By Bayo Fasunwon

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In my formative years, one had the rare privilege of living with many married couples, (newly married, married with children, grandparents and even married without children). In that process, one gets to learn a lot of lessons about relationships. Sometimes, the couples yours truly lived with would fight throughout the night, and beam with smiles in the midst of their friends later in the day. Many ironies, confusing temperaments and outcomes were witnessed. That made one to conclude that every home has its nature of madness, conflict resolution and coping strategies. Therein, it was learnt that relationships are neither sustained by love, wealth or spirituality, but by commitment. 

Every home that stands in the midst of a raging storm did so by the commitment of the couples to maintain the relationship, mostly for the sake of their children and the survival of the society. It was in this school of the married that yours truly learnt a vital lesson. A married woman called me aside and advised that under no circumstance should a man reject the wife’s food, after quarrel. She opined that the man who has already paid for the food would lose, and possibly have ulcer. Seems the apathetic electorate are unaware of the losses they incur in their boycott of the elections.

This piece is being written as the gubernatorial election winds up in Nigeria. The results trickling in show that Nigerians have literally boycotted the elections. Some polling units that have about 5000 registered voters recorded a total of just 15 votes. All other voters were either indoors or playing football in the street. At the just concluded Presidential poll, the elected President in a country with over 200 million Nigerians won by the votes of less than 6.9 million Nigerians. The basic truth therefore is that Nigeria’s democracy is the rule of the minority. Thus, politicians who understand that in theory, Nigeria practices oligarchy find it easy to migrate from one political party to the other in order to have their share of the national cake. Meanwhile, the unschooled Nigerians, and the schooled who opted to embrace mediocrity and myopic reasoning, opted to forsake their hard-fought democratic rights on the altar of flimsy excuses. Now, Democracy in Nigeria has become the government of the oligarchies, ordained by  few electorate for the masses who continue to whine in pain. Why have the electorate refused to vote?

Watching an interview online, a young man submitted that because the person he supported in the last Presidential election did not win, it means that the election was rigged, and that his votes did not count. So why waste time to vote again. In his ignorance, he failed to realise that failure at elections is a pointer to the fact that votes were counted, but that the cumulative results did not favour his candidate. Besides, if votes do not really count, what would a party present at election tribunals? If votes do not really count, why would parties take the efforts at rigging elections? Apart from votes, what else do they count during elections? There is nothing to add to nothing to arrive at a value greater than the primary number(s). So, when people refuse to vote, they ensure that those voted for (competent or incompetent) carry the day. And whose fault is it that mediocre occupy the seat of power? The apathetic electorate. Imagine that the 82 million registered and PVCs  carrying Nigerians voted in this election, the majority would have most likely chosen the candidate to captain the sinking ship of this nation to safety. But no thanks to boycott, we must accept and live with the consequences of our childish decisions at all levels of governance. The failure of government is therefore, ab initio, the failure of the people in performing their civic duties.

In the ongoing election, some electorates especially in States where the gubernatorial election did not hold, explained that they have no interest in voting for the members of the Houses of Assembly. To them, it is no big deal. As far as such are concerned, the governor is the only deal. Yours truly laughed in Latin. These highly, but ignorantly convinced individuals are quite unaware of the principles of separation of powers and the constitutional functions of the Assembly.  They have forgotten that the laws that govern their interface with the Governor, and their daily interactions with fellow citizens are promulgated and made into operational laws by the honourable members of the assembly.

In other words, the Executive arm of government only carries out the promulgations of the Assembly. By the principles guiding the Assembly, they can make laws on any matter, and once passed become binding. The people that must be given such powers should therefore not be the people of shallow thoughts, and least education. They must be people who are trained in humanity, certified in leadership, understand science, versatile in critical thinking, know much of little, and have little knowledge in much. In other words, popularity should not be promoted over intelligence, when it comes to choosing people into the Assembly. However, when elections are boycotted, any person may emerge, based on the decisions of the ignorant (when the intellectual rests in civil disobedience). So, when the Assembly is compromised, governance becomes a dictatorship, and the people live in chains.

Furthermore, we all fail to realise that apart from the Local Government Council, the closest and true representative of the people at other tiers of government is the Assembly. Thus, it comprises of representatives from all over the State and or country. These ‘Honourables’ are supposed to interact with members of their constituencies, aggregate and articulate their demands, and take decisions on such. Those issues that need promulgation would receive the needed attention and those that need the actions of the executive shall be relayed to them. It is the performance of these functions that makes them agents of development, attraction to the grassroots. Beyond these, in their oversight functions, they can by the various committees they belong to, act as the watchdog to contractors and public servants, who may err in the course of carrying out their roles in the development of the society. Most importantly, they act as a check against the arbitrary rule of the executive. Given their power of inquiry, and impeachment, any erring undemocratic and power intoxicated Governor or President may be shown the door. Thus, we see that the Assembly members are vital tools of democratic dividends to the people.

When we boycott the elections that could bring in the versatile, intelligent and articulate representatives into the Assembly, we have just shot ourselves in the leg. When apathetic electorate allow the mediocre to sit in the hallowed chambers, the chamber of change becomes the chamber of chaos, prebendal and rubber stamping (dis)honourables. This election is past, and we shall reap the consequences of our actions. In the next elections, let us think deep and more than twice before we embrace apathy.