If you think you are too big for politics, MC Oluomo will be your next governor. Stop fighting with your PVC — Dele Farotimi

Human rights lawyer and activist Dele Farotimi has issued a blunt warning to Nigerians who disengage from politics, arguing that apathy only clears the path for candidates citizens claim they don’t want.

“If you think you are too big for politics, MC Oluomo will be your next governor. Stop fighting with your PVC,” Farotimi said, in a statement that quickly gained traction online.

The remark references Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, the Lagos State Parks and Garages Management chairman whose influence in Lagos politics has grown significantly in recent years. Farotimi’s point is direct: when educated, middle-class, and politically disillusioned Nigerians refuse to vote, organize, or contest, they leave the field open to actors with strong grassroots mobilization structures.

His message targets a recurring pattern in Nigerian elections. Many citizens complain about the quality of leadership but stay away from voter registration, refuse to collect their Permanent Voter Cards, or boycott polls entirely. Farotimi argues that this withdrawal does not punish the political class. Instead, it strengthens the position of those who rely on patronage networks, money, and street-level organization to win elections.

“Stop fighting with your PVC” is a call to treat the voter card as a tool, not a symbol of frustration. The PVC is the legal instrument for choosing representatives, and without it, citizens forfeit the one guaranteed mechanism they have to influence who governs them. Farotimi contends that dismissing it as useless is how the electorate hands power to the least accountable actors.

The comment also reflects broader frustration with Nigeria’s political culture, where name recognition, incumbency, and informal power structures often outweigh policy debates. For Farotimi, the solution is not to mock or ignore these realities, but to out-organize them through sustained civic participation.

Political analysts note that voter turnout in Nigeria has declined over the last three general elections, with many young people citing distrust in the process. Yet the same demographic is most vocal online about governance failures. Farotimi’s statement forces a confrontation with that contradiction: outrage without participation changes little….See More