Do you guys remember my brother that I’m always advising? Well, it seems he derives particular pleasure in seriously annoying me!
So I was chatting with him about stuff, and I made the mistake of asking when he would be travelling to Bayelsa to vote in the 2019 presidential election since that is where he registered.
Can you believe this boy had the temerity to tell me that he is yet to collect his Permanent Voter Card? Abeg, somebody come and hold me before I jump through this phone and give him the dirtiest slap of his life!
This boy (man), has a second class upper degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Science. He was 33 years old last May; he should be the one vying to be president of his country, yet he neglected to give himself the authority to choose the person who is going to be making decisions that will impact his life and that of his unborn generation!
Is it too late to use this?
In fact, just give me a minute let me call our mother and tell her; this kain pikin in this day and age – who can believe this magnitude of irresponsibility?
I’m back, and no surprises; Mama has a Voter’s Card and she’s going to use it! But the person whose interests are at stake, is sitting behind his computer all day, babbling excuses about how the government “refused” to give him a voter’s card.
Wait, you don’t know how to insist on your rights in this case but when it comes to making threats on comment sections and posting fake news on social media you’ll take first position?
I wish I hadn’t called him because now, he has ruined my entire day. So I called my friend in order to vent my frustration some more. My friend is a good conversationalist. He comes to my business place often and engages the customers in discussions about the problems with the country and proffers many outstanding ideas to solve them.
Sometimes he can be a nuisance with his distractions of customers trying to concentrate on their work, but most times he’s very convincing and his views are welcomed by his audience. As we chatted on the phone he told me he had chosen to pitch his tent with Alliance For New Nigeria at the national level.
“And what of the state level,” I asked, “who are you going to vote for?”
“I’m not so invested in that aspect, since I don’t have a voter’s card,” he answered
Ok, I give up. Did I mention my friend is an Accountant and also a Pastor?
Even the mutant inhabitants of Bikini Bottom are not this lackadaisical about the welfare of their nation.
Now I’m starting to wonder how many young, educated Nigerians there are who don’t have any intention of going out on February 16 to do their duty.
I am going to ask my two long suffering employees whether they have a voter’s card. I will also threaten them with dismissal if they don’t show me evidence that they actually cast their votes.
It doesn’t matter if they vote for a pink starfish in Bermuda shorts, what matters is that they are talking the talk and walking the walk. They are concerned enough to participate in shaping the direction their country will take – whether for good or for bad.
Because if a worker is not responsible enough to care who is in charge of his affairs, then how can I trust him to be responsible with the affairs of my business?
So to clarify: should employers terminate the appointment of employees who don’t exercise their civic responsibility and vote?