By Suleiman Umaru
In spite of the technical problems encountered with the electronic transmission of the Presidential and National Aseembly elections of Saturday, February 25, 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari, had said that ‘’none of the issues registered present a challenge ‘’to the freeness and fairness of the elections’’, stressing that’’the people have spken’’.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President had agreed with Nigerians that ‘’there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure in the country’s future elections.Appealing to those aggrieved by the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections and who can prove the fraud they claim is committed against them ‘’to bring forward the evidence’’. He may have alluded to Atiku Abubakar of the lead Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and Candidate of the Labour Party, LP.

He noted that if they cannot do so, it will be assumed that the elections has been concluded. He urged the aggrieved parties that if they feel the need to challenge the Presidential elections results, they should please take the case’’ to the Courts, not to the streets’’. He averred that taking the elections issue to the streets will not be in the interest of Nigerians but ‘’inflame, put the people in alarm’s way and all for their personal and selfish gains’’.
Given the outcome of the penultimate Saturday Presidential elections, the Nigerian President, may have unbarred his mind when he declared that ‘’never has the country’s electoral map shifted so drastically in one cycle’’, noting that the Presidential elections has made a bold Statement as states in all the six geopolitical regions across the country appear to have ‘’changed colour’’.
He had alluded to the fact that Katsina, his home state , which many expected Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, popular, Jagaban , a former governor of Lagos state and Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressive Cngress, APC, ought to win on a platter of gold but lost it to Atiku of the PDP.
He was said to have also cited Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre, which has remained the political base of the APC, Presidential Candidate, which was lost to Obi, of the LP. He has a message for politicians that the era of taking voters for granted is over.

Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General a former Nigerian military President may have parted ways with former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the outcome of the Nigerian Presidential elections as he has commended Nigerians for ‘’voting rights and electing someone like Tinubu as the next President.
He stoppes shotin describing the President-elect as the best man for the job, as declared by Buhari but simply described him as a ‘’good man for the job’’, stating that that he will ‘’take Nigeria to the next level’’. The former Nigerian military President was emphatic that the President-elect who is coming from a background of a performer would give the country a sense of direction as he knows ‘’how to put a square peg in a round hole’’.
Appealing to Nigerians and the losers in the just concluded Presidential elections to join hands with Tinubu, the President-elect in the business of repairing the nation that had been damaged over the last seven years, ’ and also to see the emergence of the former Lagos state governor as the next President of Nigeria as ‘’the will of God ‘’.
He was emphatic that the work of nation-building requires that all hands must be on deck and not to polarize the nation on political- divides’’.

Oba Adeye Ogunwusi, the Oni of Ife, in Oun state, who may have congratulated the Nigerian President-elect in his capacity as the Chairman , National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, NCTRN, has urged him ‘’to ensure he doesn’t disappoint Nigerians and the people of Africa’’.
Describing Tinubu, the President –elect, who has been given his Certificate of Returns , alongside with Kashim Shetima, the Vice President elect, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as a ‘’man of destiny and game changer’’, he had said that the former Lagos state governor ‘’not only merit the victory in the highly Competitive elections but also has ‘’adequate proven capacity to lead the country to enviable height in the global Committee of nations’’.
He would want the President –elect ‘’to immediately assemble cerebral men and women to come up with an economic recovery Blue prints and swiftly upon his inauguration on May 29, 2023, , move into action in a way that will further assure Nigerians of the ‘’Renewed Hope’’. The revered Oni of Ife said Nigerians cannot wait to be liberated from the unbearable economic hardship that has bedeviled the country over the last four months.
Given the wind of change in the political Leadership of Nigeria, Rishi Sunak, the British Prime minister, who has joined other world Leaders to send Congratulatory messages to the Nigeria President –elect, had said that he is ‘’looking forward to working together with the new government to grow Nigeria’s security and trade ties ‘’ as well as opening opportunities for businesses and creating prosperity in two countries.

The British Prime minister was said to have reminded the Nigerian President-elect of the longstanding relationship between the United Kingdom, UK, and Nigeria,that has withstood the country’s over 62 year -old independence from Britain.
While Tinubu, the APC, Candidate, who had won the just concluded 2023, Presidential elections in Nigeria is still basking in the euphoria of the winning the Presidential elections , Samson Itodo, Executive Director , Yiaga Africa, a non- governmental Organisation, NGO, and foremost Election Observer in South Africa appears to have had a different opinion about the Nigerian elections.
Itodo, the foremost election observer had said that 200 million Ballot papers were wasted in the Presidential and National Assembly elections. Based on the information at his disposal, the South African Election Observer had said that he Nigerian government expended between six to eight of the North American country of the United states, US, dollars, per voter, yet millions of people did not show up to cast their votes.
This is an indications that billions of tax payers’ money has gone down the drain in the guise of elections. This should be a source worry to Nigerians as this is money that could have been used to provided drugs to the nation’s healtcare- centres and tertiary Institutions which are at the brink of collapse because of underfunding by past and present Administrations.