Thumbs up for MTV and democracy - 24 Jan 2011

If you live in a democratic society, voting for your leaders is one of your most important rights - if not the most important. Voting allows you the voice to choose how your country is run and to dismiss this right is a sincerely foolish thing to do. If you do not vote, you really have no right to complain. I applaud the youth culture channel, MTV, for launching its "Choose or Lose" initiative in Nigeria, encouraging the youth of that country to vote in the upcoming elections.

I voted for the first time in South Africa's national elections in 2009 and while it takes only less than a minute to cast your vote, it must be one of the most gratifying social experiences in which you will ever partake - knowing that you, and those like-minded, can have an impact on your country's social, economic and political path. Knowing a media organisation as large as MTV supports a democratic culture through the youth of Africa is inspiring.