Buhari, Atiku in race for presidency
ON SATURDAY NIGERIANS will choose between two septuagenarians to lead Africa’s largest democracy: President Muhammadu Buhari and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar. The pair have run for president nine times between them.
There are more than 60 other candidates, although their chances of winning are slim as the wealth and patronage networks of the two main parties drive the politics of Africa’s top oil producer.
Buhari’s 2015 victory with his All Progressives Congress (APC) party was built on three promises: to rid Nigeria of endemic corruption, fix the economy and tackle security threats.
If Buhari wins again, Nigeria would be in for another four years of political torpor and disregard for rights, his opponents say.
Atiku, the candidate of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has been caught up in corruption allegations since serving as vice president from 1999-2007. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
His businesses include a port logistics firm and a private university. He has promised business-friendly policies to double the size of the economy by 2025 if elected.
He wants to privatise parts of the state oil company and create a $25 billion (R340bn) fund to support private sector infrastructure investment.
Atiku’s opponents say he would exploit those pro-business policies to enrich himself and those around him.
Nigeria is deeply divided. The north is mainly Muslim and the south is largely Christian and the population is fairly evenly split between religions. There are also more than 200 ethnic groups. The three largest are the Hausa in the north, the Yoruba in the southwest and the Igbo in the south-east.
The divisions have led to an unofficial power-sharing agreement among Nigeria’s political elite. The presidency is supposed to alternate between the north and south after every two fouryear terms.
Buhari, a northern Muslim, is in his first term, having held the post since 2015. His predecessor, the PDP’s Goodluck Jonathan, is a southern Christian. |