Saturday is the biggest event of the year, Nigeria's presidential election. It's also the election for the legislature but more Nigerians are concerned about the presidency. As a collective, we have all been eagerly anticipating this day that gives us the opportunity to put an end to the horrific eight years we have experienced in the hands of the current administration. Even though the campaigns have proven that a large number of Nigerians have poor memory and are not tired of suffering.
For a country with a population of over 200 million people, there are 93m registered voters according to INEC. The level of political apathy in Nigeria is appalling. Every day we rant on Twitter about bad governance, and we talk in our friendship groups about corrupt practices, yet when we have the chance to change that, the only and most powerful weapon we have, everybody vanishes. We need to know that we cannot wish Nigeria into good governance, we cannot only depend on prayers, but we also cannot complain our way out of poverty. The only way we can cause a change is with our votes. There is no valid reason why a citizen who has gotten to the voting age should decide to stay at home during elections. It's even worse if you have a voter's card and decide not to vote because of inconsequential reasons.
In another light, Nigeria has a big role to play in the citizen's lack of enthusiasm to participate in elections. The process of voter registration is frustrating and strenuous as well as the collection. And I strongly believe it's the handiwork of the government to deliberately frustrate you till you give up. Also, it's highly inconvenient that voters have to travel all the way to where they registered for their PVCs. Many things could prevent them; lack of transportation fare, disruption of other plans & inconvenience from traveling. There's also a high insecurity rate so traveling by road is a risk. With elections around the corner, there is high tension in the air. It makes zero sense how elections fill us with anxiety. Not for the outcome of the polls but for what could happen; the violence, killings, and chaos that could ensue. I remember telling 
Alongside discussions of the forthcoming elections, there is also the issue of cash scarcity. I never would have imagined that a day when the naira would be unavailable will come. But that is Nigeria, when you think it can't get any worse, it does. The old N200, N500 & N1000 notes were redesigned in December last year. It was announced that the old notes would stop being legal on February 10th. February came and there were barely enough new notes to go round. The banks don't have it, ATMs aren't dispensing and POS attendants are exploiting the situation. People have money that they cannot spend. A cashless policy cannot work here because the internet banking services are terrible. There is an argument that the reason for the implementation of the new naira notes before the election is to reduce vote buying. But I think it would make it more effective because people are desperate to get new naira notes no matter how small.
Tomorrow, I'm going to cast my vote for my preferred candidate who is the best option among the obvious three and I admonish you to do the same. It's our lives on the line. Whatever the outcome of the election is, it determines the next 4 or 8 years of our lives. That is a very long time. Think about the state of the nation for the past eight years and vote wisely with your conscience. We deserve a great president and good country.
I am 
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