 Your PVC is not the answer, your vote is. The main contenders are in, the aspirants are ready, the real politicain is about to start. The electorate is cared, excited, apprehensive, agitated, and every other emotion in between. The drumming of getting PVC is reaching a favorite pitch. Unfortunately, the almighty PVC will not solve your problems this election season. Only your votes will. So yes, I know, you cannot vote without a PVC. However, recent statistics have shown that the main problem is voter apathy, not actually the PVC in itself. I mean, let's look at some numbers. In 2011, some to 3,528,000 people registered to vote, but only 53.68% of those people showed up. That's about half of that number. In 2015, 68.833 million people registered to vote, and only 43.6% turned up. Again, less than half of that number. In 2019, the most recent election, there were 82.344 million registered voters. The highest of them in the history of Nigeria, but unfortunately, only 34.75% were less than half of that number showed up at the police station. So for three election cycles, 30 million people in the first one, 40 million in the second and 50 million people, respectively in the third cycle, registered to vote, but they didn't show up on election day. And that exactly is the problem. Leaders do not win election on election days. Trust me, election is already ongoing right now. That gives have chosen your candidates for you. If you're not careful, they will also go ahead and choose your leader for you. Let's put this further in numbers perspective. In 2011, 30 million plus registered voters did not vote, and that election was decided by about 10 million votes. In 2015, 40 million plus registered voters did not vote, and that election was decided by less than three million votes. In 2019, about 50 million registered voters still did not vote, and that particular election was divided by four million votes. So does that tell you the actual problem? The actual problem is not your PVCs, it's actually voting on election day. In 2023, what are the margins needed to win this election? Just think about it, it's a numbers game. So advocate that will set up a database of voters to constitute a third force. We actually have the numbers. We have the people. We have the funds. Everybody just needs to chip in here and there. We can set up the structure, and we have the youth technology. We have the diaspora. We have the know-how on our side. We can make a loud statement if we actually vote. Very, very interesting angle to look at it. Just like when I'd normally tell startup founders that ideas are zero dollars, execution is the game. Absolutely. It is a person that moves first that gets the answer. So ideas are like the PVC, which is I've gotten the PVC registered, and just putting myself out there openly. I mean, I'm putting myself very responsible to the whole world, right? I checked just to confirm that, where I reserve my PVC is still intact, and I haven't gone to pick it. I've been scheduling and scheduling. I think with what you've said now, you've triggered me to really make our time this week and go get it, because I voted last time and I had moved to places and all of those things. So you just got me thinking that, I think, or no, I think, I believe you're correct that it is not the PVC, it is the vote, which is that day they're not gonna count, oh, let's count how many PVCs that are in, so let's mark them, oh, this PVC, are you for this person? I'm gonna ask this PVC questions. They're going to count votes. And again, the votes that we cast. So I believe it's something that we can start from our space, and here's what I'm proposing, right? I recall then where I used to work in the last two elections, I think 2011 elections, and they had, would always ask in every stand-up meeting, guys who got in your PVC, you're voting, and sure you come out to vote, so it was always a song and it was almost like we're going to deduct your salaries if you don't vote, so it was almost like that. But I thought that also triggered some action. I think what we can do is, in our space, back to what I said about values, as you're probably, Tina with your friends, ah, guys, how far now? We need to take this in serious. You go to ATM point. Guys, have you got in your PVC? I mean, you just engage people. You get on Uber, you're asking the Uber driver. Hope say you go vote here. You know, let's begin to consciously, not just say go and get your PVC. Are you going to come out to vote, you know? I think it's a very good thing. I love it. You see, one question actually begets the other. True. So if you say, oh, go and get your PVC's, then people get PVC's, they don't show up in elections, but if you say to people to vote, then they understand that to vote, they must get their PVC's. So we're missing the actual point. That's very intelligent. The actual point is not the PVC. Because the PVC's, the last elections, it's two million registered voters. It's crazy. Less than 40%. 50 million people refused to vote in that election. That was won by less than four million margins, four million people margin. So you must ask yourself, imagine just half of those 50 million people that didn't vote that comes together and say, you know, these are candidates who are waiting for. Who would have a different result? It's true. It's really not the PVC. So the PVC is important, but the voting is more important. So you must begin to ask the question, when you meet someone, are you going to vote? And they say, oh, I'm going to vote. Then they say, okay, now go and register and make sure you get your PVC. Fantastic. I think we need to start asking that question. My point is PVC's are not just mis-of-identification. Absolutely. Some of them will tell you, I have my PVC, no goofy. They'll say I'll be able to get time. I want this to go by the count. That's number one. Number two, the government should try as much as possible to enable the facilitation. To facilitate the process. You want to go to collect your PVC, the crowd there can discourage people. Some people have weak faiths. It's not everybody that is as dogged as you, that want to stand long. So in Q, you know, some Nigerians are easily discouraged. Like today, let me tell you what happened. I was coming from Ojo today. So I was coming and then on my way, I saw that, I saw this mammoth crowd in front of Ojo local government. Today, sort of, today being, so I saw them standing in front of the local government which placard, we need our PVC, we need our PVC. I don't know what was happening. I said, okay, I was like, wow, I wish one of these... Those are the movements that we need to be happy now. No, they were there. They actually went to pick up their PVC. Obviously, someone is not responding to them. So the government should try and facilitate the process. We don't make this in difficult. So that people can just do this and get out of it. So everybody have that strength and are standing out to stand long and waiting for people to go back. Yes, because again, when I looked at the numbers, right, there are two things that I concurrence I came to because numbers don't lie. So it's one of two things. It's either there's actual voter apathy where people refuse to show up on election day or because remember, they're registered voters or people actually register and don't pick up their visas to vote. Or there's a system that's been designed to frustrate people from getting their PVC. And that itself is voter suppression. So you sleep for two days, you know. And voter suppression is actually an actual crime. So maybe people will start suing the eye neck. Yeah, right. Look at the system. Why should it be so difficult if I can walk into a bank and literally five minutes I get my debit card out? What can I do? Why should the PVC be more difficult to get? It's very true. We need to hold the eye neck to a very high. It must be that easy to get. I must literally walk into a space and in five minutes I can get my PVC. But you see, they understand also that they have it Nigerian because the apathy already exists. All they need to do is just trigger it. Trigger that apathy and you have given up. Yeah. And that's the margin. And that facet is rigging. Yes, absolutely. Can we talk to Coyote if Coyote is still here with us? OK, he's not. OK. So that's the margin that makes the difference. That facet is that rigging because, you know, someone said, I mean, when I said this, I knew I was correct, right? Which is rigging needs something to trigger it. Nobody just wakes up and says, you know what, I'm just going to do something. There has to be just like in chemical reaction, you need something that triggers, something that triggers. I'm not sensitive, I don't know. But he's talking about a chain reaction. Yeah, still reactions. But the truth is, if there is no favorable, and I mean you did biology, so you know photosynthesis, sound like concert. There has to be the perfect condition for photosynthesis to happen. There has to be the condition created consciously or subconsciously for rigging to happen. And oftentimes, we are subconsciously creating that condition by what you said. Number one, not going to pick up your PVCs. Number two, the system frustrating you from picking up your PVCs. Number three, picking up the PVCs and not actually going out of voicing. I beg, they know who is going to come in. And because of that, so it's now learned helplessness. Since I know that even if I vote, it will not count. So because of that, my vote will not count. I refuse to vote. And guess what? If 10 million of me, or 10 million people think like me, rigging out. Absolutely, and that was a fraction of 200 million people. This is the strategy for rigging, please. That is your belief, coming to place. A lot of Nigerians have lost hope in the country, forgetting that they have no other country. This is Nigerians, we have the opportunity to go to America and behave way. Go to UK and abide by the principle. Yeah, in Nigeria, you feel you're a bank, make the go sit down. Election is a public opportunity for them. Yeah, I know a lot of people that would think, I beg, I beg, let me rest, I beg. This election is public opportunity for them. And I think also there's a... Should we give it our country? Yeah, I'm sorry. So I think also there's a narrative redesign I want to start doing. There's a narrative problem. And there are several. So for instance, someone says, oh, my vote will not count. There has to be a narrative shift. Around that, right? Think about it. If your vote does not count, then why are they buying votes? It counts. Why are they buying people? True. That's because they expect those people to vote, because it's those numbers. Because like you said, there must be a platform for rigging to take place. Someone cannot rig on zero votes. Exactly. You must have 200 votes for him to say, oh, it was 2000. You saw when they were counting the thing yesterday, the guy went from 79 to 100. You know? Yeah, they, you know, during the primary. I guess it's... You had to accommodate the 79 to get to 100. The guys who had zero, they knew they would have gotten to 79 in the first place. Exactly. So you have to create the first. That's why we are enabling that. And we're enabling the rigging process. Yeah. So you must make people understand. Every time we say, oh, after all the votes won't count, you must let them realize that if your vote did not count, why would they be coming to give you money? Because that's because they need you to cast your vote for the rigging to happen. So if you're going to make a change, it's the same environment we have to create. Because think about it. If you have 15 million people not voting, just think about it. It's 2019. It's a very ludicrous number. And imagine how frustrated we were in 2019. And 15 million people decided not to show up on election day. So the question is, are we actually really tired? You must think about it. Those are heavy numbers. That's a quarter of Nigerian population. Yeah. Not sure. Not showing up on election day. And these people registered. So the critical question is not asking ourselves. So that's one narrative. The other narrative is, oh, they already know who's going to be there. If they already know who's going to be there, then why are they not going to see elections? Yeah. Because they spend a lot of money. And billions of Naira go into planning, preparation. So why do you waste all that money if you don't? One of the guys, this is the new president. Thank you, goodbye. Which is why I'm saying that elections are already taking place now. Exactly. Elections are not on election day. Exactly. That's why I think that Nigerians won't understand. Elections are not on election day. They're one way before. So look at yesterday now. So today was the deadline to present Candice for Georgia. Which means that by today, you have no choice as to who you are going to vote for. I said those that are already there. As to who you vote for. Do you know what I'm saying? So now they've presented seven people. You must vote for one of these seven people. Exactly. Which is why Nigerians will not come and say, oh, we're voting for the lesser evil. But what happened to you, making sure that you had no evil in that mix, in the first place? Yeah. Which is why what needs to get involved. You need to get involved in politics. It's a wrong map. In your community, it takes a while. But I believe that if we start to create that critical mass now, we would absolutely get there. What was the youth population of Nigeria? Sure, sure. You must think about it. That's why I say that we have to encourage religious organizations, bodies, religious bodies. They can see there's no politics should not be missed in religion. Now we have to mix it now. Tell your members to go and get involved. I think it's Pasta said that. No, it doesn't count. That's because we've seen it count. That's a bit so. Pastors and Imams. It was funny, but that's a bit dicey because the reason it's dicey is because. The reason why that's a bit dicey is because a lot of times the leaders of these organizations also align with some politicians. And in the event that the person your leader is aligned with, does not align with your own personal values, then how do you? So what I think that the religious person needs to do is to encourage registration, encourage voting, encourage participation. It's not just to say, oh, go and vote for this person because a lot of times, we've heard a lot of some of these people that get involved in some of these politicians and there's a lot of inconsistencies in that area. So I think that we just need to start encouraging their people to get involved in early participation. True. I'm looking at the truth. What I mean, that's what I said. Okay. Repetitions of religion should be non-partisan but should encourage healthy politicians. First things first, encourage your members to get their PVCs. I'm not saying Pasta shouldn't do any candidacy. You don't necessarily have to do any candidacy. Even if you're the Pasta, you're running yourself. You don't have the right to compare your members to vote for you. Let your work and your values and your vision and your idea and your speech for you. But they should go and get their PVC. And vote. Yeah. You need to get your PVC and vote. You need to get your PVC and vote. Tolu, thank you so much. I mean, just for your up, thanks so much for bringing this to fore. It's really amazing what you've said because that vote is the action, like it's the completion of the exercise. Absolutely. So once we shift the message to, are you voting? Why are you not voting? I don't get PVC. Why don't you have PVC? So we begin to take out the root cause of the, but if you say, go and get your PVC, oh, I'll get it later. So that means action ends at when I have my PVC. That's what works subconsciously. And what Tolu is saying today really is to charge us. And again, I'm bringing to bear what I said before. All advocates, right? And everybody in Nigeria, literally, we can control this one, which is the people in your circle of influence, we can actually begin to ask them, are you voting? And it's a very good thing Tolu has said. Thank you so much Tolu. Yeah, thank you. So I mean, absolutely, like you said, until we ask the right questions, sometimes we won't get the right answer. So the question is actually, do you plan to vote? If you plan to vote, then surely you must get a PVC to vote. We thank you for your attention while the program lasted. We hope that our conversations resonated with you and that in some small way, we may be to encourage you to contribute to your immediate environment. Little drops of water, they say, make a mighty ocean. Don't forget, the advocacy continues on our social media platforms on Facebook, plus TV Africa, hashtag the AdvocatesNG, and on Twitter and Instagram, at plus TV Africa, hashtag the AdvocatesNG. 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