Quizzes

Stacks

Shows

Podcasts

Newsletters

Naira Life

Love Life

Hustleprint

Love Currency

Sunken Ships

What She Said

My Bro

So You Don’t Have To

Interview With…

Zikoko Memes

Jollof Road

Cholera Outbreak Update

Follow our socials

  • The Nigerian Voter is a series that seeks to understand the motivations that drive the voting decisions of Nigerians — why they vote, how they choose their candidates, why some have never voted, and their wildest stories around elections.

    In today’s edition, Citizen discusses the various factors that could affect the choice of a Nigerian Voter as they prepare to come to the polls in February 2023.

    With Nigerian voters being only 31 days shy from casting their votes in February 2023, a lot of activity has been going on from key players in the political scene. 

    This ranges from party defections to allegations against candidates and so much more. And these activities have a very high chance of determining who a voter would support during an election. 

    However, some of these factors play a key role in voter decisions. These are:

    Ethnicity 

    There are 18 candidates vying for the presidency, and three of them are from the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. 

    Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from the North, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South-West, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) from the East. 

    Despite the provision given by law which allows individuals of all tribes to contest for elections, there has been controversy since 1999 that presidential power should rotate every eight years between the northern and southern parts of the country.

    This is why many individuals and groups from the north and the south agree that President Muhammadu Buhari must be succeeded by someone from the south.

    However, a South-Eastern presidency (which could be made likely with Obi winning the elections) has been a source of controversy amongst ethnic tribes. 

    This is largely because the zone is clamouring to produce its first-ever president in Nigeria. 

    Religion 

    Religion, like ethnicity, has always been a very key factor in voter participation. Islam and Christianity are the two biggest religions in Nigeria, with 53.5% of Nigerians being Muslim and 45.9% being Christian respectively. 

    Since 1999 there has also been an unwritten law to ensure that the president and the vice president do not share the same religion. While the north is predominantly Muslim, the south is predominantly Christian. 

    But that may change if this man comes along.

    The BAT

    In July 2022, Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim, chose Kashim Shettima, a Kanuri Muslim and former governor of Borno State, as his running mate. 

    As expected, many Nigerians and groups, including the Christian Association of Nigeria, strongly condemned the ticket.

    But that didn’t stop the BAT, as he is still proudly campaigning on a Muslim-Muslim ticket. 

    The rise of a ‘third force’

    Until 2015, the only strong contenders for the presidency were the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Their winning streak ended when their candidate (Goodluck Jonathan) lost the 2015 elections to President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC. 

    In 2023, things are looking to change with the rise of a third-party force from the Labour Party (LP). This is all due to its presidential candidate, Peter Obi. 

    Already he has managed to create a strong Obidient movement across the country, as well as become a favourite for the elections with more than four opinion polls in his favour. 

    Vote-buying

    In a country with over 63% of its population being multidimensionally poor, anyone is looking for a means to hustle and make money. Even if it means selling their votes to do it. 

    However, there are promises of reduction in the act. 

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmoud Yakubu, promised Nigerians that party agents caught buying votes during the 2023 elections would be rightfully punished in accordance with the Electoral Act. 

  • The Nigerian experience is physical, emotional, and sometimes international. No one knows it better than our features on #TheAbroadLife, a series where we detail and explore Nigerian experiences while living abroad.

    This week’s Abroad Life subject is a Nigerian couple who’ve lived in America for over 20 years. The husband was born and bred there while the wife relocated from Nigeria in 2001. They share the ups and downs of living in America and being catalysts for change in Nigeria, despite not being able to vote.

    How did you migrate to America?

    H: I was born in the state of Delaware and automatically became a citizen. My dad moved to America in 1976, but he travelled back to Nigeria often for visits. During one of his travels, he met my mum, and they entered a long-distance relationship until they got married. My mum moved here ten years later, in 1986, because they had to wait five years for a visa, and another five years to get her permanent residency. I was born three years later, in 1989. 

    W: I moved to America with my family in 2001, when I was in my early teens. We were in Florida for a year before we moved to Atlanta in 2002. My family moved here because my father got a H1-B visa, which allows skilled workers to migrate to the U.S. It took five years to get it, but we eventually moved with him in 2001.

    What would you say are the ups and downs of living in America? 

    H: I’d start with the ups. It’s the land of opportunity. I believe America gives opportunities to all immigrants as long as they work hard. One has access to basic amenities like power, good roads, and so on. However, I’d admit it’s become more difficult to get jobs due to the rise of polarised politics and —

    Wait, what do you mean by “polarised politics”?

    H: This is when the two major political parties no longer have the same fundamental ideas, which is not supposed to be the case in a democracy. The polarised politics was caused by the rise of social media — people sharing their own news through their pages — and independent media — the rich spend billions of dollars to establish media agencies that report their own version of the news. I believe that’s what has caused the U.S. legislation to change, especially towards immigrants and visas. The immigrant votes have been known to be discounted during elections in the U.S. That’s the only thing I don’t like about America.

    How does this affect immigrant jobs? Well, the quality of jobs largely depend on the ruling party. If a Republican was President, then you would be less likely to find good immigrant jobs (as they are biased towards non-Americans).

    W: I’d say the same thing. Yes, America is where most of your dreams come true. For instance, I’d never earn up to $1k per week as a medical doctor if I lived in Nigeria. However, in terms of election and governance, immigrants are treated as second-class citizens. We could stay in polling booths for hours and not have officials attend to us. Even if they do, it’s with disdain, like only Americans by blood should be allowed to vote. I don’t mind taking part in the upcoming 2023 elections for Nigeria. But too bad I’m in America, and I can’t.

    Why not?

    H: Because by law, Nigerians that reside outside the country are not eligible to vote. Also, it’s hard for me to relate to Nigerian politics because I have very few memories of the place from my childhood visits. However, I can say diaspora voting should become a thing for people who want to vote. I see Kenyans, Mexicans and so many other immigrants vote with their passports in their various embassies. It should become a rule of law for Nigeria too.

    W: I’m definitely not like my husband in this regard, LOL. I have so many childhood memories of Nigeria, and it sucks that I can’t vote here due to “some law.” I attended Peter Obi’s diaspora rally at Howard University, Washington D.C., and he had clear visions of how to govern the country. If I could vote for whoever I wanted here, best believe Obi would get my ticket come February 25. I hate that Nigeria is in turmoil and there’s absolutely nothing Nigerians here can do about it. We’re more than cash cows for diaspora remittance; we’re Nigerian citizens. Our location shouldn’t dictate our right to vote as Nigerians.

    But what about the other candidates?

    H: Both Atiku and Tinubu have past records of corruption. Tinubu is even worse, with his allegations of drug trafficking. And I don’t see why I should vote for a candidate who lies about the smallest things, like his age. They’ll just maintain the usual style of governance.

    W: About Tinubu, he was the governor of Lagos when me and my immediate family at the time were living there. I can remember passing through Ojuelegba to and from school every day, and seeing agberos, many of whom I later learnt were under his command. For his dirty past record and much more, I don’t think Tinubu is up to the job at all. Neither is Atiku. They’re not forward thinkers. They’re only thinking about enriching their coffers while in office, just like this current president and the president before him.

    Did you attend their rallies?

    H: I wasn’t aware of any rallies for Obi’s rivals close to the Washington  DC-Maryland-Virginia axis, so, no.

    W: Same here. Tinubu and Atiku, to the best of my knowledge, did not campaign in our area. Peter Obi took his time, visited and campaigned for the presidency in about ten or so different cities in North America. He cares deeply about getting Nigerians in diaspora involved in the next election, especially through donations.

    How do you plan to show support ahead of February 2023? 

    H: Well, largely because of my wife, I’ve been researching the political candidates for the National Assembly (NASS) and governorship elections. I’ve also donated money to Obi campaign groups here in Washington.

    W: My friends and family know me as the loudest voice for Peter Obi. I’ve been encouraging my relatives back home (Nigeria) to vote for him. He’s never taken a dime from government funds and has an economist background that could fix up the nation’s economy. All the good roads in Anambra were made so because of Obi. I can go on and on. 

    I may not be able to vote here, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a catalyst for change.

  • On today’s episode of “Keeping up With the Chatham House Speeches”, the New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, made his debut on January 18, 2023. 

    Kwankwaso is known to have most of his supporters as grassroots Nigerians in the North. Like Peter Obi’s Obidients, Kwankwaso’s followers have also cultivated the Kwankwasiyya movement — a movement based on his ideologies for the common Nigerian.

    Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP

    Although his speech was being aired for over an hour on Chatham’s Twitter live stream, the social media streets didn’t even realise that he had a conference until he started roasting Obi the Labour Party (LP).

    But what were these roasts exactly? Did he have anything else to say? Let’s take a look:

    The Disses

    “Labour Party is based on religion and ethnicity.”

    As of June 2022, the NNPP and Labour Party felt that the combination of Obi’s Southern “Obidient” force and Kwankwaso’s Northern “Kwankwasiyya” movement would make for a great alliance. But this fell apart in August 2022 due to the LP’s insistence that the NNPP give up their presidential goals and support them, which the NNPP refused.

    In his Chatham House speech, Kwankwaso gave more context to the failed merger. According to him, the Labour Party isn’t a “national party” (like the NNPP) but one based on ethnicity and religion. He also blamed the Labour Party’s “serious media hype” back then as part of the reasons why he couldn’t see these major flaws.

    But for someone whose party members only truly exist in Northern Kano, can he say that the NNPP is a national party?

    “To us, [Labour Party] is like Andrew Liver Salt.” 

    Kwankwaso also took the chance to boast of his 30 years of civil service experience. According to Kwankwaso, NNPP is the “only growing party in Nigeria today”, with all other parties reaching their “maximum”. Most especially his archenemy, the Labour Party.  

    For the NNPP presidential candidate, the Labour Party’s popularity can be compared to “Andrews Liver Salt ” — a fast rise that is rapidly slowing down.

    Even though the Labour Party achieved fame due to Peter Obi’s presidential ambitions, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, as the Labour Party star has been known to lead over four opinion polls — and counting.

    Now that we know the disses let’s look at the promises he made to Nigerians.

    The Promises 

    Provision of free healthcare services

    Kwankwaso promised that if he were elected president, all families in Nigeria would have free natal and maternal healthcare services. He also promised “mobile clinics” in underserved communities.

    This would prove quite helpful, as the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) announced in March 2022 that over 40,000 women often die from pregnancy-related issues in Nigeria. Part of the cause is due to the lack of affordable healthcare.

    Eradication of illiteracy and introduction of four-year validity for JAMB

    Kwankwaso believes that all Nigerians deserve quality education no matter their gender or social status. He plans to achieve this by doing the following:

    • Addition of incentives to encourage enrollment of girls and all other children from underserved communities.
    • Eradicate illiteracy in Nigeria by giving adults the opportunity to engage in lifelong learning.
    • Enroll Nigeria’s 20 million out-of-school children in quality institutions of learning within the next four years.
    • Provision of one meal per day for children in primary schools.
    • Application forms for tertiary institutions (WAEC, NECO, JAMB) and job enrollment would be free of charge (due to the success of a similar experiment in Kano state).
    • Introduction of a four-year validity period for JAMB results instead of one year.

    Two million job opportunities in armed forces, police and other security agencies

    Kwankwaso believes that one of the best ways to tackle unemployment is by creating two million job vacancies in security agencies, particularly the armed forces and police.

    There’s a possibility he might have gotten this idea from his time as Defence Minister. Still, statistics show that Nigeria’s armed forces have only 190,000 personnel in the Army, Navy, and Air Forces combined and his promise might be a long stretch.

    More taxes for companies and citizens 

    Kwankwaso wants to boost Nigeria’s non-oil revenue through reforms and increments in taxes. Company Income Tax (CIT), Value-Added Tax (VAT), and other revenue-generating agencies were mentioned.

    This is certainly one promise that’s jarring, as Nigeria’s current CIT rate of 30% is one of the highest in the world, even more than ‘developing countries’.

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens, by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • It’s 38 days to the start of Nigeria’s 2023 elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been involved in a lot of recent troubles. This includes the attack on seven INEC offices in the last four months, the near removal of Mahmood Yakubu as INEC chairman, amongst others.

    This is why Yakubu decided to use his Chatham House outing on January 17, 2023, to reassure citizens of the commission’s credibility. He also gave some updates regarding the 2023 elections and future laws. Here are some of them:

    The 2023 elections are for the youth

    Yakubu has confirmed that the winner of the 2023 elections would be determined by the youth. This is simply because they have something going for them this year — their high numbers.

    According to Yakubu, “the 2023 election is the election of young people because they have the numbers. Even the majority of PVCs collected are by young people. Out of the 93.4 million, 70.4 million registered voters are between the ages of 18 and 49.”

    This is a solid increase from the last four years. The total number of registered voters in 2019 was 84 million, with 51.1% of these voters as youths aged 18-35.

    The 2023 elections will hold despite reports of insecurity

    It is no longer news that Nigeria’s insecurity numbers keep rising at a worrisome level. 

    This is especially felt in regions such as the North-East with Boko Haram, North-West/North-Central with the onset of banditry, and in South eastern Nigeria with violence from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). 

    However, Yakubu has assured Nigerians that the elections will hold no matter what. He also said that the commission would take the insecurity bull by the horns through the use of two tools:

    • Election Violence Mitigation and Advocacy Tool (EVMAT), is a research and diagnostic tool for predicting and reducing the risk of election violence before elections. 
    • The Election Risk Management Tool (ERM) tracks and reports general risks to elections.

    People who have been displaced by these conflicts are not left out. The INEC boss has plans to make registered Internally Displaced Person camps (IDP) camps into polling units. 

    INEC supports diaspora voting, but lawmakers are against it

    With several questions from the audience about diaspora voting, Yakubu reiterated that the commission is in full support of Nigerians in foreign countries being able to vote from wherever they are.

    However, the bill to include diaspora voting as part of Nigerian law was refused by lawmakers in the National House of Assembly (NASS) in March 2022. Therefore, Nigerians should continue to beg the NASS lawmakers to make a diaspora voting law.

    INEC may introduce body odour as a means of voter accreditation in future

    Yes, you read it right, body odour. The INEC boss is open to having machines that can detect individual body scents/aromas to verify genuine voters in polling units in future elections. It’s very similar to how dogs can identify house residents by smelling their scent.

    The use of cell phones and cameras would be banned to avoid vote buying

    Dirty party agents will have a tough time with vote-buying this year, as Yakubu has mentioned that voters will be prohibited from using cell phones and cameras in voting cubicles.

    This is because of the recent “mark, snap, and show” tactic. Here, a voter will go into the voter cubicles, mark the ballot and snap it with their phones for later payment by the party agent.

    Every voter in the queue before 2:30 pm will vote

    Previous experiences in past elections show that there are instances where voting closed for the day in the evenings. This is to the dismay of voters who had not yet cast their votes.

    Yakubu assured Nigerians that as long as a voter shows up at the polling unit between 8:30 am and  2:30 pm and is in the queue, they’d be allowed to cast their vote. Even if it takes all night to do it.

    He also mentioned that this usually happened due to the separation of voter accreditation and the casting of votes. 

    To counter this, there will be simultaneous voter accreditation and ballot casting. This is so that you, the voter, can attend to any other business at hand.

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens, by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • The Nigerian Voter is a series that seeks to understand the motivations that drive the voting decisions of Nigerians — why they vote, how they choose their candidates, why some have never voted, and their wildest stories around elections.

    This week’s subject of The Nigerian Voter is Ade*, a young social media manager in his early twenties who was once a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness — a Christian denomination known to view voting as a sin. He tells us why the church sees political participation in that light and his views on voter participation. 

    Why do the Jehovah’s Witness (JW) not believe in voting?

    We remain politically neutral for religious reasons based on the Bible. We don’t lobby or vote for political candidates or run for power. We would not partake in anything concerning politics or ruling over others using manmade regulations.

    We do not participate in governance. 

    Are there scriptures in the Christian Bible that pertain to this?

    Jesus refused to accept political office. In John 6:15, he taught his disciples to be no part of the world. 

    Jehovah’s Witnesses are loyal to God’s kingdom, as in 2 Corinthians 5:20.

    God’s role as the ruler is ultimate; taking sides with any other government is like compromising. We believe that we should follow God’s rule or God’s government because the government of man cannot save us. At the moment, Satan is the one who rules the world. If we were to take part in the politics of the world, we’d be siding with the devil ruling the world.

    Would you vote if given a chance?

    Personally, I won’t vote. I feel that every government is the same. I believe that we live at the end of days. Hence, it is only expected that things will get worse from here, especially for Nigeria. I am not saying that no man can’t make the lives of Nigerians easier, but I also believe that every man is for himself here. If a Nigerian feels like a candidate would make his or her life easier, I support that. But personally, I’m not a big fan of voting for the above reasons. 

    Do you have views independent of your church when it comes to voting?

    Even though I left the church two years ago (for undisclosed reasons) and I’m now a Pentecostal, I can say to a large extent that I agree with what the Jehovah’s Witnesses say about the government. I see sense in not voting for candidates in any way, and I do not even plan to vote for anyone come 2023. Our final destination is heaven, and we need to focus on that instead of earthly politics.

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • From presidential opinion polls to a highly loyal and ‘Obidient’ fan movement, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has been the talk of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential race so far. 

    This is due to his promises to Nigerians in his campaign speeches on his desire to restore the country’s economy. For him, this will be from a nation that consumes to a nation that produces.

    On January 17, 2023, he reiterated these promises in the Chatham House in London, UK. 

    Most Nigerians online were especially glad that the candidate could answer questions given to him boldly and by himself. 

    This wasn’t the case for another presidential candidate, who had his Chatham House speech in December 2022.

    That candidate is Bola Tinubu of the All-Progressives Congress (APC)

    Anyways, let’s look at five bold promises that Obi made to Nigerians during the event:

    “We’ll fight and stop corruption”

    Like Marvel’s Avengers, Obi wishes to stop evil and build a “New Nigeria” where there is no corruption alongside his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed. 

    Yusuf Datti Bab-Ahmed and Peter Obi

    He feels that the duo are the best fit for the job. He claimed that he never took property for himself in his tenure as Anambra State governor. He also claimed that Datti didn’t steal any money during his time as a Senator. 

    His strategy to end corruption is to ensure that it doesn’t exist in the basic units of society. This includes family units and friends. 

    According to Obi, “If you’re not involved [in corruption], your wife is not involved, your family is not involved, and the people around you are not involved, you have reduced corruption by over 50%.”

    “As long as some Nigerians are in IDP [camps], all of us are in IDP [camps].” 

    Obi promised to ensure that the whole of Nigeria is secure, not just select states. 

    He mentioned spending his Christmas holidays in Makurdi and Abuja in Internal Displaced Person camps (IDP). In these camps, he assured all displaced persons that he would not stop until all Nigerians were secure in their home states.

    “As Long As Nigerians Are in IDP [camps], All of Us Are in IDP [camps]. We can’t have some Nigerians sleeping in IDP [camps] and some in mansions.”

    Nigeria currently has the third highest number of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Africa. 2.7 million IDPs were recorded in 2020. An estimated number of 2.7 million people was recorded in 2020. This is due to rural conflicts, extremism,  armed banditry, and climate disasters. 

    “I’ll attract foreign investors like bees to honey.”

    In June 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) declared that the total value of capital entering Nigeria had declined to $6.7 billion in 2021. This was the lowest amount in five years.

    What’s Obi’s plan to solve this?

    He said he would ensure that the country is attractive enough for foreign investments in the first place. 

    According to Obi, foreign capital has not been forthcoming in Nigeria. This is due to its “being scared” of the rule of law, and heavy corruption. 

    He plans to solve that by making sure that there is a regulated environment where there is no corruption.

    “Further borrowing will ONLY be for production.”

    For Obi, the problem is not in the country’s borrowing but in using the money borrowed mostly for consumption purposes. 

    Obi came again with his “Consumption to Production” mandate. The borrowed money will be used for production purposes only. To achieve this, he plans to implement economic policies to reduce our debt service. This is because borrowing is a major drain on government revenue.

    If he becomes Nigeria’s president, debt is one problem Obi has to solve “sharp sharp” for us. The country is currently in a ₦77 trillion debt since President Buhari first came into power in 2015. 

    “If they can declare an emergency on power, then I can declare a war”

    When asked how he would combat hindrances to national power generation, Obi used the example of South Africa. 

    The nation recently declared an emergency on power. This gave any independent vendor free licensing to generate up to 100MW of electricity. 

    Note that this is a country that currently generates 42,000 MW of power. Meanwhile, Nigeria has not generated up to 6,000 MW of electricity since 1960.

    Hence this inspired Obi to say that “if South Africa could declare an emergency on power,” then he could “declare a war on power.”

    He plans to instigate this “war” by removing legislative blockers for independent energy companies and giving them free licenses to generate certain amounts of power for the country.

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • These are exciting times for young Nigerians. Unless you’ve been disconnected from the modern world, you’d know that a lot of activities — or what some people would term “distractions” — stand in the way of voters as we approach the 2023 general elections. 

    On January 15, 2023, we were treated to the latest of them, the Big Brother Titans. The reality show which is hosted by Multichoice on DStv has found popularity among young Nigerian audiences, especially within the Gen Z age bracket. Without much ado, let’s get into the gist of these so-called distractions.

    Football

    The beautiful game is loved by millions of Nigerians. Lots of us follow the big European leagues like the Italian Serie A and the English Premier League. As title challenges get tougher, so does the decision to select Nigeria’s next President. 

    Let’s face it, you won’t always watch your team play. Either because you’re unavailable or in some cases — like Chelsea fans will tell you — your team isn’t fun to watch.

    You can stream the highlights later while you dedicate election weekends to voting. Suspend watching football or even playing football so you don’t disenfranchise yourself as a registered voter.

    Netflix (and chill)

    2023 will see lots of great shows featured on your favourite streaming services like Netflix, Prime and Showmax. There’s also the chill component which should be more than enough to distract you from any pressing issues, including elections. 

    We ask that you take two days off — February 25 and March 11 — to exercise your civic duties. The elections come once in four years. You can always return to Netflix, so chill.

    TGIF

    Everyone looks forward to the end of a work week, which makes Friday everyone’s favourite day. Trouble is, you could party too hard on Friday and get completely hungover on Saturday which is election day.

    We’re not saying you shouldn’t be a baller, we’re only saying you shouldn’t forget to mark February 25 on your calendar. Let’s get out there and vote the right people in so we don’t become mechanics. 

    BBTitans

    BBTitans is a reality show that brings together housemates from two countries, Nigeria and South Africa. It’s the first time this is happening. The original shows in the respective countries are Big Brother Naija (BBN) and Big Brother Mzansi. This merger will see the best — and worst — of both cultures battle it out over 72 days for the grand prize of $100,000. 

    The show’s title alludes to the fact that the two countries are the continent’s economic titans vying for supremacy. 

    Meanwhile, Nigerians on social media have held interesting opinions regarding the show’s timing. One account referred to the organisers as part of an “organized crime syndicate.”

    Then there’s this guy below concerned about the “over 20 housemates” that will determine the outcome of the 2023 elections. An election with over 93 million eligible voters.

    While these are no doubt comical, there’s nothing that says you can’t have the best of both worlds. Go out and vote for your candidate during the day and then vote for your favourite housemate up for eviction in the evening. 

    Social media

    Twitter is a fun place to be for banter and the occasional dragging. It’s also a place to get lost in, same as other social media platforms around like TikTok, Facebook or YouTube. 

    While we’re all for having fun, don’t do it at the expense of missing out on voting on election day. It’s the least you owe yourself if you truly want Nigeria to get better.

    In summary, there are enough distractions to go around — those are unavoidable. You shouldn’t, however, use them as excuses to not exercise your civil rights. Big Brother, football, Netflix or Twitter will always be there. The polling booth on the other hand will be closed for voting by 4pm on the election days. 

    So the ultimate question is, would you rather trade a moment of inconvenience for four years of suffering? 

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • Yesterday marked the beginning of another season of Nigeria’s most-watched reality TV show, Big Brother Naija. 

    Or should we say Big Brother Titans (BBTitans) since it is fused with both the Nigerian and South African franchises?

    As many Nigerians were excited to see what the collaborative season would hold, some patriotic Nigerians were not so happy about the Big Brother Titans’ timing. It clashes with a critical point in Nigeria’s history — the 2023 general elections. 

    There are also conspiracy theories about political parties sponsoring the show to distract voters, according to Labour Party spokesperson Yunusa Tanko. 

     Was launching BBTitans the right move? Could it really “distract” young voters? Here’s what four Nigerian youths had to say about this: 

    “The timing is alarming and gives money laundering vibes for the elections.” — Martha*

    Videographer Martha believes that while people are now more politically aware of the need to vote, the BBTitans may be funded by political opposition parties because of the timing. 

    According to Martha, “Why would they be having to run the whole show now? What happened to having to do a reunion for the last set? Before a new one begins? And they had to kickstart a new one by January? It doesn’t just feel right. 

    I also believe it’s a money laundering avenue for the elections. Any money that is moved at this point would be considered as “sponsor’s money”, and there will be no trace to find.” 

    On her thoughts of voting for the 2023 elections, Martha sadly can’t join the bandwagon of voters this year, as she could not catch up with Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) registrations.

    “The BBTitans are also at risk of losing viewership during the elections” — Isaac*

    Isaac as a media practitioner is highly anticipating voting for his favourite candidates in the 2023 elections and doesn’t see the show as a distraction. 

    However, he also wants people to realise that the 2023 elections are not the only program at risk of losing the attention it deserves. 

    In his opinion, Multichoice (the African broadcasting company hosting the show) would also be aware of the 2023 elections holding and might also be taking a huge business risk by organising the show at this time. 

    He also feels that the decision was made due to the two countries (Nigeria and South Africa) coming together to host one show. 

    “People arguing about the BBTitans timing is an agenda that is unreal.” — Yinka

    For upcoming music artist Yinka, he doesn’t see why an election process of 2-4 hours for 2 days will clash with BBTitans. 

    According to Yinka, “As a voter, I am not going to spend the whole day watching BBTitans. I am also not going to spend all day at the polls. Most of the BBTitan drama happens in the evenings from past seasons. This doesn’t coincide with voting which takes place in the morning. The fact that people are literally taking this agenda and running with it shows that Nigerians are bored and just looking for anything to talk about. It is an agenda that is unreal.”

    “Big Brother will not distract me from my tasks.” — Elizabeth 

    Big Brother is definitely not the hindrance that people think it is, according to Elizabeth. 

    In her own words, “I think there’s no one that was really going to vote that’d be distracted by BBN. I watch BBN and still deliver on my tasks, so this is not even that deep.”

    Sadly, Elizabeth can’t vote due to issues with recapturing her Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). 

    So what do we think about their opinions? Let us also know your thoughts in the comments below. 

    Don’t forget to pick up your PVC and vote come February!

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • We are now 43 days to the start of the 2023 elections, with the buildup being mostly around the men — from the gaffes and entitlement of Tinubu to the fast-rising stardom of Peter Obi. But for once, let’s talk about women.

    We only have 1,046  women running for several positions of power in Nigeria. This is less than 10% of the candidates to expect in 2023.

    Despite the low numbers, there are still some women that are managing to stir drama and conversation out of their campaigns. Let’s look at some of them:  

    Tonto Dikeh – Gubernatorial Running Mate, Rivers State (ADC) 

    After 15 years of dedication to the Nollywood film industry, Dikeh decided to take a bow from the screen and join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a running mate for gubernatorial aspirant, Tonte Ibraiye in Rivers State.

    But with little to no political history, and a backdrop of scandals, including a 2019 Dubai arrest, how good of a deputy governor would she be if elected? Or is this all dependent on star power?

    Funke Akindele – Gubernatorial Running Mate, Lagos State (PDP)

    When Dr. Olajide Adediran-Azeez, popularly known as Jandor, announced that actress and comedian, Funke Akindele, will be his running mate for the Lagos state governorship elections, a lot of Nigerians were shocked by his choice.

    Here’s a tweet that clearly explains why:

    https://twitter.com/maxvayshia/status/1546882417599856641?s=20&t=OsvMG-pxLF-0CafOMGosdQ

    Jandor countered the criticism with the argument that she has invested in the economy with the employment of labour. However, there are varying reports that Akindele treats her staff poorly and owes salaries. 

    How confident then can Lagosians be with her governance?

    Aishatu Binani – Governor, Adamawa State (APC)

    After fighting all the obstacles that her party rival, Nuhu Ribadu, shot against her in her Federal High Court to disqualify her as an aspirant, the Yola Court of Appeal reinstated Binani as the governorship candidate for Adamawa in the All-Progressives Congress (APC).

    She is currently the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She was instrumental in the passing of many bills, especially the Modibbo Adama University Bill of 2019. This bill allowed the university to run approved academic programs like Medicine, Law amongst others. 

    If she wins, Binani will be the first female governor Nigeria has ever had.

    Stella Oduah – Senate, Anambra North District

    After seven years of representing the region, Oduah announced in November 2022 that she will like to run for a third term as a representative for the district. This was under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    But certain groups in Anambra were not pleased with the announcement. They felt that the amount of years spent in the Senate is “fair” and that she has not done enough for the people in the years she spent as Anambra’s senator.

    Their anger definitely isn’t far-fetched, as Oduah has a history of corruption behind her. 

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had accused her of alleged fraudulent cash transactions. The amount was close to N5 billion over five months in 2014.

    In February 2014, she was removed as the Minister of Aviation by then-President Goodluck Jonathan. This was after a scandal over N255 million armoured cars. It was said that she made the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), an agency under her supervision, buy them for her at inflated prices.

    After her removal as Minister, she was also found guilty of secretly buying London property behind an anonymous company name, according to the Pandora Paper Investigations. 

    After all said and done, would you still want any of these women to be your elected leaders in the coming months?

    Whether the answer is yes or no, make sure to get your Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), before January 29, 2023. Vote for the right leaders this time in February. The nation depends on you.

    We write the news and track the 2023 elections for citizens, by citizens in our weekly newsletter, Game of Votes. Make the subscription of a lifetime here.

  • It is not news that Nigeria’s education system is drastically poor. From the frequent strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to high tuition fees by public universities, graduating from a Nigerian university has become as difficult as forcing a horse to drink water.

    On rising tuition, APC Presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), said he has a solution. But let’s first understand how serious the problem is.

    The problem of education financing in Nigeria

    Nigeria desperately needs to get more money for education. A 2022 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report states that Nigeria now has 20 million children who are out of school, which is largely due to high tuition.

    But when it comes to meeting the yardstick for financing that could help pay for these fees, Nigeria is way below the cut-off mark. 

    In August 2022, United Nations said if Nigeria doesn’t act fast on increasing its education budget to 20%, meeting the global agenda goal for education would prove difficult in 2030.

    While President Buhari has allocated ₦1.79 trillion (which is an increase from 8.8% to 7.9%), it is still far off from the 20% ‘cut-off’ mark. Experts have predicted that the future of Nigeria’s education sector is in the hands of our future president now. And that is where BAT comes in.

    Bola Ahmed Tinubu [Premium Times]

    Bola Tinubu and the Student Loan

    BAT has been preaching consistently about his plans for student loans since 2015, when he campaigned for President Buhari.

    Fast forward the clock eight years later, and Nigerian citizens are yet to hear anything about student loans. Tinubu has also not revealed any concrete plans to the media on how the student loans will be distributed.

    According to Tinubu’s wingman and Federal Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, the promise has not been fulfilled due to a lack of revenue. 

    https://twitter.com/realuchepokoye/status/1583700679511928837?s=46&t=rxRQT9txYHxEfvwMmMppQg

    But if this is true and the country truly wasn’t gaining enough revenue, what happened to miscellaneous money received like Abacha’s loot?

    The reality of Tinubu’s student loan

    As much as the student loan may sound like a nice plan to avoid high tuition fee billings, this may not be the solution Nigerian students need. Here’s why:

    Students may not be able to pay back the loans 

    The fact still remains that a lot of Nigerian citizens are very broke. In November 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that over 130 million Nigerians are suffering from multidimensional poverty.

    Just imagine suffering from not just a lack of money, but lack of good hospitals, lack of quality education, and even clean water. That’s what multidimensional poverty looks like.

    This is not to talk of the unemployment rate in Nigeria which rose to over 33% in 2022. How would Nigerian students pay their loans if they have no jobs?

    It hasn’t worked for other countries 

    America is a very good example of this. In August 2022, President Joe Biden announced his plans to cancel $10,000 worth of student loans for low to middle-income earners. 

    This was after America started experiencing loan debt of $1.6 trillion and above for more than 45 million borrowers.

    If America could suffer this much student debt with only a 3.7% unemployment rate, who is Nigeria to take the challenge on?

    Nigeria already has an education tax

    Many corporate companies are already paying for education funding in Nigeria, thanks to the Education Trust Fund (ETF) Act of 2011 and the Education Tax under it. 

    According to the Act, all corporate companies are required to pay 2.5% of their assessable profit every year to support the funding of Nigerian universities. There are even plans in the new Finance Bill of 2022 to increase the tax up to 10% for these companies. And it’s not just your regular startups. Think of companies like MTN, Dangote Group, Mobil, and many more. 

    But despite this tax increase, why isn’t this having the desired impact on education financing? These are factors Tinubu should consider before embarking on the implementation of a student loan.