As crises spiral, Nigerians are voting in tight presidential election
Propelled by the frustrations of young people, who make up nearly 40 percent of the electorate, third-party candidate Peter Obi is vying to upset two of Nigeria’s most seasoned politicians. Obi, a 61-year-old former governor with a reputation for frugality, won legions of young fans on social media with his promises of reform and accountability.
“Everything is hard right now,” said Micheal Oguntimehin, a 23-year-old in Lagos who wishes he were studying at university but is instead running his own cleaning business to get by. “With Obi, we at least think there will be some change.”
Analysts warn that Obi faces long odds. Among the 18 presidential candidates on the ballot, the other two top contenders are Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a 70-year-old former Lagos governor who has Buhari’s backing, and Atiku Abubakar, a 76-year-old former vice president on his sixth bid for the presidency.
Both men have advantages over Obi in terms of fundraising and get-out-the-vote operations. The race is so close that analysts say Nigeria could see its first runoff, which would be required to take place within 21 days.
Nigeria’s population of 220 million is projected to grow to more than 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world, behind China and India. What happens here will have ripple effects in the region and world, including on global migration patterns.
Injecting a new uncertainty into Election Day is a nationwide shortage of cash that has further crippled Nigeria’s economy in recent weeks. The shortage, which resulted from the government’s abrupt move to remove old bank notes from circulation and issue new ones, has led to massive lines at ATMs and banks and has devastated small businesses.
Buhari last week said the policy would help lay “a strong foundation for free and fair elections” in Nigeria, which has a long history of vote-buying. But some analysts warn that the crisis could have other consequences as well, including increasing frustration with the ruling party and voter apathy.
“This suffering is too much,” said Busayo Bamidele, who would usually take the bus to her home state of Oyo to vote but has no money to do so this year because of the cash shortage.
Bamidele, a 30-year-old mother, said she usually makes a good living selling trinkets and jewelry at a typically jam-packed market on Lagos Island. Since the cash shortage started a few weeks ago, she said she was barely selling anything and is no longer making enough money to feed herself or her children regularly. At stalls around her, vendor after vendor said the same.
“I had to borrow money to buy food this morning … and since then we have not eaten anything else,” Bamidele said on a recent afternoon. “And they say we should come and vote?”
Ope Adetayo contributed to this report.