By Dr Vincent Adedara
The current bill to jail eligible Nigerians who fail to vote had passed second reading at the House of Representative, this is an “idle” bill in so far that they have not proposed bills for vote buying and rigging machineries at all levels of our elections in Nigeria, compulsory voting bill is dead on arrival.
The sponsors of the bill should therefore substitute the bill for the proposed jail term for vote buying in Nigeria and forfeiture of accounts related to rigging of elections to the government.
The sponsors of the bill wish to take Nigeria back by fifty years with the regressive and obnoxious bill, which is contrary to civil rights as enshrined in the 1999 constitution, especially Section 39(1) and proposing #100000 fine or imprisonment as a sanction for not voting is archaic.
The sponsors of the bill failed to know that abstention and refusal to vote is a vote on itself, l can decide to go to a polling booth and drop an unmarked ballot paper in the ballot box or refuse to vote outrightly, therefore criminalising the right to express my self by not voting or by abstention is therefore barbaric and regressive.
The sponsors of this bill need a psychiatric test and as a matter of fact, all legislatures should go for psychiatric tests before they are sworn into the hallowed chambers.
The problem is not that people are disoriented about voting but they are tired of voting when the votes will be rigged by rigging machineries and mafia in INEC in collusion with government officials and money bags who specialise in vote buying for politicians.
Any election can be rigged in Nigeria with money in local and hard currency. Monies in local and hard currencies to rig 2027 elections are already in stock and almost ready, large amount of the monies are looted from government treasuries. You don’t expect Nigerians to build or have confidence in voting because they knew their votes don’t count even with BVAS. Some people are behind the machines input and output and any hungry civil servants can rig for “dollars temptation” and bribes. We should rather criminalise vote buying and rigging, election violence with life imprisonment irrespective of who is involved in the corridor of power, immunity should be waived for Governors, President and their deputies when it comes to this nature of crime and all accounts with money linked to such crimes should be forfeited to government and we will see large numbers of people turning up for voting.
If our legislatures want us to vote compulsorily, they must first build confidence in the electoral system with readiness without lip service to prosecute election offenders especially the ones at the National Assembly who are there through rigged elections. How can Mr Akpabio still be in Senate when the man who conducted his election was indicted and jailed. No one indicted of rigging election should be allowed to contest for ten years and if in office should be removed immediately and prosecuted.
The system is bad when we talk about election manipulation and violence to an extent that almost 90 percent of those in elective positions in the past and present are not inculpable.
What will ginger people to vote is the transparent electoral system, true independence of INEC, free and fair election, prosecution of election offenders and their sponsors, forfeiture of all accounts traced to election violence and rigging, reformed adjudication on electoral matters and the Courts generally. When the cause of election fraud ceases, the effect will also cease. The sponsors of the bill are plotting to tackle the “effect” and neglecting the “cause”.
The bill should be withdrawn, and further deliberation on it should cease immediately. it is an incompetent bill under the democratic system of government; it is not different from voting under duress and at gunpoint.
Finally, there is an imminent implosion that will consume the forces against civil liberties, prompt attendance to this will prevent it timeously. I keep warning!!
Dr Adedara is a Solicitor in Nigeria, England and Wales
The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.
