Following the incentives given to people like early February salary for federal civil servants, reduced transport fares and a slight reduction in fuel price after the postponement of the just concluded presidential election to enable them travel to their villages and states for the election, some people were asking why people must travel to their places of origin to cast their votes.  A lot of people couldn’t just understand why every election year, some citizens do not exercise their voting right in their residential places as enshrined in the constitution but have to travel miles to perform the simple civic duty.
This set of people, l believe, will find one answer to their questions in what happened in Lagos State during last Saturday’s election. The video clips have gone viral. The reports are in almost all the media, of how political thugs, who claimed to be members of Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), invaded some polling units at Okota, Amuwo Odofin and other areas dominated by people from the South East part of the country, disrupting the elections, and intimidating voters to vote for the candidates of the ruling political party or go back to their states and vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The spokesperson of Pan Yoruba Organisation, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, while condemning the act denying the thugs’ membership of the organization, painted a better picture of what transpired, “… Dirty political merchants and their band of thugs apart from disenfranchisement of the Igbos, went ahead to visit violence on them and burning their votes en masse”. The security agencies that were supposed to protect the people were no were to be found.
Recall that the national leader of the ruling party had earlier told the Igbo community in Lagos to vote for the candidates of his party as a way of showing appreciation for all they have gained from the state and for them to continue their businesses freely and peacefully in the state.  What an intimidation!
In the face of such molestation, intimidation, threats and harassments, wouldn’t one opt to register and vote in his village where he will have a say, be accepted and have the freedom to exercise his voting rights freely?  Are the villages isolated from all these disgraceful acts that characterize our elections? No. But you can be sure that in your village or state no one will rub it on your face that you are a “foreigner” and have no right to choose your preferred candidates.
But how can the country grow with such attitude? Lagos is a cosmopolitan city where democratic elections had been practised for decades. It has always been peaceful and an example of how people from diverse ethnic and political background can cohabit amicably. To regress to this level of ethnic harassment at this stage of our development is, therefore, most shameful and worrisome.
It must be condemned by every peace loving individual, even as urgent measures must be taken to avoid a reoccurrence on March 9th governorship election and subsequent elections not only in Lagos but every other part of the country. The Nigerian Police, the Nigerian
The Army and other security agencies that will be drafted for next Saturday’s election must live up to expectation by ensuring that all the citizens, irrespective of the political and ethnic leanings, must be protected. Some reports of the presidential election have it that some security personnel like the Army perpetrated violence, especially in states like Rivers, leading to the death of many innocent citizens, including INEC officials and policemen. Others seized and held to ransom include party and electoral officials in many states.  This shouldn’t be the case in the forthcoming election for peace and tranquility in our communities.
Most importantly, it is high time politicians dropped the divisive actions and think of what can unite us as a nation.  The era of using thugs to intimidate, maim and kill people just for their selfish interests should be over.
It is also very important that, as has been suggested by many analysts and other well meaning Nigerians, in subsequent elections, Nigeria should do away with the manual process of election which encourages ballot snatching, intimidation, rigging and other election malpractices. 
In many civilized countries, the in-thing now is electronic voting which has numerous advantages over manual process of election. It will reduce thuggery and open intimidation, enable easy and fast transfer of result which will increase the citizens’ trust in the electoral body and the process.
That invariably, will translate to making the election results more credible and acceptable. Many people who relocate to their villages during elections amidst risks of accidents to lives and vehicles will no longer have to do so as they can vote wherever they are, using their mobile devices. Voters will no longer queue up under harsh weather conditions just to cast their votes.
So, it is expected that President Muhammadu Buhari has been reelected, he will speedily assent to the Electoral Act 2010 over which he declined assent earlier, which among other changes, approves the electronic voting for the conduct and transmission of results in the country.

Calista Ezeaku