These elections come at a crucial time in UK and Northern Ireland politics. I feel it is necessary for people to shed the sense of apathy when it comes to matters politics and exercise this most fundamental of rights that democracy has to offer citizens and vote.

Criticism is easy, at least in comparison to actually doing something meaningful, something that has the potential to steer the course of a nation, or in this case the whole of the European Union. It is easy to point out the perceived infractions of the DUP or Sinn Fein, to spin conspiracy theories on the hidden agendas and backroom dealings between politicians and the people who fund them. With the Northern Ireland government effectively non functional, this is an opportunity for citizens of this small country to make their voices heard.

I am not myself an avid fan of politics, but this election, I hope to hear the party leaders - whose job it is to serve us- recognise that the drama we have been living in over the past few years has a massive detrimental effect on the future of this great nation. Brexit has been a great divisive factor, not least because no one actually knows what impact it will have on our respective lives and the prosperity of the nation or political and economical stability in the region.

Sadly, in a YouGov poll in October, 58 per cent of people living in Great Britain responded that they do not care if Northern Ireland were to separate from the UK as a means of getting Brexit done. Only 18 per cent chose NI over Brexit. Only one in seven said they had ever met anyone from NI.

Personally, I am neither for nor against Brexit: No information, no opinion is my general way of thinking. The information just isn’t complete. Surely, there are good arguments on both sides. My only concern is that we are rushing into something that has not fully been studied and clear mechanisms set in place. Case in point, the Northern Ireland Border: how will commerce and taxation be affected? How will the lives of workers on both sides of the border be affected in the immediate post Brexit period and the decades to come? How will farmers manage without EU subsidies? Will the Troubles rear their ugly head again? Will the relatively fragile peace that the island of Ireland has enjoyed in recent decades be at risk? I would not be upset if I never heard or read the word ‘backstop’ again.

As an NHS worker, I am also concerned about the availability and price of medicines and recruitment and retention of health care personnel. Are we deliberately closing ourselves off to the wealth and security that comes from being a member of a strong and stable family to feed the ego of British Imperialism and the historic superiority that has pervaded the psyche of the average Briton?

To anyone who is feeling a sense of apathy or frustration with NI and UK politics, I beseech you: be mindful about the liberties we now enjoy as citizens of the union: education, freedom of movement and health care, to mention just a few. Please exercise your civic duty and go vote. I originally hail from Sudan, a country that has witnessed a thirty year long dictatorship, that has spanned most of my life. Democratic and free and fair elections never featured in my life. Votes were bought or coerced or rigged or a combination of the three. Politicians and activists arbitrarily arrested and tortured. The fact that I am now a citizen with a right to vote is a bittersweet one. Maybe some people in this country are unaware of the liberty and privilege that is bestowed upon them.

Back to Brexit: Until someone presents a clear and comprehensive view on the mechanisms and repercussions, I believe it would be unwise to charter the divorce from the EU course. The party that offers us a second referendum will demonstrate that they have learnt from the mistakes of Cameron and May, and more recently Johnson.

It is my hope that come the December 12, 2019, we will put our egos aside and vote for the future of this nation, not based on partisanship or nostalgic notions of an empire. We have a responsibility to recognise the looming threat of nationalism sweeping through Europe [and America one may add] and defend ourselves and the world from the potential threat that brings with it.

Dear politicians, what will the history books say about you in 2120?