Voters react as their party’s ballots are counted at a polling station in Lagos, on February 25, 2023, during Nigeria’s presidential and general elections.
JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
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JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
Voters react as their party’s ballots are counted at a polling station in Lagos, on February 25, 2023, during Nigeria’s presidential and general elections.
JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
LAGOS, Nigeria – A vote took place in Nigeria on Saturday to decide one of the most competitive and unpredictable polls in years. It will take several days until the final results are known. As always, the elections paralyzed ordinary life.
In Lagos, its most populous city, the usually crowded or congested shopping streets empty into a cyclist’s paradise. Soccer games filled roads that would otherwise be empty. Bus stops, the fronts of restaurants, pharmacies and schools became voting units and lines that circled the block in the heat.
Youths play soccer in the streets before going to the voting unit at Ojuelegba in Lagos on February 25, 2023, during Nigeria’s presidential and general elections.
BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images
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BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images
Youths play soccer in the streets before going to the voting unit at Ojuelegba in Lagos on February 25, 2023, during Nigeria’s presidential and general elections.
BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images
Elections are always big events, but many voters said this one had a compelling sense of urgency. The past eight years have witnessed widespread economic misery and a growing sense of vulnerability. The threats from the armed groups have gone from being isolated in regional foci to being felt in a large part of the country.
Many voters said that this election was an opportunity to put the country on a better course. Many young and old said they were voting for the first time.
While the vote went smoothly in many areas, in others it was fraught with challenges and risks. Voters at a polling station in Surulere, a district of Lagos, queued for up to 7 hours before casting their ballots. Electoral Commission staff arrived late and the voter verification system faced technical glitches. Some went home frustrated. Others complained bitterly but waited, determined to vote. But when they did, relief soon gave way to fear as masked gunmen suddenly arrived, shot, and seized the urn.
After the gunmen left, many searched the ground for their belongings, now littered with ballot papers, phones, slippers, and then hurried home. But some waited to see if the vote would restart again.
Tom Saater contributed to this story.