RE: Sam’s Hangout #108 - “VOTING AND TRUST”

VOTING AND TRUST: Do individual votes still matter in 2027?

No, I don’t believe corruption has gone so deep that individual votes are meaningless. Has the system been abused? Yes. Did 2023 leave a lot of people bitter? Absolutely. We all saw the reports of BVAS glitches, delayed uploads, violence in polling units, and vote buying caught on camera. That distrust is real, and pretending it isn’t would be dishonest.

But saying “it’s too deep, so why bother” hands the entire process to the same people we’re frustrated with. Corruption thrives when good people opt out. If 10 million Nigerians who want change decide to stay home because “my one vote won’t count,” that’s 10 million votes that definitely won’t count. Elections in Nigeria are often decided by margins that look huge nationally, but at the ward and LGA level, a few hundred votes flip seats. That’s where governors, senators, and assembly members emerge — the people who control state budgets and local security.

So would I sit out 2027 and leave my future to chance? I wouldn’t. Sitting out is a choice, and it’s still a vote just one for the status quo. If the system is broken, the only way it changes is from pressure inside and outside: more observers, more litigation with evidence, more young people running for office, and yes, more votes that make rigging expensive and risky.

That said, voting alone isn’t the whole job. If election day comes and someone truly feels unsafe at their polling unit, I’d never shame them for protecting themselves. But the alternative shouldn’t be Netflix and vibes. Use the day. Document. Volunteer as a party agent or with a civil society group like Yiaga Africa or CDD. Join a Situation Room WhatsApp channel and verify results from your PU. If you can’t be at the polls, help transport elderly voters in your street, or babysit for a neighbor so they can go vote.

The logic is simple: corruption is a numbers game. It’s easier to inflate 100 votes than 10,000. It’s easier to suppress turnout when people already plan to stay home. Mass participation raises the cost of malpractice. It doesn’t guarantee a perfect process, but it shrinks the room for impunity.

So my answer: I don’t think we’re too far gone. I’ll be voting, and I’ll spend the rest of the day doing the unglamorous work that makes votes harder to steal — observing, reporting, and helping others cast theirs. If we all outsource the future, we shouldn’t be shocked at who shows up to claim it.