 Welcome back, still the ballot right here on PlusTVAfrica, I'm a breakfast special. We are still talking about the election 2023 and the governorship and state houses of elections, state houses of assembly elections which held on Saturday in some places on Sunday. One of the major talking points as far as the elections that held on Saturday are concerned is a low voter turnout. Well, a low voter turnout was witnessed across the 28 states where elections were conducted in Nigeria in the 2023 governorship and state houses of assembly polls. Exactly three weeks ago Nigerians went to the polls to elect their president, senators and House of Representatives members out of a total of 93.47 million registered voters. Only 224 million persons representing 26.72% voted in the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections. Following the postponement of the state-level elections from March 11 to 18 by the independent national electoral commission Nigerians decided to come out again to exercise their franchise but the number of voters were not as high as that of February 25. In Lagos state which has over 7 million registered voters according to report by the Guardian newspaper in some parts of the state, particularly in Festak, no voter was seen at some polling units as at 8.40 am. Meanwhile, the polls opened at 8.30 am. In River state, it was the same report in the local government that has the highest number of voters. Low voter turnout was reported. The electorate said they were unhappy with the outcome of the February 25 election hence the decision to stay away. Now what are the reasons responsible for low voter turnout in that election? We are glad to have joining us this morning to discuss this. A social reformer, an author and thinker, Mr. Andy Acportive. He joins us via the phone from Port Hacott River state. Andy, good morning to you. Thank you very much for your time. Yes, good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Lagos. So would you agree with this report that we've just put out that the election in River state was characterized by very low voter turnout? Andy, can you hear me, please? Can you hear me? Yes, yes, I can hear you now. Yes, I think so. You know, like last Saturday, that they were not going to do like they did under the presidential and national assembly elections that held on the 25th. As a matter of fact, there were a lot of people who were home. Some were playing football. There were a lot of them who thought that the process was already fit a company. If they did what they did in the presidential and state national assembly election, they were sure that it was going to repeat itself for the Gubernatoria and the state houses of assembly, right? So that's why a lot of people stayed out. I particularly went around, you know, a lot of places, a lot of polling units in River state and found that the people became the words to use would be despotency and apathy, you know. They were very apathetic and despotent. Rather, I just stay at home to come out. According to some of them, waste their time. Okay. I mean, I spoke to some analysts who like yourself, you know, had some things to say about the turnout and one or two people say, if you don't use the word apathy, use the word low voter turnout because apathy will mean that the voters are not interested in the election. But the person who said this to me said that he feels that, you know, voters are interested in the election, but they are choosing not to come out. Not because they're not interested. So do you agree with that view, you know, that it's more of, you know, low turnout than apathy? So there's a lot of noise in the background, though. I would request that you tell your people to, you know, become with the noise of the background. However, if I guess what you're saying, when you are actually saying that it would not rather use the word low voter turnout than apathy, anybody who says that, I'm sure the person should be referred back to the English dictionary to go and look at the word apathy. Why would there be low voter turnout? That's what they should ask themselves. People who voted 25th of February did not come out. And you say you should rather call it low voter turnout. What does that even mean? It is, there's something that is sponsoring, quote, unquote, that is giving cost to, that is giving fire and service to the low voter turnout. And that is apathy. The people are despotent. The people are tired of this rate of this term. You know, the people are tired. INEC has just simply come to do play by their playbook, you know, dancing to the whims and caprices of executive governors and those in position. And that is what is giving service to apathy. Anybody who says that needs to go and check the English dictionary of apathy. Why do people who yesterday or why did people who yesterday they came out of their own volition? Nobody could have them to watch for a candidate that they believed was going to win, who had capacity. That candidate was ripped out, as you say, is low voter turnout. Why did they refuse to call? The reason is clear is because they are they don't have any space in the process. Like the person we're talking to, you know, and their position. Let me put it on record. I don't have any space in this process. I have spoken to virtually all the radio stations. A few of them have called me and they have a reason to have used with me for the whole of this week. Now I said to them before that it's going to be a sound until we go full digital, full electronic voting. We have to say that the preface was going to be a sham. Go on my Facebook post and say I posted all these things. So a lot of them believe I'm a prophet now and they're calling me to come and have interactions. Was it not a sham? I should tell you the story of River State. My brother. Yes, if you may, I mean, what's the story of River State and that you feel affected? What's the turnout? My brother, psychiatric route. I was there with my team and I saw that. Some boys came in and they were carrying bar lot boxes into their buses. Which we might when you say it in Delta State or in Nigeria, we say with my croco eye. They were carrying it and you put you nothing. Nothing. They were carrying everything into this. I'm not any coefficient you're running. There were places where they were whooping people. Oh, my brother, don't let me speak about this thing. I am I'm sufficiently sick. Over the sherry that we call election and people will be announced winners and they will be cross standing that way. We are we are the ones that are on River State. We are the ones that only got it. We are the ones that are on grass. You're not on ground, nothing. Alive, we are fair elections and you will hear them whoop you silly. The governor of River State, you know, in an interview when he was asked about the you know, the turnout and all that one of the things he he's quoted as saying is that people did not get some people did not get who didn't get the result they wanted in the presidential election. They said it not to come out. Should I shut you, Kofi? I don't want to cut you. Do you not come cry as we're everywhere, including on my street estate, saying that if you don't want to vote PDP, don't come out. We have recordings of it. If you don't want to vote PDP, don't come out. Are we talking about now? And somebody says is low voter turnout. That person should be given some energy drink. You know, there's no such thing as voter turnout. The people just decided that there is no need. If the police, the security officials, we see these things, they will permit it. If INEC will see these things and we take those results, who am I dissipating or wasting my strength to go out? Let me tell you something that will be played today. Nigeria leadership, they should just be selecting leaders. They should stop wasting hundreds of billions on this raid. They should just say every four years there, a committee of the wise men, according to them, should be selecting those who will be governors, who will be honorable and they call themselves honorable. That's also so disgusting. Distinguished Senators and Honourables. Honourables what? Honourables what? Right, brother. Let's talk about the presidential election. Oh, sorry, the run-up to the governorship election. And what role do you think, because you've talked about town criers and the community criers. I mean, I've lived in Portugal many years. We know each other. I'm used to, I'm familiar with the community announcements, where if they want to call for a meeting in an area and in the morning you can hear them ringing or hitting the gong. You know, they'll have a meeting at Superstance House. And so it's something I'm familiar with. So you are saying that the community town criers or the town community criers went out in the morning at dawn to announce to people if you're not voting for PDP, stay at home. And I wanted to talk about the threats of intimidation, you know, threats of harassment. You know what happened in Lagos State, where the chairman of a government committee, which is the Lagos State Parks and Garages Committee, was on record a video, you know, in a gathering of his supporters telling people who will not vote for the APC in Lagos State not to come to stay at home. This is a government appointee. The police, you know, public relations officer, four cell callers, the night before the election, came out to say that M.C. O'Lew or more was merely joking, you know, and that he thinks people would be free to, you know, he said he was merely joking, you know, that he feels he was a joking that, you know, Nigerians can vote free. And do you think all these things really went, how far do you think it went to, to discourage people from coming out? Because we're in a show of people where someone say that, they don't mind, they're still gonna come out and vote. My brother, when you look at everything in this country, you'll be asking yourself if it is worth it. You know, my friends and colleagues that have jackpot, call me almost every day and they say, is it worth it what you're doing in that country? And let me tell you a lot of sensible people quote and unquote, and I don't mean to demean anybody. I begin to consider just working out of this country. It doesn't look like there is hope. Imagine police with just investigation, excusing M.C. O'Lew or more. Don't say God or my things. Like they are saying he was joking, we should take it that you're all joking. Me when somebody on social media will say something that is not as witty, you will run after him, you will arrest him and lock him up permanently. But an ensoulement we speak, I will speak in a manner that we have spoken. Hey God, Kofi, let me tell you, it would take God to redeem this country. And I'm not being religious. It would take God himself to redeem this country. You see, I used to believe in restructuring that if you just restructured Nigeria, things will work very well. The firm will always control the content. Let me tell you, who are those who even agree to that restructuring that I'm talking about? Did these people, these institutions, the ITPC, the ESCC, the police, the judiciary, the traditional institution, these filthy politicians without any apology? Are they the ones who are going to agree for a restructuring Nigeria to make Nigeria start working? These people, or is it the students, the NYT people, or they are pathetic, or the code-fitted Nigerian citizens? Maybe the academia, maybe the academia, the university professors, maybe the ones too. The professors who are helping to do this corruption, who are the people Kofi? I used to believe that somebody called me and said, Andy, what you are saying is very right. A restructuring Nigeria is the way to go. God, I want to ask you, Andy, who would start this process? Who among them, have you forgotten the biblical days when God was asking Abraham, if you will find this number of people, I will spare the city. He went, you couldn't find. God reduced it again. If you will find this number of people, I will spare the city. This is the same case in this country, my brother. Who are the people that will be found? Who can help to restructure this country? Who, where are they? I don't want to be suggestive. Maybe just a few hands in the military. Who are they other than in that system? That can, if it is corrupt politicians, you know what they are doing across the country, Kofi? From Delta State, to River State, to Lagos State, to the Northern States, you know what these politicians are doing. And they have the gum shot to say they are on ground. Do you know that if you merely just restructure the electoral system to make it electoral, to make it electronic, do you know they will frustrate it? From the national aspect, they will frustrate it. They will tell you all kinds and manners of things because they are really not on ground. The people did them. I am on ground on River State as a civil society person. As an activist, the people speak to us almost every day. They do not want PDP, how do I say it again? PDP, PDP feels like an expired medication that's going to affect them. They do not want PDP, but it's really going to win. That's deep direct. And some will say, you know, I've always said that if we restructure this country, there are fundamental underlying issues that need to be answered, need to be solved. And restructuring is simply merely restructuring Nigeria with its problems or restructuring the problems. And the restructure companies will still have those problems. So I'm happy you have seen the light. I'm happy you have seen the light. We have fundamental issues. Andy, another talking point in all this, some said, the conduct of the electoral empire, INEC, and it's ad hoc staff and those it called in from the youth service core, the academia, universities, people who are supposed to know that one plus one is equal to two. If anybody should know, they should know even more than that. The Pythagoras theorem and all, they should know that perfectly. One plus one. But in this case, we're seeing that for these professors, zero plus one is equal to two, and one plus one is equal to zero. So INEC performed abysmally in the presidential election, but the chairman of INEC met with the resident electoral commissioners early in March and then gave assurances that the beavers will be used and that it will deliver this time around. It will deliver this time around. What do you think was wrong or what was it about what the chairman said that did not still incorrigible to come out? So Kofi, when you want to, when you have to get a job, after you have gone through the offer, they will give you job description or job specification, your key performance indicators, and all the other things necessary for you to do the job. You would look at it and you will be measured against those things over a period of time. Even when you're in your prison, where you are unable to meet those things, particularly if you said that you have got the CV to do those things, a serious company should fire you. INEC, we were not the ones who gave them the marking scheme. That's why I have been very annoyed. They were the ones who prepared their own marking scheme. We didn't give it to them at Nigeria. Their marking scheme was prepared by them. They said this is going to be the modules of Puran D for these elections. And we see how the Mahmood sitting as an INEC chairman is not for a country like this. Should labor not even be on the street, not calling for his back. If we're a serious country, should the people not be calling for his back? A person who failed by his own standards that he established for himself. I don't understand. How do they want our children to be now? When the children grow up, they'll be referring to this thing. So you don't know that that's why you spank me now. This exam, they gave it to me and I said, your people, your generation, they gave themselves exams. They set the exam for themselves and they said, and you did not say anything. You did not whoop them. You did not pank them. You did not come on the street to talk about it. You did not go on a radio to talk about it. And you are whooping me that day. I have been sufficiently checked. How that Mahmood would give himself a marking scheme. And you have your own air. Ah, nothing is so, so slow than this. I'm the, I'm the excusing it. Excusing it on logistic. Excuse me. You have four years, over three hundred billion. And you have the gunshot to tell off logistics. Who do you think we are? Puffin. Anyway, it's not your fault. The entire Nigerians, they have taken hook line, sinker, the river, the boats, all the excuses that have been presented by INEC and the government. Otherwise, if we were serious people, we would say the money is not Buhari's money. The money we give to you people is not your people's money. It's our money. You have failed, Mr. Yaqub Mohamed. Oh, what am I saying that is called? This is Mr. Kline's person. You have failed, resign, work away. You are failed from the presidential positions. You couldn't think through a process that is full proof. A process that has this spell within it that would make it discover the possible errors and would guide against those possible errors. You couldn't think through it with over three hundred. It seemed to me like all the INEC officials or whatever, when they get in there, they are best thinking about procurement, procurement, procurement, procurement. Why am I going to make money out of this system? Oh, this is what they say, card reader. Okay, let's get one thing that is called card reader. Government will think that it's a game changer. It will give us money. After that one, what has happened to the card reader now? Okay, now it's Beaver. So let's procurement, procurement. Let's get Beaver after now. I don't know what we call it again though. It will tell us it's Kofi mask. Kofi mask, Kofi mask, Kofi mask trick. That's what they are using in Netherlands. It's Kofi mask that will bring 100, 500 billion. Come on, come on. Okay, yeah. There is, we really need to fix this country. And in fixing this country, we can be tokenistic. We can be, we can be a method in this world. The world in this country, in the medical parlance, it's a gangrenous world. You can't be using red and yellow capsules. You can't be using cutting wool or mix. It's gangrenous. You have to excavate this world to the very bottom. Okay. If you do excavate it, the wound is going to result into an amputation. Yeah, Andy, we'll go over to the wound because that's a very important thing to talk about, how to heal this wound. For those who felt this illusion disappointed and didn't have any faith in the electoral process because of what happened on the 25th of February in River State, I keep calling, seeing it on this program and everywhere I have the chance that what happened in River State, for instance, just as an example of other states, was nothing, you know, was nothing, you know, less than broad daylight robbery. I don't know if you can hear me, Andy, but can the voters also who stayed at home take some blame? Because some will say it's more difficult for anyone who wants to rig to do so when you have the massive turnout that we had on the 25th of February. And the voters, you know, did themselves, didn't help themselves by staying at home. They should have still come out in their numbers. Anybody who says that would be sad not to understand who these Nigerian politicians are. If I took off the battery in the vehicle and I gave you the car key to go and move that car, would that car move? People who already started stealing beavers. People who already went about in estates saying don't come out. The owners of violets don't come out to get involved with people of UDP. Wait to, if a Chukudu comes out, coffee or an Angela comes out, you have a system that will protect them. Ooh, do you have the latest police? But let's say something else. Okay, Andy, before we go, what's the way forward? You know, those who, I mean, I'm sure, we've had conversations before and you've heard me say that democracy can't fix this country. Not because I don't believe in democracy but because there are fundamental issues that need to be sorted, sit down, we discuss, we fix those things and then we start. Do you, with what's happened now, still have confidence in democracy, the current kind of democracy we're practicing to solve the issues of the country? Some have said, oh, rewrite the constitution. Oh, have restructuring. Are you confident that the current arrangement can sort things out? Coffee, you need to be somebody who speaks it exactly as it is. I have continued to maintain, if you go on my Facebook post, you will see a lot of it, that Nigeria is not ripe for a democracy. And some people would just think that I'm talking gibberish. I said we need a benevolent dictator. And I don't mean to watch what I say. Anybody who sits in comfort and says, I'll be talking rubbish, trust me, that person have not experienced our own brand of democracy. A people would have to be conscientized, educated up to a level for democracy to work. Trust me, they said. People need to even be taught what it takes to choose a good candidate. They turn good candidates as pending for election. What do you need to look out for that are beyond tribal sentiment, religious sentiment, eccentric sentiment, greed sentiment. But the things you need to look out for before democracy would work. Otherwise, democracy is about the people, essentially. If you have more people who are not educated, and when I say educated, I don't mean only classroom education. Who are not evenly educated living in a society and an idiot stands for election who doesn't have capacity to deliver. But because it's of their fate, are you aware that in that community that we vote for ideas? So I have said that, like you have in China, like you have in some societies that are doing well, particularly societies where the population is so large, we can evolve a brand of government that is different from this democracy. Democracy is too expensive. Democracy is not supposed to be fought on a population that is, and I don't want to be very down with the significance of this country, but the population is largely uneducated from the north to the southeast and the west. How can you, before pushing democracy down their throats? Coffee simply puts, a benevolent dictator is the solution to this quagmire. A benevolent, you know, once upon a time, Nambia Zikui spoke about a hierarchy. Go read his work on hierarchy. Until such a time when we have evenly educated the population, we are taking them out of poverty, not that we are still the poverty capital of the world. Even though India, China, their population is almost a hundredth of our population, we are still the poverty capital. And you want democracy to work? When the dangles you carry on your neck or your nose, I mean, what is it called? You are aware that you are going to move. Why do you think Gohari and the Sibian governor were insisting on this Naira issue? Because they are part of the system and they understand how they have been winning elections. That's devout money. And if they do not do this, they will use money to corrupt the people, even those who know a bit. The professionals, like you have said, they will use money to corrupt them. Therefore, before that time, when we all or largely have moved from this quadrant of poverty-stricken people, this quadrant of illiteracy, mercy illiteracy, this quadrant of disease, this quadrant on the solitaire we have moved from that level, according to our Brahma. We, as a people, cannot do well with democracy. And Brahma's law, as I consider it, as a round of spades, that most needs are in Iraqi. And the lowest rank is physiological needs. Nothing motivates a man who is on that level other than those items under physiological needs, like food, shelter, clothing, sex and others. And you know what's more interesting about that theory? It is onto those that are satisfied. Nothing else will motivate a man. But as soon as those are satisfied, those things under the physiological triangle no longer acts as motivators. It not gets to the next level, the next level of safety needs. From there, it gets to the next level of self-experience. From there, it gets to the next level of social needs and self-authorization. What am I saying? In other words, the large majority of Nigerians are seen on the wrong of physiological needs. They are seen battling with food, shelter, clothing and other good patterns to their health. The people who are battling with these needs can therefore not be motivated by other things, other askings that democracy needs. It is the people who are on the social needs, self-experience that can be motivated by the askings of democracy. Therefore, be like China and a few class of people who will continue to preside over this country, who will have the interest of country at hand for as long as it takes to take the people out of that level to this level. This is commendation. Unless and until we do this, we will be wasting resources every four years, wasting lives every four years. This is the truth, the truth in explicitly, explicitly in publicity. All right, Andy, what can you say to the Nigerian voter? There's other elections coming up. We have the off-cycle elections, state elections in Imo Kogi, Iqiti and other states. And then we have future elections in 2024, sorry, in 2027. If the courts cancel some elections and then they have to, we have to fresh elections, I don't know where the one is gonna come from, but people also have to come out of vote. Are we in danger of sliding back to the days of the real voter apathy? What can you say, what reason to Nigerian voters have to come out again in the future? Beautiful question, yeah, but there's really nothing that motivates anybody to come out. I cannot even say to Nigerians right now and that these are just teaching challenges, teaching challenges forever, nothing democracy forever. We are just not ready. I cannot say to any voter or anybody with a permanent voter card that, and that what you guys are showing me, you know, voter, I'm showing what the system has been corrupted from top to bottom. It has been seriously corrupted. We should not waste our time wasting our money. 300 billion, 500 billion, budget things, but stopping the economy of the country for this. We should not waste our time. We should not waste our time. We should not take lives. Do you know people, lives were lost in reverse bid because of the election, you killed people, no need to waste our time right there. You can't even say to help people to come out, Andy. I mean, you shouldn't come out next time. We should not change the system, don't waste your time. Andy Akwotive, thank you very much. Social reformer, author and thinker, appreciate your time. Join us via phone from the beautiful city of Prohakat and do have yourself a wonderful day. Still, the ballot right here on the breakfast, we will take a break and when we come back, we'll talk about election violence, voter suppression, the role it played in the 2023 governorship and state houses of assembly elections right here on Plus TV Africa. We'll be right back.