Young people play football while their elders vote

When the shouts of youth were heard near a polling unit at Muda Street, Amukoko, residents hurriedly came out only to discover that the group of boys playing football had engaged themselves in a heated argument. “I said to myself that finally, someone has come to snatch the voting materials at one of the polling units,” said Razaq Balogun, a resident.

Youth apathy

Sights of youth of voting age engaged in street soccer and other activities was a common feature during the just concluded general elections. Kevin Olanrewaju, 23, who had played football through the four weeks that elections held, said that he decided to stay away because he “doesn’t trust the credibility of the elections.

“It does not matter if I vote, the person that will win will still win,” he said. “I don’t want to go there and after wasting my time, they will go and rig it. Look at the last elections, there are complaints of rigging all over the country.”

Tunde Olufemi, 25, said he “purposely decided” to alienate himself from government because they’d been “harsh” on him. “This government really dealt with me when they demolished my shop,” he said. “I’ve decided not to vote anybody again.”

At Cemetery Road, the entire stretch was converted to football fields. At the nearby Otua Street, a group of youth huddled over a gambling game. “Most of the young men are no longer interested in what is going on because they have not benefited from the government,” said Paul Sampson, a resident at Otua Street.

Luring them to vote

In an attempt to lure eligible voters in Ifelodun Local Council to participate in the elections, two prominent parties in the council, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) distributed gifts to residents.

On the eve of the gubernatorial elections, the ACN shared uncooked rice and N300 amongst its members in the council, according to investigations. Four packets of Indomie noodles were also given out to acclaimed members in a bid to encourage them to cast their votes. Also, soft drinks were shared among the electorates, on election day.

The PDP, on the other hand, distributed packs of Dangote spaghetti to members and residents within the council on election day. “I’ve collected the gifts from the two parties but I know who I’m voting for,” said a resident at Imam Street, Amukoko, who did not want to be named. “They are giving them to recognized people in the area and those who indicate that they are willing to participate in the election.”

Israel Ogunrinde, a PDP leader in the council, said that the idea behind the gifts was not to buy the electorates’ votes. “Because many people who have accredited will not like to go and vote because of the gap between the accreditation and the actual voting,” he said. “The only thing is that we are giving them to our members to encourage [them]. Because we have agents, canvassers, supervisors, and collators and we have to take care of them for today since they are on official duty.”

He said that the PDP did not “give spaghetti to anybody anyhow.” “When you are giving people directive to go and do something, they will use their discretion at times and not according to the directive,” he said.

Kayode Giwa, an ACN leader in the community, denied claims that soft drinks were given out to the electorates. “It is never done,” he said. “Election is meant for people who have interest in politics. When we win the election, during the swearing in ceremony, that is when it should be done.”

Out of the 600 registered voters in Aro Lane, Amukoko, there was less than 50 percent turn out for accreditation. “But we want to encourage people to come out,” said Mr Giwa.
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