The Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria coalition today had a press briefing at the Place Lounge, N0 45 Isaac John Street GRA Lagos to launch the RSVP Campaign ahead of the voter registration exercise.
The four letters represent four key activities that young people need to complete successfully in order to have a positive impact on the 2011 general elections and guarantee their place at the table in determining Nigeria’s future.
These are:
1. Register to vote
2. Select credible candidates (having scrutinized the options)
3. Vote
4. Protect their votes.
EiE Nigeria is a coalition of young professionals and youth organizations committed to instituting a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria through advocacy, activism and the mobilization of the youth population as responsible citizen. We are non-partisan.
For the purpose of the elections, we believe that young Nigerians should be educated, motivated and mobilized to actively and positively participate in the 2011 elections and beyond.
Hence the need for the press briefing, Ahead of the January 15 to 29th voter registration exercises. The coalition calls on all Nigerians, especially within the 18 to 35 age bloc, to turn up at all the polling station close to their location and register. Their ability to be part of the registration process, will give them an opportunity to elect leaders
of choice and thereby allow Nigerians decide on whom to govern them.
As part of our line-up activities to mobilize young Nigerians, the group is organizing a ‘’celebrity walk’’ where young Nigerians will meet up celebrities at designated locations within their locale and they will all walk to registration units, where they can be registered alongside the celebrity.
In the course of the voter registration exercise, Nigerians are going to be asked to send in reports on the registration via e-mails, sms and the social networking sites twitter, facebook. Also a hotline has been set up to respond to calls from persons who have problems registering in their polling booths so we can engage the Independent National Electoral
Commission INEC to sort out registration challenges.
These are some of the other things lined up for the project.
• For voter Registration: Face to face forums: Campaign messages will be customized for certain youth constituencies. Through Campus Hall and Town Hall Meetings (THMs), hustings and get-out-the-voters, messages will be communicated. This voter education is funded by INEC, and we will be covering the six geo-political zones, and online blackout.
• For selecting candidates, Traditional Media: candidates will be profiled using the strengths of coalition members, live presidential debate on Channels television. TV adverts and radio jingles to be aired around the country to reach a wider audience in a short time.
• Votes, people will have to vote, report and monitor the process alongside.
• Protecting the votes, equip volunteers with citizen reporting tools. Currently, EiE Nigeria runs an active social networking sites via twitter facebook and youtube where we reach over (380.000) three hundred and eighty thousand followers talking about the 2011 elections. The #RSVP tag trends daily in Lagos and Abuja keep the youths abreast of
latest happenings concerning the elections.
The commend government’s decision to shut down primary and secondary schools ahead of the voter’s registration exercise. EiE also call on government to close down tertiary institutions in order to allow for university students an opportunity to take part in the process.
In line with EiE’s RSVP Slogan, young Nigerians have been urged to register, select candidate of choice, vote wisely and protect their votes.
Abang Mercy
Communications Cordinator
Enough is Enough Nigeria
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