Opinion: The other side of the presidential election in Edo State

   Voters on the accreditation queue

By Bernadette Idalu 

I cast my vote, for the very first time, today. I had to walk the talk haven encouraged people to vote. In addition to carrying out my duty as an election observer, I voted.

The mood was overwhelming. I witnessed voters telling other voters as they stood in the accreditation queue to vote from their conscience and vote for the future. I saw a catholic priest donning a T-shirt, and trousers, pulling a plastic chair up front, in the rain, to listen up close, to polling unit results as they got announced at the source. Hmm.

Voters making statements with shirts

I witnessed an elderly woman mouthing out cuss words as she moved along the road, at a woman whom she accused of trying to make her sell her vote for an online transfer of five thousand naira. The other women in her company said they also rejected the offer. She said she was a  pensioner of Edo State Civil Service who has forged on despite setbacks hence wondered why a young lady attempted to throw five thousand naira at her feet. She felt insulted. 

A guy from the balcony of his story building who heard her loud lamentation interrupted and told her, "Maama, instead of complaining like this, next time, make a short video recording of her trying to bribe you and share it. Let's sanitize politics. Social media is the in thing now. Your son can help you share it."

It was a new experience seeing elderly voters rejecting "free money," and making noise about the encounter. She said the money would not solve her problem for the next four years. 

    Some voters mimed and danced to              INEC  staff counting of cast votes. 

I saw voters desirous of a change in Nigeria, patiently voting and staying back to ensure the smoothness of the process. And for the first time, I witnessed voters who danced and turned the counting process to music. A voter wore a T-shirt that reflected his pride in being Nigerian. Even though his party didn't do too well, he affirmed that irrespective of who won at the end of the day, we need people who would build the country. That is the true spirit of nationhood I encountered.

I saw the display of patience. Despite the rejection of some voters fingerprints by the bimodal voter accreditation system, (BVAS), and denied the opportunity to cast their vote due to incomplete registration despite standing aside till the end for others to complete their voting, in spite of the disappointment, such voters promised to visit the independent national electoral commission (INEC) office after the election to update on their information. 

And, when there was an attempt to cause chaos, this was resisted. Such actors were made to realize that the will of the people must prevail. 

Yes, some area shops opened for business. The cash crunch is real. Man must survive. At polling units, petty traders made brisk sales. One stood out; a lady that sold ice-blocked bottled water. She sold many sacks of bottled water. She claimed to have rendered a service towards the smooth flow of the election process to halt disruption and search for water hence she deserved special appreciation from the voters.

The turn-up of voters was massive. Security personnel manned the polling units. A police patrol team periodically drove through the area to instill calm. Thankfully, the area was calm, though there were reports of pockets of violence elsewhere in town. 

The government and security personnel must be commended for diligence at ensuring the safety of voters despite prior apprehension as far as the conduct of the presidential and national election in Edo State is concerned.