Nigeria’s election

The electoral body in Nigeria surprised many by postponing the elections for a week

even when everything seemed well.

With a huge population and gigantic economy, what happens in Nigeria

must be of interest to the entire continent. It looks like a disappointment looming.

Such a move means that the there was a very serious problem with the preparedness

of the elections. The surprise comes from the fact that we often see such stuff happen

in countries that are torn apart by war and thus hardly any institution is operating with

a dependable spine.  It begs the question, therefore, is Nigeria suffering undeclared war?

So the colourful campaigns appeared deflated by this move. There was a general feeling of

disappointment in the populace with Nigerians taking to social media to lament.

 Since Buhari assumed the presidency, Nigeria has suffered great harm in terms of resources

and public time in encountering  Boko Haram. No doubt that this played a role in this confusion.

The main reason cited by the body in charge of elections is logistical challenges regarding 

movement of sensitive materials to far flung regions and deployment of technology required

 for the elections.

Why were these issues not anticipated? The fact that they used a one week window to 

clear them shows that if they were discovered early they could have been cleared well in

 advance before the election date. Electoral infrastructure need to be tested thoroughly 

and well in advance.

Many countries that have had to reschedule elections did not give any admirable outcome. See

Cameroon

The once oasis of tranquility in Central Africa  had in 2012 to postpone parliamentary elections

twice. This was necessary to capture some of the recommendations requested by opposition 

parties regarding voters register audit, pushing voter age eligibility from 20 to 18 and use of  

biometric technology in voter identification. All this did not translate to anything favorable for the

opposition because of political state capture by the ruling elite. Paul Biya's party went 

on to win overwhelmingly in that election of 2013 and again 2018

DRC

Democratic Republic of Congo delayed its elections many times for frivolous reasons.

then they did it one final time when everyone thought all was well. Just a few days to the

election, a fire in Kinshasa destroyed a huge number of voting machines. So elections that 

should have happened in Dec 2016 got done in Dec 2018. The results were delayed for 

many days and the outcome was widely contested  within Africa  and abroad.

Recent elections in Africa have shown how hopeless our elections are.

Zimbabweans celebrated in the streets of Zimbabwe when Robert Mugabe left office.

Zimbabwe after Mugabe has not lived up to the expectations of the citizens.

The DRC has a similar story. So has remained Kenya after  Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.

Goodluck Jonathan was easily defeated because Nigerians were very impatient regarding

their national security and everyday living standards. So when Buhari came he was expected to

deliver hugely on fighting corruption as well as  tackling Boko Haram. Being a former Military man

much was expected of him about the later. Even though he has a higher score than Jonathan,

I really cannot rate Mahammadu Buhari as a success.  Perhaps ill health disadvantaged him a great

deal. I also find that his strict military discipline led Buhari into running a highly conservative

regime that has made it difficult for Nigeria to open up to new world realities

It is important to note the admirable tradition of shifting power between North and South

still abides  in the eagle country. That is worth celebrating.

With the status quo maintained, I wish every Nigerian peace and political satisfaction.

President Buhari celebrates after winning a second term /DW.com