This weekend’s presidential election in Nigeria is becoming a cliffhanger worthy of a Nollywood movie, even before the decision to delay the election just five hours before the polls were due to open.
In the early hours of Saturday, as most Nigerians slept, the country’s Independent National Electoral Commissions (INEC) decided to postpone the presidential elections by a week. They cited logistical reasons, including fires, bad weather, and difficulties distributing voting materials. However, in reality it appears to be incompetence on a gross scale.
Yet Nigerians will tell you that this is nothing new. In 2015, the elections were delayed by six weeks due to the security threat posed by Boko Haram. And in 2011, INEC declared at noon on voting day that the country was not ready and instead it would try again the following week.
The delay has increased suspense around the election, as the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is facing a stiff challenge from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
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