Nigerian election uproar
24 04 2007The dust has far from settled on the Nigerian presidential election, with observers calling into question the legitimacy of the poll, and plentiful reports of vote rigging and violence.
The British Guardian today reports that the PDP candidate Umaru Yar’Adua won 1.8m votes in Rivers state against a combined total of just 109,000 for the two main opposition candidates, while in Delta state he received 1.2m votes to 42,000 for the opposition. These are just two examples of highly dubious results.
The Guardian’s Nigerian namesake, reports that the other presidential candidates are protesting against Yar’Adua’s victory and street demonstrations area being organised.
And the response of the present incumbent - President Obasanjo - who, incidentally, will remain party leader of the PDP, to the result and the concerns raised?
If Nigerians do not like the victory of his handpicked successor they will have an opportunity to vote again in four years.
Meanwhile Nigerians continue to struggle with 1 in 5 children not making it to the age of five and rampant poverty amongst the vast majority of the population. In the UK we say we get the politicians we deserve; surely the same cannot be said of the Nigerian people who have to make do the present shambles.
I am struggling to live here, I could not care about Nigeria, or Africa anymore, slowly we will end up in the same boat, with Welfare reforms aimed at lowering benefits for the sick and disabled, and if somebody is committing fraud while claiming then jail them, but do not make the mistake of counting all disabled and sick as frauds, or work shy.
Sorry I have grown hard over the past ten years of Labour.