Last Wednesday, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was declared the winner of Nigeria’s presidential election.
He defeated opposition leader Atiku Abubakar, of the Peoples Democratic Party, and youth favorite Peter Obi, of the Labor Party. Considered by local and international media as the most important election in 2023 in the world, and the most unpredictable in the history of Nigeria, in the end the result was “more of the same”.
Tinubu, the former governor of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos State, is an establishment force. He gained a reputation as a kingmaker by helping many officials, including the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari.
The opposition said it would challenge the result in court.
Nigerian journalists give their thoughts on Tinubu’s presidency.
Wilfred Okiche, film critic and reviewer
This is the worst possible outcome for anyone hoping for some progress after the disastrous years of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency. We can think of the negative, but I choose to focus on Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labor Party and the millions of young people who support him and show their distaste for the ruling class. [results gave him a quarter of the vote]. These people came together to agree on the candidate. And his candidate, who was considered by the establishment to be “fringe” and “lacking structure”, went on to claim major victories in Lagos and Abuja. This is not supposed to happen.
Ann Godwin, Guardian Nigeria correspondent
It is unusually cold across Rivers State. Many citizens did not come out to celebrate the election results and some said it did not reflect the true position. However, much is expected from a president elected by the masses who are driven to the wall by insecurity, unemployment, underdevelopment, poor infrastructure, and high inflation. Here, in the rich but resource-starved Niger Delta, where I have been reporting for more than a decade, residents want to see policies that will deliberately lift people out of poverty and create an environment for manufacturing to flourish. The start will be a steady supply of electricity.
Socrates Mbamalu, editor-in-chief of Aso Times and political analyst
For many, it is strange that Tinubu will be handled as president. The election results have given rise to anger, disappointment, frustration and despair. The results do not reflect the will of the people. Tinubu’s presidency will only be a shadow of Tinubu’s Lagos, characterized by chaos, cronyism, corruption and arrogance. If you think Nigeria can’t get any worse than Buhari, think again. With Tinubu, the new vultures are circling Nigeria, not the country, but the carcass.
Anita Eboigbe, head of operations for Big Cabal Media
Leadership, especially at the national level, is a culmination of experience, past antecedents and a summary of the general nature of the leader. Tinubu was introduced to the majority of Nigerians as the governor of Lagos State and later became the godfather to other political heads. The themes of his leadership philosophy, from what is publicly available, are thuggery, abuse of power, corruption, poor city planning and nepotism rather than merit. A Tinubu presidency, to me, appears to be a combination of all these on a wider, national scale. It is a scary prospect, but one that can be tempered with the hope that he will put quality people in his cabinet who will do a good job in certain areas. I am not optimistic.
Justina Asishana, The Nation correspondent in Niger State
It was a very contested and hard-fought election. With Tinubu emerging as champion, I hope to see him working on security infrastructure. I have been covering insecurity affected areas for the past five to six years and hope that under Tinubu’s administration, those who have been displaced will have the opportunity to return to their homes and live without fear. During his visit to Niger state, Tinubu expressed his concern over the plight of these displaced people and promised to find ways to reduce their insecurity. There was no insecurity for him when he was governor of Lagos state – but Nigeria is bigger and he should make security a priority.
This article first appeared on Continenta pan-African weekly newspaper produced in partnership with Mail & Guardians. It is designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Download your free copy here.