Calm down, Cast your votes and Carry on

Take it easy – very easy.

The election isn’t the only thing happening today 🤷. 

February 25 is either your birthday or just another day. Today, babies will be born, some toddlers will take their first steps. Look over your shoulder at the polling queue, the love of your life might be standing right there👩‍❤️‍👨. 

Hey, focus!

There’s an election this morning. 

However, you can’t vote if you’re one of the 6.26 million registered voters without their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), according to data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In all, 6.7% of the 93.47 million (93,469,008) total registered voters for the 2023 general elections don’t have their PVCs.

But you can still do something. 

Though you can’t vote, still, you have a voice. You could wake your neighbour up to leave home early for their accreditation. You could cheer up your spouse as she proceeds to cast her ballot.

Oh, If you’ve got your PVC, just head off straight to your Polling Unit and perform your duty to our dear country.

The fact is, some states have people with more PVCs than others. Yet, what matters, in the end, is how many of them turn out to vote.

So, to increase the chances of your candidate winning, you must step out to vote now.

Calm Down

As you set out to vote today, remember you’re not voting for Nigeria’s president alone!

You’ll be voting for 2 other persons – the Senator to represent your senatorial zone and the Federal Representative to represent your constituency in the National Assembly.

Do you know these guys at all? Can you mention the names of these 2 other guys🤦

You’ll also need to calm down if you observe some logistic hitches. INEC’s mostly ad-hoc field staff are people like you and me who only answered this high call to the service of the fatherland. Just relax, everything will be alright.

Right from the Commission’s distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards to people, data showed that the more the number of registered voters in a region of the country, the less the proportion of PVCs INEC was able to distribute, and vice versa.

While its possible some registered voters simply refused to turn up to collect their PVCs, the inverse relationship between the population of registered voters and the proportion of PVCs collected may also be pointing towards the Commission’s insufficient hands and logistics.

Another source of worry is whether your vote will count. Yes, it does. It doesn’t matter where you are, the state or region of the country, your vote counts. Calm down and proceed to cast your vote.

Calm Down

On election day, emotions run high,

As we cast our ballots and await the reply,

Of who will lead us through the coming years,

And calm seems far, amid all the cheers and jeers.

But in the midst of this election strife,

There lies a place of peaceful life,

Where noise recedes and worries fade,

And anxiety’s grip begins to abate.

It’s a moment to pause, take a breath,

And set aside our worries and our stress,

To remember that life goes on,

No matter who wins, no matter who’s gone.

We can find calm in the knowledge that,

We’re all part of something bigger than that,

A nation of people, all working together,

To create a better world, no matter the weather.

So on this day of great importance,

Let’s strive to find calm and not let our hearts tense,

For we have the power to make a change,

To create a better world, free of pain and rage.

Let’s focus on the common goal,

And let our hearts and minds be whole,

With love guiding us through,

We’ll make it through this election, just me and you.

Composed with Chat GPT

Cast your Vote

Yeah. If you know your polling unit already, that’s great. Proceed there early. 

Voting starts at 8.30 am and ends at 2:30 pm. However, the INEC Chairman assured that any voter in the queue before 2:30 pm would be allowed to vote even if voting goes beyond the official closing time. No voter would be disenfranchised. 

If you need directions to your polling unit, it’s easy. Click this link and follow the prompts.

It does not matter whether you are voting in a region or state of the country where people have more or fewer PVCs. What matters most is what you do with your own PVC.

Whether you are a first-time voter or not, voting comes with a sense of empowerment that you’ve made a statement that your voice and that of others count in shaping the future of our country or your community.