Inec resorts to using vuvuzelas to get voters out as apathy results in very low turnout

INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (Inec) officials in Lagos State had to resort to using vuvuzelas to call our voters in certain areas in response to voter apathy as millions of people simply lost interest in yesterday's governorship and house of assembly elections.

On February 23, Nigerians appeared very enthusiastic and passionate as they trooped out to vote in the presidential and National Assembly elections. However, yesterday, that enthusiasm was missing as poling centres no longer had that buzz and turnout was extremely low compared with a fortnight ago.

In most states across the country, voters stayed away from the polling units due to a combination of reasons including violence, a heavy military presence, the harassment of opposition parties and a generally held belief by many that their votes would not count. As a result, canvassers in parts of Lagos like Eric Moore, Surulere and Ifako Ijaiye had to resort to using vuvuzela and bells to urge voters to come out and exercise their civic duty sand in some cases they knocked on the to ask people to come out and vote.

Outside Lagos, in Rivers State, reported cases of ballot box snatching as happened during the presidential election added to the fear of voters. Across the state, the heavy deployment of policemen and army personnel in most of the places made a lot of residents stay at home rather than risk their security.

Inec presiding officers and election observers said that the queues were shorter compared with two weeks ago, while at some units, officials were virtually idle. At the Malamawa poling unit in Daura for instance, the presiding officer, Kassimu Adamu-Giza, blamed the low turnout on the failure of politicians, particularly legislators, to fulfil their campaign promises.

He added: “You were here during the presidential election when the turnout was massive but in this one, it is low because people feel the local politicians don’t meet their expectations. They think that they are voting for nothing, which is the type of awareness that the voters have here.”

At the Majima Primary School voting centre also in Daura, local presiding officer Aisha Lawal-Rabe, said the people were more interested in the presidential poll and came out more because of  the Buhari factor. It appears that this time around, there was not enough to motivate voters to come out.