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Three days after the citizens of Nigeria went to the polls to cast their votes for the next president, results are still filtering into the Independent National Election Commission (INEC). Results have been slower than expected because the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV) failed or was not used to record votes. BVAS and IReV were created to enhance the transparency of election results and instill… Read More
Voters in Africa’s most populous country go to the polls today to elect its next president and decide the political party makeup of its National Assembly. Over 93 million Nigerians are registered to vote. More than a third of those registered voters are youth between 19 and 34. There are 18 candidates in the race, but only four have the notoriety and money to compete for president. The four are Bola Tinubu… Read More
It has been too long since I spent time sharing my experiences on the African continent. I am just emerging from the 2019 Nigerian General Elections! In addition, what an ordeal it was. I’m sure I have mention this before but almost everything (ok, pretty much everything) in Nigeria is managed from the National level. All 36 states receive funding from the federal government. For some states, they receive as much as… Read More
Now this was a first! I am often assumed to be Nigerian and on one occasion Ghanaian but never Angolan! Maybe it was because he couldn’t quite place my name – which didn’t seem like a typical Nigerian name or from the Francophone countries of Africa. To him, I must be from the former Portuguese colony of Angola. It was a funny exchange and I thanked him for thinking I was from… Read More
“What Should I Be Afraid Of?…Choosing My Leader Is In My Hand.” Bizun Aduwah, Kaduna State On Saturday, Nigerians went to the polls to select the next leader of the most populous country on the African continent. It was a chaotic day as the new smart card readers used to verify voters failed in some polling units and delayed arrival of election materials forced the accreditation process to start late. Because of… Read More
In this photo, Nigerian women present their voter’s card in the 2015 Presidential Election. They waited in the heat (and some in the rain) to cast their vote for the next leader of Nigeria. They are passionate about moving Nigeria forward and taking the next step towards a democratic Nigeria! Despite the delays, disorganization and heated tempers, these women waited until they were accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to… Read More
Earlier this month, I was invited to participate in an Election Observation Mission (EOM) with my organization, the International Republican Institute (IRI). This was my first time as an observer with an EOM. IRI wanted me to gain experience managing and organizing an EOM. In February, Nigeria will hold its Presidential, National Assembly and state elections and IRI is considering an EOM. I was excited and looking forward to this opportunity. For… Read More
A FREDAY in AFRICA! 