Presidential election in Nigeria | Africa’s largest democracy holds its breath

(Lagos) Nigerians eagerly awaited Sunday the first results of the presidential election in the most populous country in Africa, which arouses immense hope despite fears of fraud, and whose outcome promises to be very close between three candidates.

More than 87 million voters were called on Saturday to choose from 18 candidates the man who will have the heavy task for four years of restoring Nigeria, weighed down by a flagging economy, recurrent violence by armed groups and bandits, as well as generalized impoverishment of the population.

The vote took place generally calmly, despite a few security incidents and logistical hiccups, which caused delays. The counting operations continued until late at night, in the presence of many voters determined to “protect” their vote.

“We are eager to know the result because this election will determine the future and the unity of Nigeria,” exclaims Yusufu Eshinuku, an entrepreneur on a street in Lagos, the economic capital. “The next president will have a lot of work.”

The results will be officially announced on a state-by-state basis starting at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. Eastern Time), according to National Electoral Commission (Inec) Chairman Mahmood Yakubu during a press briefing in Abuja. The Republic of Nigeria has 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Data collected from the roughly 176,000 polling stations was supposed to flow faster in Abuja thanks to new technologies being tested for the first time in a nationwide election.

But the electronic transfer and publication of the results took a long time on Saturday and Sunday, stoking fears of vote manipulation, as previous polls have been marred by accusations of fraud.

“Let Nigeria decide,” Burna Boy, Nigerian music star, wrote on Twitter, challenging the Electoral Commission. This Grammy winner gave them a warning: “Don’t try to make magic with the results”.

” It’s my turn ”

At 3:30 p.m. Sunday, at a collection center in Port Harcourt (south-east), electoral agents continued to send the results, many hours after the end of the counting.

The night before, in several offices across the country, crowds of voters were filming the counts live at night with their smart phones, counting the ballots aloud with the electoral agents, in a festive atmosphere.

An unprecedented situation since the return to democracy in 1999, Nigeria could experience a two-round presidential election if the neglected candidate Peter Obi, who has succeeded in establishing himself as a serious challenger against the two parties traditionally dominating Nigerian politics, transforms the trial at the ballot box.

The former governor of Anambra (south-east), a 61-year-old Christian supported by the small Labor Party (LP) and very popular with young people, faces two veterans experienced in the exercise of power.

Bola Tinubu, 70, represents President Muhammadu Buhari’s APC, which is stepping down as required by the Constitution after two terms with a much criticized record. Considered one of the most influential men in the country, this former governor of Lagos, a Yoruba of Muslim faith, warned: this time, “it’s my turn”.

At 76, former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, from the opposition (PDP, in power from 1999 to 2015), will run for the presidency for the sixth time. Originally from the north and of the Muslim faith, he hopes to win many votes in this part of the country.

To be elected in the first round, the winner must obtain, in addition to the majority of the votes cast, at least 25% of the votes in two thirds of the 36 states of the federation plus the territory of the federal capital, Abuja. Otherwise a second round should take place within 21 days.

Undermine trust

The Yiaga Africa observer group (more than 3,800 across the country), is concerned that the delays and scrambles documented so far will “undermine public confidence”.

And warns the Commission: “if the official results are manipulated at any time during the process, we will be able to reveal it”.

This election is crucial: Nigeria – 216 million inhabitants – should become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, while West Africa is threatened by a strong democratic decline and the spread of jihadist violence.

The continent’s leading economy has become a global cultural power, thanks in particular to Afrobeat, a musical genre that is setting the planet on fire with stars like Burna Boy.

But in the face of immense daily hardship, compounded by recent shortages, many Nigerians are calling for “change”, sickened by decades of poor governance and an aging elite, notoriously corrupt.

Nigeria in key dates since independence

Here are Nigeria’s key dates since its independence from the United Kingdom on 1^er October 1960.

First coup

In January 1966, President Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo (ethnicity from the south-east), was overthrown in a coup led by Aguiyi Ironsi, of the same ethnicity. The latter was killed in July during a northern counter-coup which brought Yakubu Gowon to power.

Biafra War

In 1967, the Igbo country, in south-eastern Nigeria, seceded, triggering a civil war of rare atrocity until 1970 and a terrible famine which claimed more than a million lives.

Dictatorship of General Abacha

Military coups punctuate political life. General Sani Abacha took power in 1993 and assumed absolute power until his death five years later.

Democratic transition

After six coups since independence and years of military dictatorship, Nigeria made its democratic transition in 1999. Olusegun Obasanjo is elected and will lead the country until 2007.

Sharia in the north

The introduction of Sharia (Islamic law) in 12 northern states in 2000 provoked clashes between Christians and Muslims, killing 3,000 people.

Boko Haram insurgency

In 2009, the Boko Haram sect, born in 2002, became an armed Islamist group operating in the northeast.

Born of a split in 2016, Iswap, affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, will become the dominant jihadist group in this area.

Buhari elected president

In 2015, the country’s first democratic and peaceful alternation: the opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim from the north and a former putschist, defeated outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan. Re-elected in 2019, Buhari will complete his second and final term in 2023.

Mobilization against police violence

In October 2020, the movement against police violence #EndSARS (“End Sars”) – named after a special police unit accused for years of racketeering the population, torture and even murder – shook the big cities.

The mobilization ended when security forces opened fire on October 20 at the Lekki tollbooth in Lagos, killing at least 11 peaceful demonstrators.

severe flooding

In 2022, the worst floods of the decade kill more than 600 people during the rainy season and affect nearly 3 million people in the country.