By Adekunle Williams
The Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, on Friday called for scaling up of voter sensitisation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Obasa made the call at the 17th Edition of the Executive/Legislative parley in Lagos, with the theme: “Mobilising Citizens as a Social Capital towards 2023 General Election.’’
He said that inadequate attention to voter education had been responsible for violence, a bulk of void votes and apathy during past elections.
The speaker maintained that voter education remained a prerequisite for enhanced political skills, knowledge and participation ahead of the 2023 general election.
He said that educating voters was not only for the Independent National Electoral Commission to do, but also the responsibility of political parties, civil society, religious and traditional institutions, among others.
Obasa said that the National Orientation Agency also has a part to play in this regard.
He said the government should be willing to fund such organisations in the voter education campaign, from the grassroots level upwards.
“The fact that Nigeria is planning another election after 23 years of democratic transition is a sign that democratic principles have been widely accepted in spite of the myriad of problems confronting the process.
“The first step in addressing this is for parties involved to educate themselves and the public about democratic principles and create an environment.
“When this is well prioritised, the process of complaints where one’s name is omitted, the dangers of violence and rigging, how to protect votes and how to make votes count generally will be avoided.
“In other words, all information related to the elections should be made known in advance for the betterment of the exercise.
“Electoral violence and other factors such as cultural practices, family background, institutional and low level of political knowledge, no doubt, militate against political participation.
“The citizens for want of security, consequent upon electoral violence, develop apathy toward political participation,” he said.
Obasa said citizens with low information rationality tend to exhibit political apathy whereas those with high information rationality have the propensity to actively engage in politics. (NAN)
