towns, where we met with locals to enlighten them about the power of grassroots community advocacy and how that can be used positively in the forthcoming 2023 elections.
Other states of the federation and remote communities have been reached with direct engagement by My Vote My Voice advocates. This also includes the IDP camps in far Maiduguri, Borno state as no one Nigerian should be left behind in the message of active political participation in political processes.