A headline from Africanews.com following the February 23 presidential elections in Nigeria
There has been plenty of news relating to the African continent over the last several weeks but Saturday’s presidential election in Nigeria is the one event that garnered the most headlines.
The presidential elections were held on Saturday, February 23 a week after it was delayed by the country’s Independent National Elections Commission (INEC).
The story eclipsed the presidential election which was held in Senegal just a day after on February 24, to the extent that not many people knew voting was taking place elsewhere in the continent.
Explosions Heard Hours Before Voting Began in Nigeria
The big headline from Cable News Network (CNN) the day of the election was about explosions heard hours before voting began in the country. According to CNN sources in Nigeria, the explosions took place in the Northern city of Maiduguri hours before voting started. Also, according to CNN reports, several people were killed in election-related violence in the River State.
A Disputed Election in the Making
While the results are pending many of the headlines painted a picture of confusion resulting from allegations and accusations of voter fraud from the country’s two main parties; represented by incumbent President Mohammadu Buhari and businessman Atiku Abubakar.
While preliminary results pointed to a lead by President Buhari’s All Progressive Party(APP) a headline from Africanewws.com stated that the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is rejecting the results.
The BBC Leads with Nigerian Election Coverage
On its website, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) provided comprehensive coverage of the elections with live coverage as well as a map that showed the results by each state.
In addition, the BBC provided an analysis of Nigerian politics, including the history of the country and the many contradictions facing the country. This analysis, for example, Five things about Nigeria: The superpower with no power, is worth a read.