After 16 years in power, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will no longer lead Nigeria’s government, having lost the presidential election to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). Moreover, the outcome marks the first time since Nigeria achieved Independence from Great Britain in 1960 that an incumbent has been displaced by a rival political party without violence. This bodes well for the country at a time when it is facing unprecedented challenges.
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The victory of Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria’s Presidential elections, announced yesterday, signals an outstanding reversal for a man who had come up short 3 times previously. African democracies, in general, are yet to perfect the art of regularly changing presidents. In Nigeria, before yesterday, no incumbent had ever failed to gain re-election, and given the patronage made possible through the structure of the Nigerian petro-state, and 16 years of dominance at all political levels, unseating the PDP was always going to be a huge task.
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Showing a “commendable determination to register their vote and choose their leaders,” Nigerians by the hundreds of thousands lined up at polling stations across the country to select the next president and National Assembly of their country, U.S. and British witnesses to the hotly-contested presidential polls observed.
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ABUJA — All land and sea borders were closed last night while international flights to and from Nigeria will be suspended by midnight today as Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday to elect the President and members of the National Assembly. With just 48 hours to the election, residents besieged the markets to buy foodstuff with prices of food items sky-rocketing, even as the Department of State Services has urged voters to be vigilant in crowded environments.
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Six years of the Jonathan presidency have pushed the country to the precipice. The way it looks, Nigeria might take a dangerous plunge if Jonathan remains in office beyond May 29, 2015. Another four years under the present dispensation is an open invitation to chaos. continue reading »
Nigeria’s army is not in a position to defeat Islamist terror group Boko Haram, according to one of the army’s commanding officers stationed in the northeast of the country.
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