As the nation prepares for 2019 election, the members of National Association of Seadogs,
(NAS) Pyrates Confraternity embarked on the second phase of their Our Votes Counts (OVC)
nation-wide sensitization and awareness campaign.
Their aim is to adequately educate the electorates and the politicians alike on the dangers of vote
buying, rigging, election violence, thugry, voters’ apathy, and all forms of manipulations that
might discredit the forthcoming election.
This they strive to achieve through a strategy of constant engagement with the public at the grass
root level, hence their series of “Our Votes Count” campaign and Citizen Summit, a town hall
meeting.
The association believes that if peaceful and credible election must be conducted in Nigeria, the
stakeholders must be properly engaged and made to take responsibilities.
This is why on Saturday, January 19, 2019 the association conducted a nationwide campaign in
all their chapters that spread across the federation as a build up towards the election.
In Lagos State, the mainland chapter of the association in conjunction with the New Jersey
chapter organized a street wide neighbourhood sensitization exercise in the densely populated
areas of Yaba, Ojuelegba and Surulere environs.
The campaign that was led by Charles Nagudia, the chapter president started in the early hours of
the day using public address system, one-on-one contacts and flyers to sensitize and educate the
people on the intricacies of achieving peaceful and credible election like shunning violence,
thugry, apathy and vote buying and selling.
In Anambra State, the Onitsha chapter conducted their own ‘Our Votes Count’ sensitization
campaign at Ogbe-Oye market and the adjourning streets. Market men and women were targeted
and fully engaged on the need to come out in mass to cast their votes for their choice candidates.
Due to the limited literacy level of many of them and even the dynamics of the voting processes
and regulations released by the INEC, they were tutored and enlightened on the details of the
new processes.
The follow-up event was the Citizen Summit that was chaired by Obiora Ibegbu at the
Washington Memorial Secondary School hall on the topic, Vote buying: a threat to free and fair
election in Nigeria.
The convener, Hon. Ikem Mazeli who is the chapter president took time to explain that NAS is a
humanitarian organization with an international status; therefore the summit was organized in conjunction with the Calgary, Canada chapter of the association as their way of contributing to
Nigeria’s stability.
The speaker, Ichie Victor Okechukwu Okonkwo, in his lecture, simply explained vote buying as
selling your birth right or franchise on the day of election in a polling unit against your intentions
or conscience to mortgage your future for a peanut.
He further pointed that any acts of support or favour to the people prior to an election constitute
vote buying. “As long as the goods or money is coming directly from a candidate, this
candidate’s wish is to maintain their power.
“That being said, they may provide services but their real interest may lie in keeping the voters
dependent on the rewards they are providing in order to stay in power.” He said.
He explained that apart from the consequence of the autonomy of voters being undermined by
vote buying in a democratic state, it poses a threat to democracy itself as it interferes with the
ability to rely on a popular vote as a means of people’s support for potential government policies.
“It is deeply saddening and disappointing that this ugly monster which dominated Ekiti and Osun
elections will be extended to all other parts of the country if care is not taken. Ekiti and Osun are
regarded as the states with the largest ‘army’ of sophisticated and highly educated people, it
beats imagination as they became Nigeria’s political capital stock market where votes are
traded.” He pointed.
He concluded by calling people to remember that a person that offers them money to vote for
him/her is a fraudster and would continue to defraud the citizens when he/she gets into office.
Your worship, Chizoba Stanley-Udo (Mrs) moderated the interactive session where participants
expressed their views on both the topic and the current political happenings in Nigeria.
A corps member who participated in the meeting shared how she was threatened by vote
conversers after rejecting their monetary offer at the polling unit. She revealed that it was her
uncle’s intervention that saved her.
Another person disclosed how voters are told to raise their ballot papers after voting for the party
agents to confirm before payment is made to them.
Another participant lamented of the
helplessness of the situation and alleged that security operatives collude with party agents to rig
election and where people vote in a particular direction but the manipulation is done by INEC
officials at the final collation point.
The lecturer equally responded that there is need for INEC to beef up security at the polling
zones in order to guarantee people’s safety and also put down measures that will check
manipulations that would discredit elections.
He encouraged people to be wise and courageously vote their consciences no matter the
intimidation and threats or at most collect the money on offer and still go ahead to vote for their
choice candidates regardless.