Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Olisa Agbakoba on Monday condemned the proposed bill seeking to make voting mandatory in Nigeria, declaring that he would rather be jailed than comply with such a law.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Agbakoba criticized the National Assembly’s attempt to enforce compulsory voting, arguing that it fails to address the root causes of voter apathy in the country.
Agbakoba maintained that voter disengagement stems from years of exclusion and unfulfilled political promises, not a lack of civic responsibility.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, he stated that he has noticed a troubling pattern, warning that democracy in Nigeria cannot succeed if it continues to serve only a select elite.
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“Look at the ridiculous one in the National Assembly about voting being compulsory. If that bill were to pass, I would say, ‘Agbakoba, we will not obey it.’ I’ll plead conscientious objection. I’d rather go to prison for six months than to obey it.
“Why would the National Assembly want to impose compulsory voting? Why don’t they reverse the question and say, Why are Nigerians not interested? What is the apathy about?
“The apathy is that they don’t get anything. If I know that I’m going to get something—there’s an aspiration, there’s an interest—you will find people coming out to vote. But then people see the same old trick. You come, you take my vote, you disappear till the next four years. There’ll be apathy.
“Right now, we have a big problem with having a system that excludes. I think you will find the biggest problem we have in Nigeria is around exclusion. That, I think, is the biggest problem—around exclusion. People are not taking part in the process.
“Suddenly, you have a big issue of coalitions and defections. Why? I have not heard many politicians talk about people—about the welfare of Nigerians, about their suffering, about their inadequate opportunities. I have not heard that.
“All I hear politicians do is, every four years, they jump up; they become active. Once they get power, they disappear. So for all these reasons, I think we need to look for a new model.” Agbakoba stated.
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