Greetings to you all!
It's a big season of political movement in my country and I feel like getting along by sharing my experience in the last general election.
I was a corp member then and I had the direct privilege to be a Presiding Officer(P.O; in charge of a polling unit).
During the training sections, the lecturers were very plain with the topics, they didn't paint any part with a more appealing colours, they made it clear that it's a war zone and any Corper going there should be fully prepared. With this obvious lectures, a lot of my faint hearted colleagues dropped out, they didn't want to loose their lives on the election ground.
I at the other hand, I wasn't ready to back out because I needed the huge "tips" on election ground, my phone was faulty then and I was sure that I would be able to get an iPhone immediately after the election馃檮.
The election day's Eve
We were to move to the camp that evening to get equiped with the election materials.
That day around 6pm, I dressed up on my kits, I left my beards unshaved to look a little bit rugged incase the battle starts, I wanted to keep my phone at home to avoid loosing it incase we start running helterskelter but a thought came, "what if they wanna do money transfer? Guy, please carry your phone", I succumbed to the thoughts and picked the phone. I didn't carry any bag because I didn't want to be weighed down incase war starts. Lol馃槀.
I entered the bus and zoomed off. Along the way inside the boss, I plugged in my headphone to charged up my spirit with Wizkid's THE MATTER, 馃幎 twenty men shall fall that day if you cross my lane...馃幎
I got the the camp after one hour journey and I was shocked to see the camp at the outskirt of the village, almost an abandoned school. I met some of my colleagues there as they were lamenting on NO SECURITY personnel on the camp ground.
Normally I don't get fidgeting easily on security issues but that moment, fear gripped my heart because if hoodlums attack us in the bushy and unfenced school, we are finished馃挃. We just had to summon courage to pass the night untill the next day(election day).
Time was 2:00am when siren blabbering woke us up, the polling materials just arrived and before we knew it, sounds of bullet started raining, omo! We took race and got married to the bushes. Who wants to die?
We were later called out from the bush by the police, what happened? It was the village people, as soon as they heard that ballot materials were around, they came with full force to do their things and the policy stayed on their ground.
Things had been resolved between them that's why there was calmness.
At around 4:00am, we lined up to receive our materials and that lasted till 5:30am.
After then, one of the boiling guys in the community walked up to me, "Guy, I just like you, God said I should protect you today"
"How do you mean?" I responded.
"There's going to be war in the polling unit today and I wouldn't want you to get hurt, don't worry I will protect you, give me your phone number" he said as he brought out his phone to collect my phone number which I called out for him.
At first I didn't get scared but immediately he left, fear gripped my heart.
Since I was aware of the upcoming battle, I became more sensitive to everything around me.
Election started
Around 6:30am, the voters were already at point. I became more ease when I noticed that the people on my unit were elderly people. What a relief!
Suddenly, I don't know how it happened, I just saw a swarm of youths (majorly guys) trooping in, they all came with shouts and agitation and my mind flared up because I thought it was about to happen馃槩.
It was that moment I remembered that I was the NCCF(Nigeria Christian Corpers Fellowship) leader of the Local Government, so I begged the audience for a minute's prayer and those Mamas strongly agreed and overshadowed that voices of the youths that said no. I prayed and committed everything to the hand of God.
The voting went well, hitch free, all the "initial gra gra" were assorbed, I don't know how it happened.
Election finished.
We ended election and it was time to count out it to them.
It was this moment I nearly received slap because I mistakingly marked one wrongly, but I was fast enough to correct my mistake. Omo!馃ぃ
After gathering the materials with the poll results to submit in the headquarter of the local government, a rough bus arrived to take convey us.
It was dark already because time was around 7:00pm and when we checked, there was no security to escort us. A lot of "what ifs" filled out minds, because it was dark already and the road is a lone bushy road. All those bad occurrences in Nollywood movies dominated our thoughts.
That's how we left, passed through the bushy road with the driver, driving like he's on fast nl& furious scene. All through in the bus, my mind was not at peace because if hoodlums show up, we are finished.
God being so kind, we got to the headquarter peacefully.
Then, just about to transmit result to Abuja, network went off...馃檲
The story is long already...
Thanks for reading鉂わ笍
