If I had known earlier that the Nigerian elections would get delayed to such an extent, I would have certainly spent a day or two more in Abuja . The four days that I spent there weren't enough to accommodate anything more than work.
On the last day a colleague did take me for a quick drive around the city and then for a lovely Nigerian meal at her house. Abuja is one of the very few capital cities that have been built from scratch just about 30 years ago. Even from the brief late evening drive it was easy to note that this was a well planned city with broad tree lined roads and modern architecture. I do have to say that one of the things I like the most about cities is the history and culture one sees while walking the streets, which I guess is difficult to build into a new capital city.
Since I was there till a day before the original date for the election, I did enjoy being a part of a number of heated election debates. There was a little fear of violence, but most were hoping that the country had learnt a lesson from the last election. From what the news is now reporting, it does indeed look like one of the fairest Nigerian elections in a while with a huge voter turnout.
Most debates were also around the two strongest candidates - Goodluck (what a name eh?), the incumbent and Buhari, an ex-military ruler who lost the last two general elections. Goodluck is popular both nationally and internationally. Buhari too has strong supporters specially in the north. From what I heard, it seems like Buhari feels strongly that he lost the last two elections to rigging and that if the same happens this time he will be angry enough to stand by his supporters even if they took up arms.
What might make the results challenging is the fact that for a candidate to win in Nigeria, he or she needs to get at least 25% votes in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states along with a majority (more than 50%) votes overall. If one was to get a clear majority and another the 25% in two-thirds of the states, it might result in an interesting situation.
The news at the moment seems to state that Goodluck is winning by a clear majority - it's going to be really interesting to watch the results unfold.
A bit more on each of the four main presidential candidates - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/8457735/Nigeria-elections-top-four-candidates.html
On the last day a colleague did take me for a quick drive around the city and then for a lovely Nigerian meal at her house. Abuja is one of the very few capital cities that have been built from scratch just about 30 years ago. Even from the brief late evening drive it was easy to note that this was a well planned city with broad tree lined roads and modern architecture. I do have to say that one of the things I like the most about cities is the history and culture one sees while walking the streets, which I guess is difficult to build into a new capital city.
Since I was there till a day before the original date for the election, I did enjoy being a part of a number of heated election debates. There was a little fear of violence, but most were hoping that the country had learnt a lesson from the last election. From what the news is now reporting, it does indeed look like one of the fairest Nigerian elections in a while with a huge voter turnout.
Most debates were also around the two strongest candidates - Goodluck (what a name eh?), the incumbent and Buhari, an ex-military ruler who lost the last two general elections. Goodluck is popular both nationally and internationally. Buhari too has strong supporters specially in the north. From what I heard, it seems like Buhari feels strongly that he lost the last two elections to rigging and that if the same happens this time he will be angry enough to stand by his supporters even if they took up arms.
What might make the results challenging is the fact that for a candidate to win in Nigeria, he or she needs to get at least 25% votes in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states along with a majority (more than 50%) votes overall. If one was to get a clear majority and another the 25% in two-thirds of the states, it might result in an interesting situation.
The news at the moment seems to state that Goodluck is winning by a clear majority - it's going to be really interesting to watch the results unfold.
A bit more on each of the four main presidential candidates - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/8457735/Nigeria-elections-top-four-candidates.html
Great story, I really love it. Thanks for sharing. I haven't visited to Colombia but I sure it is a worthwhile place to visit. We will there (Colombia) next year.
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