Nigeria, May 18 -- When Nigerians quip that "Nigeria can happen to anybody," it is often shrugged off as a cliche. But beneath that phrase lies a deep and bitter truth, a chilling reality that becomes more apparent when you find yourself on the wrong end of a system that criminalizes apathy while rewarding impunity. What can be more twisted than a country where citizens are thrown behind bars for not voting, yet politicians who rig elections, the very cancer of our democratic process, go scot free, even celebrated?

It is paradoxical that instead of channeling their legislative energy toward sponsoring a bill that would criminalize and jail election riggers, a move many Nigerians would welcome as a step toward sanitizing the electoral pro...