Tomorrow, Lagosians by the millions will stand in line to vote in the Local Government Area elections. On paper, this should be one of the most consequential dates on the state’s democratic calendar. But unfortunately, in practice, it has often been relegated to a ritual — a predetermined charade that exists only to legitimize secret political godfathers’ decrees.
If democracy is to have any meaning, all votes must count, no matter how “local” the election. And in fact, it is at the local level, the LGAs and LCDAs, that democracy takes its fullest breath, because that is where the people feel most intensely the impact of governance: in the state of roads, the quality of primary health centers, the functioning of local markets, environmental sanitation, and basic community infrastructure.
But what we have witnessed for much too long is a charade of this process. In every election, we witness voter apathy, electoral impunity, result tampering, candidate imposition, harassment of the opposition, and flagrant disdain for accountability.
A call to action to all the stakeholders in tomorrow’s election:
To LASIEC:
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission should rise to the occasion. The integrity of the election is in your hands. This is not the time for technical incompetence, logistic sabotage, or haloed transparency. Ballot papers must get to polling stations on time. Voting should start on schedule. Collation should be open. And results must reflect the peoples’ will. You are not the department of any political party, you are a symbol of democracy.
The people are watching. The media are watching. History is watching.
To the Political Parties and Their Candidates:
If you truly aspire to serve the people, then serve them with honour. There is no honor in a hijacked mandate. Thuggery, vote-buying, snatching of ballots, and intimidation are the tools of cowards and not leaders. Let the people choose. Submit yourself to the process and to their judgment.
Let tomorrow not be a parade of party machinery. Let it be a winning of minds through vision, capability, and integrity. We do not need another four years of ghost chairmen and councillors whose names no one can remember. What we need is leadership that has a face, with a plan, and with a conscience.
To the Security Agencies:
Let this not be a show of power, but a show of professionalism. Your task is to secure the process, not hijack the process. Secure security in polling stations. Stop intimidation. Stand above partisanship. Lagos is watching. Nigeria is watching. The international community is watching.
To the Voters:
This is not an opportunity to remain at home complaining on WhatsApp or Twitter. The solution to fix governance is to join it. Local government is not too small to be neglected — it is where everything begins. The person who gets to decide who is on your local council is the one who decides how your neighbourhood develops.
Don’t sell your vote. Don’t succumb to cynicism. Vote and protect your vote.
To the Winners (and to the Losers):
If you win, remain humble in victory. If you lose, graciously accept defeat. No election should be a do-or-die matter. Nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Lagosian.
And to tomorrow’s winners, the people did not elect you into office to disappear into thin air. We will remember. We will demand performance. We will ask questions.
Leadership is not a title. It is service. And it begins at the grassroots.
Final Word:
Democracy is not about elections, it is about the way in which those elections are conducted. It is about choosing leaders and transferring power. It is about transparency, justice, equality, and trust.
If we cannot do democracy at the grass-roots level, we have no right to lecture on it at the national level.
Tomorrow must not be a spectacle. It must be real. It must be credible. And it must be the people’s own.
Let Lagos lead the way.
