The posters lining the roads of Lagos show the face of a smiling, bespectacled 70-year-old above a slogan promising renewed hope. Vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu, pedestrians and drivers negotiating the chaos of the Nigerian commercial capital are told. Vote for peace, justice, unity.
On Saturday, the 6 million inhabitants of Lagos who have collected their voting cards will have to decide whether Tinubu and his ruling All Progressives Congress might fulfil any of these promises. So too will another estimated 81 million voters among the 220 million inhabitants of Africa’s most populous country. Their collective decision will determine the result of Nigeria’s seventh presidential elections since the end of military rule in 1999.
Few doubt the importance of the poll. Analysts speak of a crucial turning point after several years of worsening insecurity and acute economic troubles. Many see a credible poll and progress in tackling the country’s multiple problems as key to stability across a swath of Africa.
“It’s a really very important election and one that will be watched very keenly by people outside Nigeria,” said Murithi Mutiga, the International Crisis Group’s programme director for Africa.
‘Godfather of Lagos’ is the man to beat in pivotal Nigerian election https://t.co/EU5Xjghcv4
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) February 24, 2023