Daura celebrates, Otuoke commiserates after Nigeria election
Daura and Otuoke couldn’t have been more different on Wednesday. In the former, there were celebrations for their most famous son, Muhammadu Buhari; in the latter, disappointment for theirs.
In Buhari’s home town in northern Katsina state, motorbike riders and car drivers pulled stunts, sending plumes of dust into the air, enveloping the local ruler’s palace overlooking the square.
Veiled women ululated, young men and old cheered in approval, drums were sounded and brooms -- Buhari’s party symbol -- dangled from strings tied to poles and spigots of cement-plastered mud homes.
“Our joy is indescribable as a result of this historic victory of Muhammadu Buhari, which is why we are on the streets for the second day of celebration,” said Lawan Shuaibu, a 29-year-old bus driver.
The mood in beaten candidate Goodluck Jonathan’s hometown of Otuoke in the oil-rich south was more sombre. People were pensive as they reflected on his defeat.
Businesses reported sluggish trade as groups of people in twos or threes discussed the gripping election, which Buhari won by 2.75 million votes, in the first opposition win in Nigeria’s history.
The waiting room at the palace of the local king -- normally a hubbub of gossip and activity -was hushed and the monarch was not in town.
A photo of Jonathan and his Vice-President Namadi Sambo seeking votes for the justconcluded polls hung forlornly outside.
“It was painful that our brother and son, President Jonathan, lost the election in spite of his good performance in office,” said Ibatu Whoknows, a 44-year-old civil engineer.
“He is our illustrious son in whom we are well pleased.”
In both places, talk was about what, if anything, people stood to gain from the change in president, reflecting a patronage system that is still widespread in Africa’s most populous nation.
But there were clear signs in the two places of the contrasting styles of the two men in the contest.
Jonathan’s win in 2011 was considered a boon for the Ijaw people of Bayelsa state, leading to local development projects and even a new university in tiny Otuoke.
People in Daura had no such expectations, with Buhari having pledged to treat all Nigerians equally, eschewing favouritism for fair dealing, regardless of tribe, religion or ethnicity.
“Buhari is the son of Daura but we don’t deceive ourselves because Daura is his hometown that he will treat us differently,” said resident Ahmad Tijjani.
“Buhari never gave Daura any preferential treatment when he was head of state or when he was chairman of the PTF (Petroleum
The mood in beaten candidate Goodluck Jonathan’s hometown of Otuoke in the oil-rich south was more sombre. People were pensive as they reflected on his
defeat People in Daura
had no such expectations, with
Buhari having pledged to treat
all Nigerians equally, eschewing favouritism for fair dealing, regardless of tribe, religion or
ethnicity