THE step taken by the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, in passionately appealing to the Federal Government to grant students a two-week break to enable them participate in the 2023 polls, is in the right direction. We, therefore, join NAPTAN to make the same appeal to all concerned authorities.

NAPTAN’s appeal was stimulated by a recent alarm raised by the media against the looming prospect of the 2021/2022 academic calendar disenfranchising about 3.5 million students who will be in school during the February 25 and March 11 general elections.

NAPTAN argues that students make up the largest population of this country and, therefore, cannot be ignored in the coming election. “The government must ensure they are not disenfranchised. The students make up 40 per cent of our population and should be given the opportunity to vote,’’ NAPTAN submitted.

The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has also keyed into the appeal, but is instead, making case for only a two-day break for the students. A former NANS President was quoted as saying that one week would be too long for the students. 

According to him: “The reason is that we have lost a lot of time in the academic calendar since 2020 due to ASUU strike and COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot afford to waste more time due to elections.”

But we argue that two days will not be enough, considering the inconveniences involved in travelling, and the financial pressures a two-day break only will mount on parents who will bear the brunt of funding the trips. As such, we hold the view that the two week-break suggested by NAPTAN will be more adequate.

The need for the Federal Government and other relevant authorities to heed NAPTAN’s plea becomes more urgent considering the disclosure by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, that youths dominate the 9,518,188 newly registered voters in Nigeria. The INEC Chairman had also in his recent appearance at Chatham House, London, declared that the 2023 general election in Nigeria is for the youths.

Professor Yakubu was quoted as saying that in terms of occupation, 3.8 million, or 40.8 per cent of the registered voters, are students, with majority being university and polytechnic students.

Given the importance of the 2023 election by virtue of its linkage with the future and well-being of Nigerians, especially of the young people, a two-week break from school in the lifetime of our youths should not be too much sacrifice to make.

After all, in the past 30 years at least, students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria have had to spend several academic sessions at home due to industrial strikes triggered by poor funding of academic institutions by the same sets of politicians trying to perpetuate themselves in power now through the 2023 election.

Let us all join hands to appeal to all relevant authorities to make it possible for students to cast their votes in the forthcoming polls. 

They have struggled hard enough to register, and the present, not only the future, belongs to them.