The Nigerian Hubs of the Global Shapers Community share in the grave disappointment felt by Nigerians at the abrupt postponement of the 2019 General Elections. While we acknowledge the efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in organising the 2019 elections, it is disheartening that the postponement was announced at approximately 3:00 am on February 16, 2019, only 5 hours before the elections were scheduled to resume. The timing of this postponement is unfortunate as many Nigerians have gone to extreme lengths and made sacrifices to exercise our core civic duty. Many young Nigerians squeezed out limited resources to travel across the country to vote, and in some cases travelled from abroad to Nigeria for this purpose.
As a community of young leaders, we understand our duty to be unwavering in our will to stand for a nation of truth and excellence. We implore all young people, especially those for whom the 2019 elections will be the first election they participate in, to keep hope alive for our country. We must not lose faith in our electoral process or in our national institutions. We must ensure that we vote in the elections when they occur on February 23, 2019, and on March 9, 2019. While the economic and financial losses owing to the postponement of the 2019 general elections are substantive, the immeasurable hope and belief in the Nigeria of our dreams must not be quenched. Please vote and make your voices heard.
We implore INEC to review the serious concerns raised with regards to insufficient logistics and welfare arrangements for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members deployed as ad hoc staff for the elections. We also request that the leadership of NYSC also review and address these claims, which appear to have resulted in NYSC members sleeping under open skies and in public transportation the night leading up to February 16, 2019.
The Nigerian Global Shapers Hubs remain committed to ensuring that the voice of our young people, who make up 70% of our population is heard loud and clear. We are keenly aware that our future is in our hands, and no circumstance will deter us from ensuring that we continue to work towards a better Nigeria for all.
We thank Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for their continued dedication to ensuring that we have free and fair elections.
God bless Nigeria.
Signed:
The Nigerian Hubs in the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum:
- Abuja Hub
- Calabar Hub
- Kano Hub
- Ibadan Hub
- Lagos Hub
- Port Harcourt Hub
- Uyo Hub
