On Saturday, some Nigerians expressed hope for a peaceful election in 2023 and the transition from the current Buhari administration to a new one, which will take office on May 29.
A cross section of Nigerians who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos claimed that the standard for voters to choose the best candidate for each elective position has been raised by the electioneering campaign.
Despite limiting factors like the ongoing cashless policy and the manufactured fuel scarcity, according to NAN, people are optimistic about a smooth transition in May.
Political scientist Dr. Wale Adewale, a lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU), claimed that as Nigerians have grown more politically aware, there has been fierce competition within the political system.
He asserts that while the campaigns of different parties have been positive, there hasn’t been the desired level of agreement between the public, political parties, and the candidates.
“Nigerians are patiently discarding those disturbing variables in the system with high hopes of attaining a better society after the election,” he said.
Mr Gab Ireaku, Director, Social Re-engineering Network, said that hard times have awoken people from slumber to begin to pursue an improved system through the forthcoming election.
The social justice crusader, whose organisation has been in the vanguard for good electioneering process in Nigeria, described people’s participation in voting as one that confers legitimacy to the process.
Ireaku dismissed any possibility of election-induced fracas in the society, noting that Nigerians are tired of hard times and so are ready to overturn the nation’s misfortunes through the election.
Mrs Anglia Orji, a business woman at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, said that everyone that wished to vote must have gotten their voters’ card by now.
She said that the masses were ready to change the system that has held them disadvantaged. Unlike previous elections, the coming polls would be devoid of violence rather there would be mass turnout.
The Lagos chapter Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Stephen Adegbite, called on the faithful to present Nigeria’s election as a supplication to God for a smooth process.
Meanwhile, the electoral body has indicated its readiness to conduct the polls to ensure that Nigerians decide who leads them.
In the same vein, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday inaugurated the Presidential Transition Council that would oversee a smooth transition after the polls. (NAN)
