In the months leading to the 2023 presidential election, expectations were high, and in many ways, Nigerians could even be said to have been excited at the prospect of electing new leaders, especially the President.
However, after what has been described as the longest election cycle in Nigeria, a new president was elected on February 25 with only a fraction (27 percent) of the registered voters showing up at the polling centres. Only 25.3 million Nigerians showed up to vote out of 93.5 million registered voters.
During the previous election of 2019, the turnout rate was 35 percent, with 28.6 million voters out of 84 million registered. In 2015 – another keenly contested year that saw high pre-election enthusiasm – the turnout rate was 44 percent, with 29.4 million voters out of 68.8 million registered. In 2011 and 2007, more than half of registered voters turned up on election day with 54 percent and 58 percent respectively. In 2003 the turnout rate was 69 percent and in 1999, the first election following Nigeria’s return to democracy, 52 percent of the voters showed up to discharge their civic duties. Thay year, there were 30.3 million voters out of 57.9 million registered voters.
The frustrations that millions of Nigerians have continued to express on and off the media, on the streets and in their quiet spaces did not translate into higher voter turnout. It is sad and disappointing
The turnout this year is the worst on record, coming ironically in a year the election saw unprecedented anticipation and enthusiasm. Nigeria’s population has continued to increase every year, same as the population eligible to vote. In the 24 years of this current attempt at democratic rule, registered voters have increased by over 60 percent from 57.9 million in 1999 to 93.5 million in 2023. However, while 30.3 million Nigerians came out to vote in 1999, there were five million fewer voters this year (2023). It makes no sense.
Political parties had five months to campaign and sell both their manifestos and candidates to Nigerians, but the outcome of this election suggests they either failed to inspire trust in the electorate or the people just were not passionate enough to come out and vote.
We recognise that there were challenges in the conduct of this election, some of which may have affected voters’ turnout. They include possible suppression and disenfranchisement of voters through a range of means from logistical issues to threats of violence, but the response of voters to this election pales disproportionately to the enthusiasm that heralded the casting of ballots.
This begs the questions, was it all noise? Did Nigerians really not mean all their agitations to elect new leadership through voting that would have shown they cared about those that would occupy offices?
The frustrations that millions of Nigerians have continued to express on and off the media, on the streets and in their quiet spaces did not translate into higher voter turnout. It is sad and disappointing.
At the last count, there were 133 million poor people in Nigeria, representing 63 percent of Africa’s largest economy. From inflation, insecurity to unemployment and every imaginable measure of living standard, Nigerians have had the short end of the stick for years now.
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They complained in private and in public, but on the day their voices could finally be heard, they responded with graveyard silence. This was the implication of staying away from the polls; silence. Not even the country’s vibrant young population that approached this election with a lot of energy could show up and deliver numbers that sent a message that Nigerians truly were ready and willing to take charge of their own destinies.
We believe that voter apathy must finally be addressed in Nigeria as it continues to disempower the average Nigerian, while empowering those responsible for their misery. For every Nigerian who is eligible to vote but fails to discharge this civic duty, it would give an undeserving politician a better chance of securing ‘electoral victory’.
If all that matters is winning by majority votes, then for the unworthy politician, the fewer people that actually show up to vote, the better for them. Unless Nigerians want to continue being at the mercy of bad leadership, then the time to end voter apathy is now. The presidential and national assembly elections may have come and gone, but it is not too late. In five days, Nigerians get another chance to redeem themselves when gubernatorial and state houses of assembly elections are held. It matters, and every eligible voter should not cheat themself by failing to vote.
