Nigeria has held seven general elections since the beginning of its fourth republic, which is the country’s longest period of democratic rule. These elections were held in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023. The elections were for the offices of president, governors, members of the national assembly (Senate and House of Representatives), and […]
Across Africa, there are different civil war hotspots – from Libya, to the Central African Republic, to Northern Mozambique, the recently settled Ethiopia-Tigray war, and the Cameroon’s north-west and south-west regions (among others, including the recent war that broke out in Sudan). These civil wars are often the result of deep-seated social, political, and economic […]
As I write this piece, I ask myself if the drama that played out in the just concluded gubernatorial elections in Adamawa state has truly ended. The electoral shenanigans in that state started in March when it was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). A supplementary election was subsequently organized on the […]
The 2023 general elections in Nigeria has come and gone. In one of many areas, it has left a lot of people disappointed, and that is voter apathy. In terms of voter turnout, the 2023 general elections witnessed the lowest turnout of voters since the return to democracy in 1999. In 2019, 29 million of […]
Read More… from Polithinks — Voter Apathy: Another Look at Different Voting Methods
Nigeria’s electioneering, particularly, the management of elections, which lies squarely on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has come a long way from 1999 when voter registration was done manually, with the details of registrants written manually with a pen on a form provided by INEC officials. There was no database of registrants, thus cases […]
Read More… from Polithinks — On The Neck of INEC: Getting it Right
The 2023 general elections have come and gone, but the dust it generated is yet to settle. Across the country, contestants have won and lost; some who lost have found it a bitter pill to swallow and have resorted to various means to seek redress. Most have proceeded to the various Election Tribunals to seek […]
The tension across the country days before the governorship and House of Assembly (HoA) elections was palpable. The 2023 general elections came to a crunch because local issues were now used to decide who superintends over the affairs of the states. It is no secret that in Nigeria, state governors wield a lot of powers, […]
The social media has become a phenomenon in Nigeria. Traditional media used to be the rallying point for people who have opinions they wanted others to hear. However, traditional media is not very fluid. It does not transmit information in an instance. It was the domain largely of people who spend years training in the […]
Just before the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja in May 2022, the former governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi, left the party to join the Labour Party (LP), and eventually emerged its presidential candidate. Before Mr. Obi left, a section of the Nigerian population who had come to identify themselves […]
Read More… from Polithinks: The Obi Effect ー A Fad or a Force?
The electoral cycle in Nigeria for 2023 will soon end, but not before the gubernatorial elections in 28 states have been conducted on the 11th of March, 2023. Elections will not hold in 8 states given that they are off-cycle states. These are states whose elections have been subject of litigations in the past that […]
On February 25th 2023, Nigeria held a nation-wide election for the position of our incoming president. This new president is expected to be on seat for four years, pending another incoming election.The president elect would be following after a tumultuous eight-year tenure under Buhari, a renowned former dictator. Following the voting for presidency is the […]
Read More… from Nigeria’s Election and the Myth of Personal Gain vs Collective Suffering
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) has been hailed as King Maker by many, and for a long time. He has been given credit for the emergence to prominence of national political figures such as Babatunde Fashola, and the current Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. In fact, in the run up to the primaries of the All […]
Read More… from Bola Ahmed Tinubu: The King Maker is Finally King
