The presidential campaign in Nigeria will kick off today, Wednesday, September 28. After five months of campaigning, eighteen candidates, including one woman, are hoping to take the helm of the West African giant, which is in the grip of a severe economic and security crisis. With five months to go before the election, neither of the two main candidates is assured of victory in the first round on the evening of February 25.
Who of Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will succeed incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari? To date, no favorite has yet shown reassurance.
However, the principle of zoning established in Nigeria is hardly respected by these main candidates. The said principle would have the presidency alternate every two terms between a candidate from the north, who is predominantly Muslim, and a candidate from the south, who is predominantly Christian. Thus, in a country where tensions between communities are common, with more than 250 ethnic groups, zoning aims to maintain balance. While Buhari is a Muslim from the north, his successor must be a Christian from the south. The two main candidates are all Muslims, except that Abubakar is from the North and Tinubu is from the South.
Moreover, the hardest part for the elected candidate will be his or her ability to put the Nigerian economy on the right track. The new president will have to deal with the bitter legacy left by Buhari after eight years of governance. First oil producing country in Africa, the country has just lost this title and the gasoline shortage is suffocating the population.
According to World Bank projections, the number of people living in extreme poverty is expected to exceed 95 million, or nearly one in two Nigerians, by the end of the year.
Not to mention the growing insecurity in the country where violence is perpetrated by criminal and jihadist groups.
