Emeka: Hi guys, hope you had a fantastic week. You’re one and only Mommy Geo is not here and she sends you a lot, lots of greetings. My name is Emeka Aaron, your favorite celebrity show host and I’m excited to be here again on another episode of the Good Citizen radio show which is brought to you by CSR-in-Action and proudly sponsored by our foundation as one good citizen less endeavor to get our PVCs and remember to stay safe and healthy. We’ll go on a short commercial break and we’ll be back soon.
Tomorrow, Nigerians will head to the polls to elect the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 18 candidates are competing to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari. Today, we’re going to be having an open discussion on Nigeria decide 2023 right days here, just right in front of us, right? Okay. So with this, we’re going to be having an open discussion today. So, we can just have a chat today about what’s going to be happening tomorrow, our expectations and all the other stuff that we look forward to happen to our great country in Nigeria. Okay? And I have my colleague here, Isaac Emmanuel. Isaac, you’re no longer a guest on this because right now, almost everybody should know you by now. Okay, I have Isaac Emanuel with me in the studio.
Isaac: Hello everyone. Good afternoon.
Emeka: Okay, so we’re going to be discussing about the important moments in the lives of every Nigerian and also Nigeria country, right? And we expect your calls, your opinions, and all the other things that you want to tell us about tomorrow’s election. We just need to plead with you right. We’re just going to be in line of just talking about our opinions. The campaign, if you understand, ended up yesterday. So we are not allowed to do any campaign for anybody on the show. So, let’s just talk and just express ourselves about what we think for tomorrow. Isaac, how important is it to participate for tomorrow’s election?
Isaac: I’m just trying to find a word for us. This is the deciding moment perhaps in Nigeria’s history. This perhaps may be the most decisive election that we’re going to be having as a nation. This is going to be really decisive because more than ever before, more than 1999 because all the men from lines of the nation spread across every section of the country. There’s agitation, there’s economic, what you call it, economic issues and so many things like that. So people feel that the election is their opportunity to do something about the country. It’s so important to come out, and in fact, the disservice will be to have your PPC and to be within range of your polling units.
Emeka: Because I know I understand that not everybody has their PVCs, right. Even those that registered, not everybody were able to get together. I think we’ll be the supporters behind right. To chair everybody who’s going out tomorrow. I think, whether you’re voting or not, we just have to just stay positive, right?
Isaac: Definitely.
Emeka: Yeah. How confident are you in INEC to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful election tomorrow? There’s been a lot of side talks about it already. So how sure are you? How confident are you?
Isaac: I was watching the chairman of Chatham House, and what struck me was not just his rendition as a person, but the extensive preparations that I’ve gone into preparing for the elections. INEC has been really proactive, perhaps in much of sub Saharan Africa INEC may be the best in terms of reactiveness technological adoption and all that we know about the BEVAS that’s been introduced and, you know, the entire system, the logistics they put open. And also, I would say that INEC is really prepared. That’s my perspective about the matter. I’m not an inside person, I don’t have the other side of the view. It appears that they are prepared, and we just hope for the best, and I believe we can also pray for the best too.
Emeka: Okay, so do you have opinions, questions, and suggestions about the topic that we’re discussing today? Tomorrow, Nigeria goes to the polls, and all the Nigerians are expected to pass their vote. It’s a civic right, so you should exercise that right tomorrow right. So that we’ll be able to get better country going forward. So you can still reach us in the studio right here, and we’ll love to hear from you. You can reach us on 0700923923923 or you can send us a WhatsApp message to 08173136193. So, while we wait for your call and we’ll just continue with our conversation. I think what some elections are, we have a call already. Okay. Thank you for joining us on the show today. Your name and where you’re calling from? Good evening. Your name and where you’re calling from?
Caller: My name is Ndidi
Emeka: Okay, thank you very much indeed. How are you today? Yeah, well, I hope you’re keeping safe and ready for tomorrow. Thank you very much. That’s very important.
Thank you very much for that. That’s nice. The booze eyes actually just renewed there right now, right? So, we’ll be able to get a very good outcome from you tomorrow. I was asking before the call came in what are the election tips for tomorrow? She’s giving us one very powerful to stay calm.
Isaac: Let me say that the power is in the hands of everyone who was out. So let your vote do the speaking. You don’t have to go to the election booth and start complaining for your candidate. Start arguing about the history of democracy, what happened in 1914 and 1973. You just go there and let your vote speak for you. One more thing I would also urge would be to be careful about information.
Emeka: Yes, there’s a lot of everywhere right.
Isaac: Now, so much so when we see information, let’s confirm what the source is, let’s verify, let’s check official channels, let’s see what it is. Because election periods as everyone is on edge,it’s usually very delicate time. So it’s important to be able to confirm that. And of course, I’ve been involved in the election process some years back, so I know that voting or going to vote both for the official who are man in the polling booth and for those who come to exercise their civic duty, it’s a physically taking experience. You need to eat before you leave home. Some people would actually go very early so they can join the queue early. Some may have even be sleeping in the ward unit this evening. Yeah, some will sleep there. So prepare yourself. You need to eat if you need to pack some snacks. Just prepare yourself and have some things that you take along with you. When you stand in the sun and you feel that you can’t behave again, try to see if you could just find a place to relax and then you go back to your queue and you join it and all that. It’s really important to as much as possible, as much as you want to exercise a civic right. Only the living can praise the Lord. You can only vote when you’re alive. So try to keep good checking your health.
Emeka: Thank you very much. And so after that also you need to have some form of identification on new leads so that when it gets rowdy, anything that comes up, you’ll be able to identify yourself, right. So you don’t get caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And it’s very important, try to be vigilant and observe your environment, know what you’re doing.Try not to stay in overcrowded places and be able to observe things that’s happening around you. I believe tomorrow is going to not very well, right?
So we need to look at a very important player in this whole thing. The media is a very essential body of path to democracy, right? And a democratic election is impossible without the media. Now, what you have to say about that? You agree about the media?
Isaac: Well, let me make reference to Ndidi Call, she made reference to transparency. And that’s what the media does, because what the media does is the media ensures transparency, the media makes information available. So, for a truly democratic process, the media is vital because much of the information we will get will be from the media. When the news of the number of votes has been announced, it will be via the media. Some people will be blue, there’ll be a situation, polling centers and all that, watching it on the TV. This means that the media has such an incredible role play such a huge role to play in the roles.
Emeka: Thank you very much. We’ll take a short break now. When we return, the show will continue.
Welcome back. And it’s still the good citizen radio show. And if you’re just joining in, we are having an open conversation today on Nigeria Decides 2023. I would still love to hear from everyone of you about the opinions, questions or suggestions about the elections tomorrow. And you can reach us on our phone lines on 0700923923923 or you can send us a WhatsApp message to 08173136193. So Isaac back to our conversation. Tomorrow is here, what do you have to say about the previous elections that we’ve had in Nigeria in the democratic dispensation? And how can these lessons be applied to the upcoming election tomorrow? We’ve had some histories with the past elections that we’ve had. What are the things that we can do, good things that we can bring into this election tomorrow, into this election?
Isaac: With elections, I will say this in a mixed experience off the top of my head. I would say that one very important lesson is that the body language of leaders, religious leaders, political leaders, leaders in any form, but as well, say social media influences as well, will go a long way to influencing.
Emeka: A lot of them are feeding off information from those sources.
Isaac: Exactly. So if we’re going to have a peaceful election, then those who are in places of influence, places of power, need to be very careful about their during the election process. And after the election process, there was a leader who once made the statement, I really respect that statement and I believe it should be in the constitution of every political or anyone expressly in school office. It says, my ambition is not worth the life of any Nigerian. So, we need to understand that it’s not a do or die affair. Abraham Lincoln contested in a lot of times before eventually became got into office. You can take a lesson. The queue from the present president also contested a number of times, so if you fail, you can try again. So it’s not a do or die affair there. So the utterance of people in places of influence, power, politics and all, we really need to be careful what we say. There’s no stupid embarrass of ethnicity, tribalism and things like that.
Emeka: Because it’s really causing a lot of problems right now, because you even find the people who are not decision makers, even the ones who are carrying this whole thing to the next level, I’m telling you, to the next level. And if you wanted is re but it is what it is. We just have to become and be able to do the right thing come tomorrow. Let’s just try to do the right thing and try not imbalance. At the end of the day, Nigeria is still our country. We’re still going to be the ones to bear for the whole thing. So it’s on every one of us to be able to in our own little corner, just do the best that we can. And when you put all that, it’s a little drop of water make an ocean, you’re doing well somewhere, you’re going to the other place. And everybody just comes together.
It gives a collective effect. And I just pray that we’ll be able to just put all that together tomorrow. We have a call on so thank you very much. Your name on where you’re calling from?
Your name is what? Okay, thank you Emma for joining us today.
It’s just breaking up. Can you call us back, please? We like to hear it’s better now. Go ahead, sir.
Emma can you call us back? We really love to hear from you. Your line is breaking up. Okay, so tomorrow let us go to the elections, right?
What message do you have for them? I know I’ve asked you that far. We need to make it very clear right now. Yes, we know we need to be very, very calm tomorrow. And also, as much as possible, try not to be instrumental valid, but for you, tomorrow you’re voting right?
Okay, but I just really want to let everybody know that you can call us on the show so we can hear about your opinions and also your suggestions for tomorrow. Nigeria decides, right? And I really, really love to hear from you. You can reach us in our phone line, 0700923923923 or you can just send us a WhatsApp message to our number 08173136193. So, Isaac,tomorrow I’m going to be seeing it tomorrow, right?
Isaac: If we have the same polling unit.
Emeka: If I don’t have, I’m going to definitely zoom around to be able to see what’s happening around the whole unit that is around me. So we can have a good conversation by the time we’re here next week, Friday, right?Thank you very much everyone, for calling on the phone. Thank you for your call today. And we hope that we’ve all learned something from this discussion that we had today.
And thank you everyone for listening and we hope you have a lovely weekend tomorrow. Remember, stay calm, be observant, and also try not to be an instrument of balance.
Isaac: Don’t sell your votes
Emeka: That’s also very important too. So let’s continue to be a light to one another. The show is brought to you by CSR-in-Action and proudly sponsored by us foundation. And I remain your number one celebrity show host Emeka Aaron and I’m going to be here next week when we have our new president, right? So, remember to stay safe and stay good until next week. Goodbye. God bless you.
