**Title: Hunger, Insecurity, and Now Jail for Not Voting? House of Reps Misses the Mark**
At a time when Nigerians are crying out in pain over unbearable hardship, hunger, and insecurity, the House of Representatives has chosen to focus on punishing citizens for not voting — proposing a six-month jail term or a N100,000 fine for those who fail to cast their ballot.
This move is not only tone-deaf; it is dangerously insensitive.
Our markets are empty, our pockets drained, and our streets unsafe. Families sleep hungry. Kidnappings, killings, and joblessness continue to tear at the soul of this nation. And instead of addressing these crises, our lawmakers have decided that the biggest threat to democracy is voter apathy?
Have they paused to ask *why* Nigerians are not voting?
The truth is simple: many Nigerians have lost faith in the system. Elections come and go, but nothing changes. Promises are made and broken. The same faces, the same failures. People are tired.
They are disillusioned. And they are hurting. The ballot has stopped being a tool of hope and has become a symbol of disappointment.
Criminalizing voter apathy without addressing the *cause* is like punishing a patient for not healing fast enough, while refusing to treat the infection.
If the House of Reps truly wants to improve voter turnout, they should start by restoring faith in governance. They should pass laws that put food on the table, create jobs, and protect lives. They should reform the electoral process to make it transparent and credible.
But no — they’d rather threaten the same citizens they have failed to serve.
This proposed law is a clear sign of how disconnected our lawmakers have become. Instead of representing the people, they now rule over them with arrogance and detachment.
Nigerians are not the problem. The problem is a political class that has forgotten its duty.
Fix the country. Fix the system. Then watch the people come out to vote — not by force, but by faith.
