A US-based Nigerian Doctor and house of representative aspirant, Toyin Abitoye has advised electorates not to allow money to influence their decision come 2019 general election but to vote their preferred candidates.
Abitoye, who participated in the just concluded primary election under the People’s Democractic Party (PDP), Owo/Ose federal constituency and emerged third,gave this advice in an interview with
justambitioustoserve in reaction to activities preceding the election in Ondo state and the nation at large.
According to him, the level of poverty prevailing the nation is worrisome, and therefore advised electorates to collect the money any candidate approach them with but go ahead and vote their choice.
His words: “They should be enlightened enough to shrug off financial inducements and understand that they are in effect selling their birth rights for peanuts for the next few years.
” If I ask to pay for your vote on election day and you agree, you have agreed on a contract that ends after you have cast that vote. As a result, what moral authority does the electorate have to question the politician thereafter if they win and stay in office for four years?
“Honestly if I am in those shoes, and I really need the money, I will take it and vote the other candidate just to prove a point to myself. At least I know I voted my conscience and I didn’t sell the conscience for what at the end of the day are peanuts”,
He noted that, for the process of democracy to actually develop, the electorate has to have an independent mind, and be able to make an informed decision to vote-in the right candidates at all levels.
Abitoye also enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission, to allow free and fair election in 2019 general election as witnessed during 2015 election that produced President Muhammad Buhari which was globally adjudged free and fair.
He noted that INEC received more praise than condemnation in the last general election, and should therefore endeavor to improve on the legacy.
“Every institution should have the mandate to improve on itself. Therefore I hope INEC will conduct and even better election this time. With what happened in Ekiti and then Osun, with the issue of vote buying going unchecked, alleged favoritism towards the ruling party at the Federal level, honestly am not confident they will do a good job.
“But one needs to stay optimistic. Whatever the INEC leadership does in 2019 will be their legacy as individuals forever, whether they like it or not.
“History is usually forever kind to those that do the right thing. I hope they do the right thing in 2019” , he said.
He also stressed the need for every Nigerian to be more active in the political processes by trooping out enmasse to vote and ensure their votes are counted.
Abitoye however expressed disappointment on how politics is being played in Nigeria, noting that with the look of things, it would be difficult for a lone aspirant to contest without a godfather, which according to him will forever serves as an obstacle to the emergence of right representatives of the people.
According to him, monetisation of votes has taken so many dimensions in Nigeria politics, which includes, money spent towards the welfare of your fellow party men before the primaries, money spent on the delegates for logistics on the day of the primaries, and money spent in the general elections.
“As an aspirant, you pretty much bear the weight of the problems of all party members from the top to the bottom. It has become very expensive. And you are unofficially mandated to provide money towards what is called logistics on the day of the elections for all candidates.
“So by the time primaries are over, the candidate has spent millions. Perhaps that is the advantage of the so called godfatherism whereby everyone pretty much has a sense of the preferred candidate and much less is spent on the primaries. It remains to be seen if things will revert to what was considered the norm in the previous generation of politicians”. He added.
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