VIDEO: Elections are rigged because Nigerians allow it - Obi

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, asserts that election rigging in Nigeria persists because citizens themselves permit it by failing to actively safeguard their votes. In a recent video circulating from his visit to Washington, D.C., Obi elaborated on the challenges facing Nigerian democracy, placing significant responsibility on the electorate.

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Elections are rigged in Nigeria because Nigerians want it to be rigged. It’s as simple as ABC.

"Elections are rigged in Nigeria because Nigerians want it to be rigged. It’s as simple as ABC," Obi stated. He stressed that politicians alone cannot ensure free and fair elections without the determination of voters to defend the integrity of their ballots. "I will do whatever is possible to protect the votes, but unless Nigerians decide that their votes will count, it will not count," he added.

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I will do whatever is possible to protect the votes, but unless Nigerians decide that their votes will count, it will not count.

Obi urged voters to remain at their polling stations after casting their ballots to observe the vote counting. He criticized the tendency for voters to leave immediately, suggesting that their focus should be on ensuring the votes are tallied correctly at the unit level. "Because our politics is transactional, the average Nigerian doesn’t know who is his problem," he commented, implying a disconnect between voters and the political system that allows manipulation.

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The question you all should ask yourselves today is: what is the problem of Nigeria? Nigeria has only one problem, leadership. Political leadership.

Furthermore, Obi identified poor leadership as Nigeria's most significant issue, arguing that the country possesses abundant human and natural resources. He believes that if Nigerians recognize leadership as the core problem, they will be motivated to demand better governance. "So everybody should be part of protecting that vote," he concluded, emphasizing that active citizen participation is crucial for achieving electoral reform and demanding accountable leadership.

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So everybody should be part of protecting that vote.