The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday released the total number of eligible voters for the 2023 elections as well as the demographics. According to chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, 93.4 million Nigerians will participate in the elections, which will commence with the Presidential and National Assembly polls, on February 25 this year. Out of the total number of 93,469,008 voters for the elections, 49,054,162 or 52.5 percent are males while 44,414,846 or 47.5 percent are females.
More details of the voting demographics show that 37,060,399 or 36.65 percent of the voters fall between the ages of 18 and 34 and 33,413,591 or 35.75 percent of the voters are middle aged persons between the ages of 35 and 49. In the same vein, 17,700,270 or 18.94 percent of the voters are categorized as elderly voters within the ages of 50 and 69, while 5,294,748 or 5.66 percent of the voters are people above 70 years of age. Instructively, students constitute 26,027,481 or 27.8 percent of the voters.
Based on the INEC figures and age distribution of the voters, it is obvious that the youths or the youthful population will likely determine the outcome of the election. The women population is also vital for the outcome of the poll as they constitute almost half of the voting population. Therefore, the 2023 general election is about Nigeria and its future. It is also about the future of Nigerian youths, who constitute the bulk of the eligible voters. It is about the unemployed youths and the 133 Nigerians who are multi-dimensionally poor due to no fault of theirs but by the ineptitude of our visionless and nepotistic political leaders.
The 2023 election is also about men and women, especially those whose lives have been worsened by the arrested development of the country caused by self-serving, unpatriotic leaders and their cronies in power. This election is about the migratory generation, known as Japa in local parlance as well as the migratory workers in the health and education sectors and the IT sector as well. This election is about the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other workers unions in the varsity system and other tertiary institutions of learning, it is about disgruntled youths, who are victims of police brutality and the inequality of our governance system.
It is also about those short-changed by the awkward Nigerian political system and all those marginalized and excluded from the nation’s democracy and politics. It is about the downtrodden masses, who wish to speak with their votes, and those, who want to vent their dissension of the extant bad system with their votes. It is also about those who want the replacement of the old decadent order with a new forward-looking order.
It is about those, who want a clean break from our ugly past to embrace a system that works, a system that is accountable and responsive. The 2023 poll is about those, who desire real change and those, who are eager to see Nigeria achieve its manifest destiny and the dreams of our founding fathers. They want to see a Nigeria for all Nigerians, irrespective of tribe or creed.
Contrary to some inappropriate and uninformed views held in some quarters that the energy of the youths will fizzle out so soon before the 2023 general election, the youths more than any other demography will determine the likely outcome of the election. They really hold the ace and will definitely speak with their votes. And they will speak with youthful energy, zeal and eagerness. From all the six geopolitical zones, the youths will speak with one voice and reclaim the country. They will work in concert to take over the leadership of the country and reposition it on the path of rectitude and development.
It is, indeed, their time to take up the challenge of leadership. It is also their chance to redeem the country and make it efficient and attractive for investors and Nigerians in Diaspora to come back. Rebuilding Nigeria is a mission they will embrace and fulfill. History beckons on them to do so. The future of Nigeria belongs to the youths, who still have the energy and expertise in all fields to renew the nation and make it grow and glow once again.
And contrary to some erroneous postulations by some armchair critics that a combative youth movement of a popular political party will go the way of other partisan youth movements as far as the 2023 election is concerned, the actual fact is that the movement in question is, indeed, a pan-Nigerian movement comprising the youths, the middle aged and the elderly, it cut across all age groups and gender. Those saying that the movement will fizzle out soon are deluding themselves or merely embarking on such falsehood to satisfy certain interests, including material.
This members of the movement constitute the biggest voting bloc in the 2023 polls. When people try to make an issue out of party structure, they should understand that it is human beings, who constitute the so-called party structures. Party structure is not about concrete beams and iron bars as in a building, it is about human beings, who are members of that party, and the more the number is shrinking, the worst for the structure of such a party. Those still dreaming of achieving electoral results based on the decadent and corrupt party structures will surely be disappointed with the deployment of BVAS and other technological devices for the 2023 poll by INEC.
That is why some politicians are harassing INEC leadership and trying to use other tactics to stop the use of BVAS and others during the election. Good enough, they did not succeed and they won’t succeed. Anyone opposed to the use of BVAS during the election is not patriotic, he does not wish the country to survive. Any group against the use of BVAS during the poll is not democratic and is not a lover of democracy.
The youths and other eligible Nigerian voters must go and collect their permanent voters cards (PVCs). It is by collecting their PVCs that their votes will be made to count in the elections. Without the PVCs, no eligible voter will be allowed to vote. Fortunately, President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians and the international community that the 2023 general election will be free, fair and credible. Similarly, INEC’s boss has promised to make the poll the best in the history of elections in the country. Nigerians are believing them and hoping that they will keep to their promises.
The 2023 poll is a watershed for Nigeria. It is an election like no other in the annals of the country. Its outcome will make or mar Nigeria. That is why President Buhari and Prof. Yakubu must ensure that the poll is not rigged. They will ensure that the wishes of all eligible Nigerian voters are respected. Their votes should count and be made to count. It is vital that the government shall provide adequate security before, during and after the elections.
Getting the election right means that Nigeria will make the needed progress and do a catch-up with its peers around the world. The world is moving on and will not wait for Nigeria to join the race of highly developed nations. To make Nigeria great again is desirable, the choice is ours. We must not fail this time around.
