The PVC’s intrinsic value
It is also a shameful act which reveals the desperation of the buyers and the pettiness of the sellers in what, clearly, negates the sanctity of free, fair and credible elections.Surprisingly, no serious attention is being given to this reported criminal commercialization of the PVCs and by implication, an aspect of the electoral process by […]
It is also a shameful act which reveals the desperation of the buyers and the pettiness of the sellers in what, clearly, negates the sanctity of free, fair and credible elections.
Surprisingly, no serious attention is being given to this reported criminal commercialization of the PVCs and by implication, an aspect of the electoral process by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the various law-enforcement agencies in spite of the grave threat it poses to our collective drive for the conduct of credible elections.
Agreed, that the number of those involved might be negligible, but if allowed to continue unabated, many more gullible Nigerians may also get involved directly or indirectly to such an extent that, we may wake up one day to find out that a sizeable percentage of voters are lacking the power to vote freely having mortgaged their PVCs to power-crazy money bags.
In the interest of main-taining the standard and integrity of our electoral process, the commercialization of PVCs should henceforth, be counted as an electoral offence punishable by the relevant sections of the electoral act in order to serve as a lesson to offenders and deterrence to would-be offenders. Adop-ting this radical measure is necessary for the purpose of ensuring that PVC remains as a priceless tool for performing our civic duties on election days rather than a commodity for the highest bidder to be compromised on election days.
Those buyers or merchants of PVCs truly know what they are doing; to pay their way towards gaining any political office they or their bosses are aspiring to. But I doubt much if the sellers truly know or understand the implication of what they are doing by mortgaging their God-given right to vote freely and wisely using their PVCs. Hunger, ill-health and abject poverty are likely to be presented by the sellers as reasons for giving away their priceless rights easily and cheaply. But I tend to differ.
It is totally inexcusable for someone to electorally enslave himself/herself, his/her family and his/her future generations yet unborn on the basis of collecting few thousands of naira. Where is your pride as a true citizen of Nigeria, a proud father/mother, a proud son/daughter of your parents/guardians and a sensible member of your community if you cannot cast your vote and make it count on election day simply because you chose to trade your PVC for naira?
Selling your PVC is the same thing with selling your conscience and sacrificing your future and that of the future generations for nothing! Because by so doing, the seller automatically becomes an electoral liability to the Nigerian society who could not play any role in determining the outcomes of elections either at national, state or local government area (LGA) level. He/she who sold his/her PVC has, consciously or subconsciously, chosen to be neutral or an onlooker during elections; which Frantz Fanon, in his book, “The Wretched of the Earth”, popularly attacked thus; “He who chose to sit on the fence (neutral) is either a coward or traitor”. By selling your PVC you are telling the whole world that you are nothing but a coward or a traitor who did not understand or value what is good for himself/herself, his/her family, his/her community and his/her country as a whole.
Can you imagine the humiliation of not voting in next Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections despite having preferred candidates in mind merely because you had sold your PVC? You are probably aggrieved by the inability of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)- led federal government to rescue the abducted “Chibok” girls and tackle the Boko Haram insurgency swiftly, yet you cannot effect change by voting for General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of the opposition All Peoples’ Congress (APC) because you had sold your PVC. Is this fair even to yourself?
You might have also identified the best candidates among those aspiring to represent your senatorial and federal constituencies in the national assembly, yet you cannot vote because you had given someone else your voting right by selling your PVC. For example, the current member representing Jalingo, Yorro, Zing federal constituency of Taraba State (the constituency I belong to) in the National Assembly, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Malle, has performed relatively well in his first term as a federal legislator. He is now widely tipped to win the election by many members of his constituency because they rightly regarded him as the best among the other candidates and they vowed to re-elect him for a second term using their PVCs (votes). What of he/she who has sold his /her own PVC? PVC is much more than a card, but a lifeline and vote that we must cherish and protect with all our might and mind. A vote is not a joke and a vote that counted is worth a lifetime because it has a life and society-changing power. Selling your PVC is like selling your life into modern form of slavery which all Nigerians of voting age must desist and be discouraged from in the interest of sustaining a credible electoral process and instituting a legitimate democratic government under the leadership of leaders of proven integrity!
Zongre wrote from Yerima Bappa Sanda Road, Jalingo <[email protected]>;