Doing Something

Better late than never, eh?

If you’ve been on social media, or even just half-awake this week, you’ve probably seen at least one passionate call to action telling people to “get your PVC” before the second deadline for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration, which was yesterday for some reason. I definitely saw and heard enough of them to feel compelled to go get mine as well, partly because I skipped the last three elections (yeah, yeah. I know), and partly because I was genuinely impressed by the hilariously creative, borderline unhinged lengths people went to in order to convince others to register.

So on Thursday I went to my local INEC office, stood in line to get into the building, had my biometrics captured, and got my temporary voter’s card, pending the release of the permanent one at some point later this year. The whole process took less than forty-five minutes, and only because of the long line, which was a pleasant surprise. I’d mentally prepared for a typical day with the Nigerian civil service, where a simple, straightforward task somehow becomes a test of faith, endurance and bladder control. Any day you don’t have to use the toilet in a government building is a good day indeed.

Another thing that struck me that day was how young most of the people in line were. I’m 36, and apart from the few obviously elderly people I saw, I had to be one of the oldest people getting registered. And it’s encouraging to see younger people showing up and taking civic participation seriously, but you can only hear “good afternoon, sir” and “excuse me, sir” so many times before you realize that they’re talking to you, and then start to feel some kind of way about how old you are and/or look. It is what it is.

But mild age-related emotional damage aside, it was hard not to leave there with a suspicious sense of positivity. Because for all the nonsense attached to politics in this country, as well as all the justified cynicism, people still showed up. We stood in line, waited our turns, and tried to do something about the state of things without any guarantee of magic or miracles. Even when participating in elections can feel like trying to clean Tafawa Balewa Square with a single toothbrush, people still made the effort. That’s gotta count for something. Or at least one can only hope. God abeg.

I know what the reality is. I’m not an idiot. What many Nigerians did this week won’t automatically translate to motorable roads, a stable economy and the sudden abundance of elected officials with integrity. But there is value in participation, even when the outcomes are uncertain or almost certainly unfavorable. Doing something and refusing to disappear into apathy means that you want to have your say in how things go, and that already makes it harder for sheer indifference to win by default. So even if the eventual result is disappointment, at least it’ll have to work harder instead of just showing up and claiming the W.

So yeah, I got my voter’s card, and sent my 21-year old cousin to get his the next day, which makes me both a responsible citizen and a good role model. Win-win for me.