OPINION:
By PastorKay
Politicians Who Break Election Promises should Be Jailed; Not Citizens Who Don’t Vote:
The recent proposal by the National Assembly to mandate compulsory voting in Nigeria is not only tone-deaf but dangerously misguided. While high voter turnout is a desirable feature of any democracy, attempting to achieve it through coercion rather than trust is counterproductive. Instead of punishing citizens for their apathy, lawmakers should be asking: why are people refusing to vote? And more importantly, what can be done to restore faith in the political process?
Voting is a democratic right—not a state-imposed obligation. The right to vote includes the right not to vote, especially in protest of a political system that has repeatedly failed its people. For decades, Nigerians have cast their votes in the hope of change, only to be met with the same pattern of empty promises, corruption, and neglect. The problem is not voter laziness; the problem is broken trust. Nigerians are not refusing to vote because they are unpatriotic—they are refusing because they are tired of being deceived.
If the National Assembly is truly interested in rescuing Nigeria’s democratic integrity, the real legislative priority should be holding elected officials accountable. Instead of introducing a bill that criminalizes citizens for not voting, they should be debating a law that mandates prison sentences for politicians who fail to fulfill their campaign promises. That would be a bill rooted in justice, not political deflection.
A politician’s manifesto is not a poetic wish list—it is a binding social contract. When candidates stand on podiums and pledge jobs, security, infrastructure, and reforms, they are not entertaining the public—they are making commitments that should carry consequences if willfully abandoned. Introducing legal penalties for deliberate and consistent failure to deliver on campaign promises would revolutionize Nigerian politics. It would separate the serious leaders from the opportunists and elevate public service above mere political ambition.
Such a law would also dramatically reduce voter apathy, not by force, but by restoring hope. People are more likely to participate in a system they believe in. If Nigerians knew that elected officials would face real consequences for betraying public trust, they would have a renewed reason to engage. Compulsory voting, on the other hand, addresses none of these underlying issues. It merely disguises the symptoms while ignoring the disease.
It is not the Nigerian voter who is failing democracy—it is the political elite who promise transformation but deliver excuses. Until we reverse this trend, no amount of forced participation will bring legitimacy to our elections. A system that demands accountability from its citizens must first demand accountability from its leaders.
Let us stop punishing the victims of bad governance and start punishing those who exploit public trust for personal gain. Let us focus our legislative energy not on coercing votes, but on building a system where votes truly count—and where broken promises carry a price.
Only then will we begin to rebuild the kind of democracy Nigerians deserve.
PasorKay is a Political Analyst and Social Activist.
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