Abuja, Nigeria (Top40 Charts/ Vote or Quench) As Nigeria searches for a new democratic leader and direction in April 2011, more than 70 percent of its population is under 30 years of age and will be first time voters. With high stakes and historically low voter turnout from this crucial demographic, VoteorQuench.org, a volunteer-based grassroots campaign, is working to galvanize the community within the country and among the Diaspora to get out the vote.
"Nigeria is at a defining moment in history and the youth cannot afford to be disenfranchised by disenchantment or disbelief in the current system," said Nosa Garrick, a founder of VoteorQuench.org. "Our mission is to mobilize and give a voice to the Nigerian youth who have virtually been silent - by choice and circumstance - until now."
VoteOrQuench.org is a volunteer-based network inspired and fueled by the rise of youth activism and an ambitious desire for change starting now. Internationally renowned songstress and outspoken activist, Nneka, is using her voice as a chorus for change as a "naijadvocate" for VoteorQuench.org to inspire this generation to do the same.
"Our voice is our vote and nothing will change if we don't speak up," said 29-year-old Nneka, who will be registering for the first time these elections. "We can't afford to wait for our turn to make a difference. We have to start somewhere and it's about time."
The campaign's engine is its social network -https://www.VoteOrQuench.org - a virtual living room for like-minded Nigerians anywhere in the world to interact and be informed on key electoral and political issues in the country via blogs, videos, community pages and more. The site also allows users to share content with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Driven primarily by word of mouth, new visitors account for 60 percent of site traffic and volunteers across the globe - Nigeria, France, England, US and more - are already submitting comments, videos, blogs, and more.
On January 11th, 2011, VoteorQuench.org partnered with various youth led organizations, blogs and public figures, in a social media status donation initiative. The initiative called for status donations on Facebook, Twitter, Blackberry Messenger along with other social media platforms, with the inclusion of the No IfNaijaVotes hash tag. The initiative was an effort to raise awareness about the crucial two week voter registration period between January 15th and 29th, by allowing young Nigerians and friends of Nigeria share ideas of positive changes that could occur if Nigerians exercised their right to vote. On January 10th, 2011, American Hip Hop Icon Nas endorsed the campaign by tweeting, "Tomorrow January 11th is No IfNaijaVotes day, please donate your status on Facebook/Twitter/Blackberry messenger and let people know what change can come to their country No IfNaijaVotes. We are not asking for much, just a little bit of typing. Help Nigeria be great! Resend and retweet!!!"
MTV Base Africa along with other prominent Nigerian celebrities were among the many endorsers of the campaign, allowing No IfNaijaVotes to become a trending topic in Lagos, Nigeria - the most populous city in Africa.
VoteorQuench.org is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization. Visit https://www.voteorquench.org.
