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The 2023 presidential election is here. And as a responsible Nigerian citizen going out to vote, here are tips on how to dress the part.
Fly our Naija colours
It’s pretty simple. If you want fellow voters to take you seriously, make sure your outfits are green-white-green. A green top, white pants and green shoes.
Or settle for black
When in doubt, wear black. It won’t get stained easily, and it’s symbolic. You’re there to bury the shege of the last eight years after all.
It has to be jeans
This is not the time for ashawo shorts or Ayra Starr skirts. Wear comfortable clothes, so when you need to tell someone you’ll share one trouser, they’d know you mean it.
Or combat shorts
You’re there to fight for your future. So make that clear.
You need them boots
Too bad those red boots haven’t gotten to Nigeria yet. But your shoes still need to give a “I go match you for head” vibe.
Have your shades handy
Not sunglasses, shades. They need to be large and black, like the type our mothers used to wear. So before someone thinks of starting small talk, they’ll look at your face and reconsider.
Zikoko Citizen, in partnership with Stears, will publish the 2023 Nigeria election results here. The 2023 Nigeria Election results are sourced directly from INEC and validated by Stears.
The most interesting Nigerians are the ones you meet on a queue. But this isn’t just any queue. Here are the seven types of people you’re sure to meet at your polling unit come February 25th.
The one who just wants to be comfortable
These guys don’t care how long it’ll take, all that matters is they have their charged power banks, foldable chairs with an umbrella attached, multiple bottles of water, food and snacks. They want to vote but in the most comfortable way, and to be honest, I stan.
The one who came to keep space for all their family members
They’d keep space for themselves and their entire generation unborn, if possible. And you can’t even be upset because, at least, they came to vote.
The pastor who prays before voting starts
You’ll be trying to get yourself together after arriving early to see a long queue, and the next thing, you hear is, “Can we please close our eyes for prayers”. We’ll allow it sha. Maybe God will make people vote right for the good of Nigeria.
The first-time voter
This one is just there to stress about the process. The person at their front or back will get sick of answering questions and start ignoring them. They’ll be alright when they realise it’s not hard — just make your choice and go.
The political analysts
Instead of voting and going home to their families, they find a spot to hang around and argue for hours.
The vote watchers
Just like the political analysts, they stay behind after voting to see who other people have voted for. They’ll interview everyone and just cause a nuisance. Ignoring them is the only way to go.
You
You know what you want from your candidate. You know the future you want for yourself and everyone else. All that matters to you is casting your vote so you can go home and wait for a favourable result. Your vote counts in every way.
It’s not the best time for students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Particularly, students of the College of Medicine (CMUL). Many of them are now in dire straits as it’s likely they’ll be shut out from exercising their voting rights on February 25 due to an order from above.
On February 9, the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) issued a directive to all Nigerian universities. It mandated them to close up shop and suspend academic activities between February 22 and March 14 due to security concerns relating to the election.
In a memo signed on February 20, the UNILAG management ordered students to vacate the premises. However, aside from teaching, the university staff will continue their duties for that period.
How are students reacting to the directive?
Students of CMUL, aka Medilag, are unhappy with the directive. The key reason for their displeasure is that many have polling units (PU) within the school premises. The college is in Idi-Araba, and there are at least seven PUs within the premises of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
These include the Staff Quarters, LUTH, Engineering Department LUTH, School Of Nursing LUTH i, School of Nursing, LUTH ii, Student Hostel LUTH i, Student Hostel, LUTH ii and Student Hostel, LUTH iii.
Citizen spoke to some of them who chose to stay anonymous. Here’s what they had to say.
[newsletter type=”gov”]
Ajoke*
“I’m a student at CMUL, where hundreds of students registered to vote because the LUTH/CMUL campus has seven polling units. The school is now using the NUC directive to close hostels, disenfranchising several students due to supposed security concerns, even despite students’ willingness to sign indemnity forms.
“During the 2019 elections, students successfully voted on the campus. Because of that, many students retained their polling units here while others newly registered for hostel polling units. CMUL students register in school because our hostels are typically open year-round, as some departments do not run a semester programme. Even during strikes, student hostels are usually left open. Last year’s strike was a surprising exception.
I hope publicity about the school management’s decision could sway them. It’s untenable that they’ll disenfranchise so many Nigerians.
“Our union, the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science Students’ Association (COMPSSA), through the student body, reached out to the Provost and College Secretary, but it was futile. Please keep me anonymous. I don’t have my degree yet.”
Dare*
“I’m a registered voter, and my polling unit is within the school premises. I understand that the school wants to protect itself but at what cost? We’ve always been able to vote in school. There are seven polling units in LUTH. It would’ve been nice to know much earlier if there was any inkling of the hostel’s closure during the elections.
“Most people would have been able to change their polling units. When we were on strike, people travelled to Mushin to register their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) there because they assumed they’d be voting in school as usual.
“Because they’ve done it this way, the gesture seems malicious. Like they intentionally don’t want us to vote en masse, which I hope is not the case. This should have been my first time voting, and I was very excited to perform my civic responsibility.
“It was crucial for me to have a say in deciding the people to rule the country next. I’ll have to leave that to everyone else.
“The school should’ve tried to figure out what percentage of people registered to vote in school versus those who registered to vote at home. They should’ve made their decision based on that.
“I want them to allow those registered to vote in school to stay in the hostel until the election ends. Some people may be able to squat somewhere nearby, but I won’t. I’m going straight home.”
Jennifer*
“I have my voter’s card and am not the only student affected. Students were allowed to vote in LUTH PUs during the last election. That’s why newly registered voters in school also chose LUTH as their PU, and we’re all students. Some people registered long ago, and LUTH’s also their PU.
“Some students submitted letters to the department of student affairs (DSA), but they still told us to vacate the hostels. They’re not saying anything about it.
“They should’ve informed us about going home when we could still change our PUs. Not now when we can do nothing about it. We want to vote.”
Rotimi*
“I’m a registered voter, and my PU is within LUTH. Nothing has been said to us directly, but they’ve pasted memos asking us to vacate the hostels. I live in a private hostel inside the school, so it wouldn’t affect me because I was here all through the strike. But I have another friend whose PU is in school and stays in the school hostel.”
Ogbonna*
I’m a registered voter, and my PU is in LUTH. We received a directive via a broadcast (BC) asking us to vacate the hostel by February 22. I was in school for the last election and could vote, so I don’t know why this time’s different. I want the school authority to keep the hostels open so students can vote.
“There’s a petition going around right now to alter the directive but to be honest. I don’t think they’d do anything.
How has UNILAG responded?
Citizen contacted the UNILAG communications department to hear their side of things. They said:
“Thank you for contacting the University’s Communication Unit, via email. As regards your inquiry, please note that:
“All students of the University of Lagos are to vacate the university campus, particularly halls of residence, between 12:00 noon, Wednesday, February 22 and 12:00 noon on Friday, February 24, 2023.
“This is in line with the federal government’s directive that students of higher institutions across the country should vacate their schools ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general election.
“The university will re-open its doors to students from Tuesday, March 14, 2023, even as further updates would be provided as the need arises, in the coming days.”
The day we’ve all been waiting for is almost upon us: we’re 15 days away from Nigeria’s 2023 presidential elections. Some people are anxious about the chaos that might follow after the elections, and others have decided to start fasting and praying to ensure their candidate is victorious at the polls.
But, whatever the case might be, here are some things you must do to at least get through election day and get home in one piece:
Dress properly for the occasion
Make sure you wear light clothes since you might be standing for some time while awaiting accreditation and voting. Also, make sure your shoes or footwear are especially comfortable, just in case you need to run.
You should also take extra care to note the following:
You can’t wear clothes with colours that represent any party
You are not allowed to carry campaign materials to polling units
If you are found guilty of this, according to the electoral act, you’d be required to pay a fine of ₦100k or face imprisonment for six months.
Vote properly
After accreditation, you’ll be given a ballot paper to thumbprint within the box of your preferred party. Make sure your mark appears only within the box and doesn’t cross any lines.
If it does, your vote will be considered invalid. After months of campaigning online, don’t let your village people get you when it’s finally time to cast your vote.
Elections are an opportunity to fight for our lives, but the only weapon you’ll need is your Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). If you’re caught in possession of any harmful weapon, you’ll be fined the sum of ₦100k or face six months imprisonment.
Don’t take or give money
This probably looks like bad advice under the administration of President Bubu and Meffy, especially if the now rare naira notes are being shared.
But taking money from people on election day counts as “undue influence”, and this attracts a fine of ₦100k and up to 12 months imprisonment. So, run away from the temptation; you wouldn’t want to go from your polling unit to prison.
Don’t campaign
Every election season, many people become political analysts, shouting and swearing with almost everything that their candidate is better. Which is fair, except everything should end when you get to your polling unit. Don’t try to convince anyone to vote for your candidate.
If you’re caught doing so within 300 meters of a polling unit, you’d pay a fine of ₦100k or face 6 months imprisonment.
Hopefully, you take some of the advice we’ve given, and if you refuse to, may the odds be ever in your favour.
The Citizen Situation Room and Helpline are your ultimate plugs for real-time gist and drama on the 2023 elections. Join the conversation today!
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Every four years, Nigeria’s enters another election season when politicians visit places they’ll never set foot in again to whisper sweet nothings into voters’ ears.
For the 2023 elections, nothing has changed. Politicians are again making promises they’ll probably forget or find difficult to fulfil if they get what they want.
Let’s take a look at some of them so far.
Fuel will become ₦100 per litre
On January 25, 2023, during a live appearance on Channels Television, Dan Nwanyanwu, presidential candidate of the Zenith Labour Party, promised to revitalise our refineries in 3-4 months.
Source: blueprint.ng
Also, he would build modern refineries in all six geo-political zones. Thus, by the end of his first six months, fuel would be sold for ₦100 per litre, saving us from the problem of independent marketers.
Everyone wants a leader who’d lead them fearlessly into battle. Hamza Al-Mustapha, presidential candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), plans to be just that.
Source: Vanguard
During an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa, he said that if elected president, he’d end our insecurity and terrorism crisis within six months. But that’s not all; he plans to spend his weekends and holidays in the Sambisa forest, where notorious extremist groups like ISWAP and Boko Haram are often camped.
Creation of 30 million jobs
One of the things Adebayo Adewale, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has on his agenda is the creation of 30 million jobs.
Source: Vanguard
He plans to achieve this using cryptocurrency. It sounds promising, but Nigerians have seen this film before, and we didn’t like the ending.
In 2015, President Buhari promised to create 3 million jobs annually, but gave us a 33% unemployment rate instead.
No more generators or foreign education
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has castles in the air, too.
Source: Leadership.ng
While explaining his manifesto, he said if elected, he’d draft a Nigerian Patriot Bill that’d ban public officers from giving their children foreign education.
He also plans to restrict their access to private and foreign hospitals, generators and boreholes for as long as the ordinary people can’t afford these amenities.
In theory, most of these campaign promises sound like good plans and a step towards making our lives easier. However, why do we hear nothing from these politicians after elections, and their campaign promises end up looking like lies?
No punishment for failed promises
Sadly, there is no provision in the law that holds politicians accountable for their campaign promises. As such, fulfilling it or not is entirely up to their hardly reliable goodwill.
Lack of funding
While some elected officials have plans to fulfil what was promised, they soon realise Nigeria –and by extension, states– are only rich on paper. For instance, a report last year showed that Abia state hadn’t paid some of its workers for 22 months. In such situations, the elected government would have to solve the existing problems before fulfilling his campaign promises.
Need for restructuring
Early December 2022, President Buhari, while addressing members of the Senior Executive Course (SEC), accused state governors of being responsible for the poverty level as they were looting local government allocations. According to the president, the local government chairmen would pocket half of what was allocated and thus fail to embark on necessary projects.
An evil we’ve been dealing with for a long time is corruption, and it, unfortunately, begins at the grassroots level. If we’re to experience any real change, the entire system would need to be cleaned and restructured.
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In the past seven and a half years, Nigerians have seen things go from bad to beyond worse. It’s unbelievable that a few years back, we could buy spaghetti for ₦120 or sliced bread for ₦250.
This situation is motivating voter turnout for the 2023 elections. There have been many sensitisation efforts encouraging people to pick up their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) because they won’t be able to vote without them.
“No PVC, no voting.” @inecnigeria chairman Prof Mahmoud Yakubu declares.
Recently, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the final dates for PVC collection to be from January 25-29, 2023. This announcement motivated people sounding the alarm for PVC collection. However, some of the methods employed recently to encourage people to collect their PVCs infringe on their fundamental human rights.
What’s happened now?
On January 26, 2023, a video surfaced on the internet where people – traders and customers without their PVCs were denied entry into the electrical section of the Alaba International Market, Lagos.
This is Alaba international market. No PVC no enter. And if you're coming to buy, show your PVC or go elsewhere 🤓🤓 Vid: Ezima pic.twitter.com/U3FXL2pQU2
An eyewitness explained that the market leaders planned it to ensure everyone went out to vote in the forthcoming elections. Although their enthusiasm can be applauded, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re in a democracy, and people have the choice of whether or not to vote. They can’t and shouldn’t be coerced into it.
Here are some fundamental rights being violated:
Rights to freedom of movement
According to the 1999 constitution (as amended), except for people suspected of or have committed a criminal offence, every Nigerian is free to move freely throughout the country. And barring them from entering anywhere because they don’t have a PVC directly infringes on this right.
Freedom of opinion and expression
Although the best thing for the country would be voter participation,, some Nigerian citizens do not believe in voting for personal or religious reasons. And they are 100% entitled to their beliefs and opinions. Everyone has the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information as long as it doesn’t amount to treason.
While trying to protect our democracy, we should respect other people’s opinions and not turn into the monsters we’re fighting. Additionally, you can be sentenced to imprisonment or made to pay heavy fines if prosecuted for these infringements.
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People with disabilities in Nigeria have especially tough lives. Many of them find it difficult to get good jobs, they suffer from discrimination and stigma and can’t access many public places or facilities like banks, transport buses, hospitals or supermarkets.
Unfortunately, this exclusion spreads into civic activities like voting as many visually impaired Nigerians are unable to effectively exercise their civic rights.
What guidelines has the law made for blind and visually impaired voters?
According to Section 56 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2015: “ (1) A voter who is blind or is otherwise unable to distinguish symbols or who suffers from any other physical disability may be accompanied into the polling unit by a person chosen by him and that person shall, after informing the Presiding Officer of the disability, be permitted to accompany the voter into the voting compartment and assist the voter to make his mark in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Commission.”
Simply put, visually challenged people are allowed to bring someone to help them. But, this undermines the entire voting process because they could be cheated or influenced into voting for candidates they do not support.
However, there is another provision of Section 56 of the Electoral Amendment Act 2015 which states: “The Commission may take reasonable steps to ensure voters with disabilities are assisted at the polling place by provision of suitable means of communication, such as Braille, large embossed print or electronic devices or sign language interpretation, or off-site voting in appropriate cases”.
So, has INEC taken any steps to make the voting process more inclusive?
On May 3, 2018, during a campus outreach at the University of Abuja, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, announced that measures had been taken to ensure visually impaired people could vote unaided. These measures were:
Braille Ballot Guide:This envelope-like leaflet, would help voters identify the names of all the political parties immediately a ballot paper is inserted into it.
Magnifying glasses for persons with albinism.
Was this effective in the 2019 elections?
When these measures were put in place for the 2019 elections, many visually impaired people were happy at the long-awaited inclusiveness and at the chance to have 100 percent confidence in their votes.
Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed as many of them reported that the INEC officials themselves were confused when they asked for a ballot guide. Some officials said they didn’t know what a ballot guide was while others said it wasn’t available in the polling unit.
It’s almost like the talk of inclusiveness had been a fool’s dream. So, once again, voters with visual impairment may rely on the help of others to cast their vote.
Consequences of the lack of inclusivity
Voter apathy
One of the issues facing our electoral system today is voter apathy and this time, INEC might be the one encouraging this. Many visually impaired voters are getting tired of a system that isn’t considerate of their situation. As a result, many of them have sworn to not vote again till a lasting solution is found.
Political candidates are at a disadvantage
Statistics show that there are about 7 million visually impaired people in Nigeria today with a significant fraction being adults of voting age whose votes can be the determining factor to push a candidate to victory. However, if the right medium isn’t provided for them to carry out their civic duty, we shouldn’t really call the elections a free and fair one.
Although INEC has promised again that people with disabilities would be able to vote in the upcoming general elections without issues it’s difficult to take their word for it after the 2019 disappointment.
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These are exciting times for young Nigerians. Unless you’ve been disconnected from the modern world, you’d know that a lot of activities — or what some people would term “distractions” — stand in the way of voters as we approach the 2023 general elections.
On January 15, 2023, we were treated to the latest of them, the Big Brother Titans. The reality show which is hosted by Multichoice on DStv has found popularity among young Nigerian audiences, especially within the Gen Z age bracket. Without much ado, let’s get into the gist of these so-called distractions.
Football
The beautiful game is loved by millions of Nigerians. Lots of us follow the big European leagues like the Italian Serie A and the English Premier League. As title challenges get tougher, so does the decision to select Nigeria’s next President.
Let’s face it, you won’t always watch your team play. Either because you’re unavailable or in some cases — like Chelsea fans will tell you — your team isn’t fun to watch.
You can stream the highlights later while you dedicate election weekends to voting. Suspend watching football or even playing football so you don’t disenfranchise yourself as a registered voter.
Netflix (and chill)
2023 will see lots of great shows featured on your favourite streaming services like Netflix, Prime and Showmax. There’s also the chill component which should be more than enough to distract you from any pressing issues, including elections.
We ask that you take two days off — February 25 and March 11 — to exercise your civic duties. The elections come once in four years. You can always return to Netflix, so chill.
TGIF
Everyone looks forward to the end of a work week, which makes Friday everyone’s favourite day. Trouble is, you could party too hard on Friday and get completely hungover on Saturday which is election day.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t be a baller, we’re only saying you shouldn’t forget to mark February 25 on your calendar. Let’s get out there and vote the right people in so we don’t become mechanics.
BBTitans
BBTitans is a reality show that brings together housemates from two countries, Nigeria and South Africa. It’s the first time this is happening. The original shows in the respective countries are Big Brother Naija (BBN) and Big Brother Mzansi. This merger will see the best — and worst — of both cultures battle it out over 72 days for the grand prize of $100,000.
The show’s title alludes to the fact that the two countries are the continent’s economic titans vying for supremacy.
Meanwhile, Nigerians on social media have held interesting opinions regarding the show’s timing. One account referred to the organisers as part of an “organized crime syndicate.”
Then there’s this guy below concerned about the “over 20 housemates” that will determine the outcome of the 2023 elections. An election with over 93 million eligible voters.
While these are no doubt comical, there’s nothing that says you can’t have the best of both worlds. Go out and vote for your candidate during the day and then vote for your favourite housemate up for eviction in the evening.
Social media
Twitter is a fun place to be for banter and the occasional dragging. It’s also a place to get lost in, same as other social media platforms around like TikTok, Facebook or YouTube.
While we’re all for having fun, don’t do it at the expense of missing out on voting on election day. It’s the least you owe yourself if you truly want Nigeria to get better.
In summary, there are enough distractions to go around — those are unavoidable. You shouldn’t, however, use them as excuses to not exercise your civil rights. Big Brother, football, Netflix or Twitter will always be there. The polling booth on the other hand will be closed for voting by 4pm on the election days.
So the ultimate question is, would you rather trade a moment of inconvenience for four years of suffering?
We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.
One unfortunate feature of Nigerian elections that has refused to go away is violence in varying forms. It’s the kind of baggage no one wants, but everyone has to deal with it because some people still treat elections as do-or-die.
What’s happened now?
On November 27, 2022, unknown people set fire to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The incident happened around 10 a.m.
Did anyone get hurt?
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the attack. But INEC lost some materials, including:
Unknown number of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC)
340 ballot boxes
130 voting cubicles
14 electric power generators
Large water storage tanks
Office furniture
We’ve seen this before
On November 10, 2022, arsonists attacked INEC offices in Abeokuta South, Ogun State and Ede South, Osun State. You can’t help but notice the sad trend in these events.
Over the past three years, similar attacks have occurred in different parts of the country: Abia, Rivers, Anambra, and Imo. According to the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, about 50 INEC offices have been attacked by arsonists in 21 states.
What does this mean for the 2023 elections?
The electoral process is sabotaged
One of the critical things needed for a free and fair election is the availability of important things like PVCs and ballot boxes. The attack on the INEC office in Abeokuta South destroyed 65,699 uncollected PVCs. This creates a problem for INEC to reproduce new cards which we can’t say always works out. If those PVCs aren’t replaced it would deny some Nigerians their rights to vote.
Political apathy
Attacks on INEC offices are designed to heighten tensions and keep voters away from polling units because they seem unsafe. Nigeria already has a big issue with low turnout of voters and apathy caused by threat of violence will only make it worse. After all, who wants to be an unwilling martyr?
Hopefully, the Nigerian security forces will take appropriate measures to secure INEC offices better and find a way to arrest the criminals. The fate of the country being decided at the polls depends on it.
Yesterday Aunty Oby declared her bid to run for presidency. Now, this might be the best news we’ve gotten since Burna Boy dropped Ye (our new national anthem).
As expected what is likely to follow after this announcement is a slew of interviews and press runs.
So here’s a public service announcement for all the members of the Nigerian Press. There are a thousand and one questions we should be asking Oby Ezekwesili right now, but they shouldn’t include any of these.
May we meet you?
So what we will call your husband if you win? Is it first husband?
If you become president where will you find the time to be cooking for your husband/will you still be cooking for your husband?
What does your husband think of you running for presidency?
Do you think Nigeria is ready for a female president? Don’t you think you should wait a few years for your turn?
Don’t you think you’d stand a better chance running alongside a man as Vice President?
You can never win, so why are you running?
So if you win how are you going to balance being president with your family life?
If you become president, how do you think it’ll affect your home?
Do you think as a woman you are up to the task of being president?
Did you ask for your husband’s permission before you declared?
What of your pastor? Did you ask for his permission?
As a woman do you think you have what it takes to become the president of Nigeria?
You know you should be asking? About her plans to fix the country’s debt situation, or how she’s going to provide more jobs, or improve national security. Thanks and God bless.
