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A RETIRED military general is set to take on Boko Haram after being elected Nigeria’s leader in a hotly contested election.
Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters take to the streets in Nigeria to celebrate his victory.
Muhammadu Buhari will take over from incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria after winning the critical vote by 15.3 million votes to 12.9 million. It’s the first time Nigerians voted to throw out a sitting leader in a country ravaged by the six-year rise of Boko Haram.
Mr Jonathon conceded the vote earlier, saying “nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian”.
“I promised the country free and fair elections. I have kept my word.”
The victory for Buhari — who had led the country for 20 months
before in a reign that began and ended with a military coup — is being
hailed as a watershed moment for Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, which
Jonathan’s party has governed since decades of military dictatorship
ended in 1999.
Celebrations erupted across Buhari’s strongholds in the north and near his headquarters in Abuja. Cars honked and people waved brooms in the air, a symbol of Buhari’s campaign promise to sweep out Nigeria’s endemic corruption.
Results showed Burahi won overwhelmingly in Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram, which has suffered the most from their brutality as the terrorists have swept through villages kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls. He took 19 states compared to 17 for Jonathan plus the small Federal Capital Territory. Final official results were expected to be announced late Tuesday.
In addition to dominating northern regions as expected, Buhari won the capital Lagos, although less than one third of people voted across the country.
The winning candidate must take more than half of all votes and at least 25 per cent of votes in two thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory at Abuja.
Spontaneous celebrations sprang up across cities in northern
Nigeria, where Buhari is almost revered. Young men on motor scooters
performed wheelies as hundreds of youths chanted, “Change! Change!
Change!” and cars honked their horns in support.
Outside Buhari’s party headquarters in Abuja, women chanted songs and used grass brooms to elaborately sweep the way ahead of arriving dignitaries in flamboyant robes.
“This election is not about Buhari or Jonathan, it’s about Nigeria, it’s about freedom, it’s about change, it’s about unity,” Aisha Birma said.
She said Jonathan lost because he failed to provide security for Nigerians
.
“What we have gone through, the Boko Haram insurgency for the past six years in Borno ... You, Jonathan, were responsible for our lives and property. When you don’t protect our lives and property, you can’t talk about infrastructure, education ... Security is paramount,” she said.
The austere and strict Buhari has described himself as a
belated convert to democracy, promising that, if elected, he would stamp
out the insurgency in the north waged by Boko Haram, the homegrown
Islamic extremist group that has pledged loyalty to Islamic State.
Critics and supporters alike agree he is the one leader who did not treat the country’s treasury as a personal piggy bank. During his brief 1983-85 dictatorship, he ruled with an iron fist, jailing people even for littering, and ordering civil servants who arrived late to work to do squats. He gagged the press and jailed journalists to cover up a deepening economic crisis as prices tumbled for the oil on which Nigeria’s economy depends. He eventually was overthrown by his own soldiers.
Nigeria’s 170 million people are divided almost equally between Christians mainly in the south and Muslims, like Buhari, who dominate the north. In this election Buhari won southern states, which is an unprecedented development many say was more a reflection of voter antipathy toward Jonathan than pro-Buhari sentiment.
It’s also his fourth bid to become president, which was boosted by forming a coalition two years ago. General dissatisfaction with Jonathan also ushered in his win.
Journalist and political analyst Kadaria Ahmed said the vote
sent a clear message that democracy was maturing. He also cited
Jonathan’s perceived insensitivity to the suffering of citizens caught
up in the mayhem of Boko Haram’s uprising, in which about 10,000 people
were killed last year and more than 1.5 million people have been driven
from their homes.
The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center director J Peter Pham agreed: “Boko Haram was a factor both as a security threat to Nigeria, but also because it became emblematic of a broader failure of the incumbent administration. It became the icon of its shortcomings.”
Nigerians have also praised Jonathan for his graciousness in defeat.
“In the history of Nigeria, I think this is the first time where a contestant has called his rival to congratulate him,” said retired general Abdusalam Abubakar, a former head of state and head of a national peace committee, after meeting Jonathan on Tuesday. “President Jonathan maintained a point that the blood of Nigerians is not worth his presidency, and by his action he has proved that.”
Because of decades of military dictatorship, Saturday’s vote was only the eighth election since the country won independence from Britain in 1960, and the fifth since democracy was restored in 1999.
Muhammadu Buhari’s supporters take to the streets in Nigeria to celebrate his victory.Muhammadu Buhari will take over from incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria after winning the critical vote by 15.3 million votes to 12.9 million. It’s the first time Nigerians voted to throw out a sitting leader in a country ravaged by the six-year rise of Boko Haram.
Mr Jonathon conceded the vote earlier, saying “nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian”.
“I promised the country free and fair elections. I have kept my word.”
Supporters drag a machete on the ground to create sparks while celebrating the win for Buhari.
The retired general has actually led
the country before when he ruled with an iron fist and jailed people for
littering.
Celebrations erupted across Buhari’s strongholds in the north and near his headquarters in Abuja. Cars honked and people waved brooms in the air, a symbol of Buhari’s campaign promise to sweep out Nigeria’s endemic corruption.
Results showed Burahi won overwhelmingly in Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram, which has suffered the most from their brutality as the terrorists have swept through villages kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls. He took 19 states compared to 17 for Jonathan plus the small Federal Capital Territory. Final official results were expected to be announced late Tuesday.
In addition to dominating northern regions as expected, Buhari won the capital Lagos, although less than one third of people voted across the country.
The winning candidate must take more than half of all votes and at least 25 per cent of votes in two thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory at Abuja.
Supporters are keen for a change in the country that has been ravaged by the rise of Boko Haram.
Outside Buhari’s party headquarters in Abuja, women chanted songs and used grass brooms to elaborately sweep the way ahead of arriving dignitaries in flamboyant robes.
“This election is not about Buhari or Jonathan, it’s about Nigeria, it’s about freedom, it’s about change, it’s about unity,” Aisha Birma said.
She said Jonathan lost because he failed to provide security for Nigerians
.
“What we have gone through, the Boko Haram insurgency for the past six years in Borno ... You, Jonathan, were responsible for our lives and property. When you don’t protect our lives and property, you can’t talk about infrastructure, education ... Security is paramount,” she said.
A win for democracy … Buhari supporters celebrate at his headquarters in Abuja.
Critics and supporters alike agree he is the one leader who did not treat the country’s treasury as a personal piggy bank. During his brief 1983-85 dictatorship, he ruled with an iron fist, jailing people even for littering, and ordering civil servants who arrived late to work to do squats. He gagged the press and jailed journalists to cover up a deepening economic crisis as prices tumbled for the oil on which Nigeria’s economy depends. He eventually was overthrown by his own soldiers.
Nigeria’s 170 million people are divided almost equally between Christians mainly in the south and Muslims, like Buhari, who dominate the north. In this election Buhari won southern states, which is an unprecedented development many say was more a reflection of voter antipathy toward Jonathan than pro-Buhari sentiment.
It’s also his fourth bid to become president, which was boosted by forming a coalition two years ago. General dissatisfaction with Jonathan also ushered in his win.
Muhammadu Buhari is renowned for once
ruling the country with an iron fist and forcing late civil servants to
do physical exercise as punishment.
The Atlantic Council’s Africa Center director J Peter Pham agreed: “Boko Haram was a factor both as a security threat to Nigeria, but also because it became emblematic of a broader failure of the incumbent administration. It became the icon of its shortcomings.”
Nigerians have also praised Jonathan for his graciousness in defeat.
“In the history of Nigeria, I think this is the first time where a contestant has called his rival to congratulate him,” said retired general Abdusalam Abubakar, a former head of state and head of a national peace committee, after meeting Jonathan on Tuesday. “President Jonathan maintained a point that the blood of Nigerians is not worth his presidency, and by his action he has proved that.”
Because of decades of military dictatorship, Saturday’s vote was only the eighth election since the country won independence from Britain in 1960, and the fifth since democracy was restored in 1999.
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