Stolen Mandate Not Stolen Hope
The week preceding the Gubernatorial election, I had made up my mind that I would only step out to vote for my preferred candidate and return back to the house to rest as I have been feeling tired and exhausted all through the week (what you get when you resume commuting to the office after 6 months of hybrid).
I also had plans to wrap up some articles I’ve been unable to publish because I had gigs that took up my free time. I also needed to make my hair ahead of the new week.
Unlike the presidential election, I left the house at about 12 noon to check my polling unit but like before the INEC officials were still on their way so I went back home.
I decide to take a nap as my devices were low and I needed them to be well-charged so as not to interrupt my creative process when I start working.
I had barely slept for 30 Minutes when I overheard my mum pleading with my elder sister not to go out to vote while recounting what was happening on the streets.
Apparently, APC, a political party whose gubernatorial candidate was the incumbent governor had placed and arranged for thugs to disrupt the voting process by threatening and beating up anybody who decides not to vote for their candidate.
Of course, my mum knew we were not going to vote for them so she did what she could do to ensure our safety.
I was adamant and insisted on still going out to vote and making my vote void. I angrily stood up from the bed and went to my laptop to see how much work I could cover before I go to the polling booth.
Then I remembered my friend, whose polling unit was close to mine and was aware of my stand and was also from the east to confirm if he stepped out to vote and if the streets were safe.
He told me he had voted and added, “Christie, stay back, it’s not worth it”, and went further to explain that the thugs were threatening and manhandling people who wouldn’t vote for them.
At that point, I was heartbroken.
How did we get to the point where these thugs are bold enough to maltreat people because they don’t subscribe to their school of thought or candidate? I mean if your candidate was credible enough, why do you have to take extreme measures just to ensure he remains in power?
I had been seeing complaints of disenfranchisement on Twitter but I didn’t think it would get to me so close. People were being disenfranchised just because they looked like the Igbo people even though they are full-blooded Yoruba indigenes.
As I sat down to make better use of my time since Uncle Sanwoolu, APC and their cohorts has decided to keep me away from the polling unit, I ruminated over the happenings and wondered if truly there is hope for Nigeria, my country.
My anger was gradually spilling into bitterness and I heard the holy spirit whisper to me what happened to the hope I had after the last election even though the mandate was stolen.
He went ahead to remind me of the danger of putting our hope on humans instead of God. If our hope, peace, and joy are from God then we can be sure that none of the happenings in this world can tamper with it. But if we choose to give ourselves hope or allow the events around us to dictate our emotions then we are putting ourselves in danger.
My Conclusion
Though it seemed as though they defeated us, yet we remain undefeated because our strength is not man-made and if it’s not man-made, it cannot be tampered with by man.
Our hope in a new Nigeria cannot be stolen because it wasn’t our doings, it was God who made the events around us to remind us of the things he has promised us.
Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
I’m not giving up on Nigeria, I have hope and I believe that a New Nigeria is coming and it’s closer than we imagine.
If you’re grieved and hurt from the last gubernatorial election or the general election, I want you to know that it’s okay to feel hurt and be angry but watch that your anger does not become bitterness and we end up becoming the very thing we are fighting against.
Forgive them and let them go, don’t give them too much space in your heart. Forgiving them will not make the pain go away, but it will make your heart less burdened and help you to move on with your life.
Never forget that God loves you so much, and he has the best intention for you and me and for our country regardless of the devices of the wicked.
And yes, they can steal our mandate, but they can’t steal our PEACE.
- *APC — All Progressive Congress
- *INEC — Independent National Electoral Commission
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