The 2023 presidential election has finally been concluded after almost a year of lengthy preparations, and its outcome can be compared to something sort of a bitter pill to swallow for many Nigerians.
The results after being declared have not been received with joy and celebration as is the practice with the outcomes of most elections.
In reality, the majority haven’t had their say using the official results released by the electoral body, INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) which shows that
- All Progressive Congress – 8,794,726;
- People’s Democratic Party – 6,984,520;
- Labor Party – 6,101,533;
- New Nigeria People’s Party – 1,496,687
Totalling the votes of the PDP, LP and NNPP which gives us 14,582,740, we see that it is greater than that of the APC. However, with election results such as this, the incoming president has made a commitment to form a government where everyone will be involved.
In his speech, he made sure to note that “To my fellow candidates, former VP Atiku, former governor Kwankwaso, former governor Obi and all others, I extend the hand of friendship”.
Moving on, the incoming president is one with vast experience in the field of politics, as he is known as the catalyst of change in Lagos state. Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over a state, which was in a situation very similar to what we face currently in present Nigeria. Lagos State at the time suffered from underdevelopment in all sectors of the economy with poverty and health being the headline of the day.
In the skilled hands of a clearly seasoned public servant such as Tinubu, Lagos blazed the route in the independent power project (IPP), which continuously delivered 270 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. The government of Tinubu performed at a high level in all areas, including the housing industry, and left no stone unturned in their attempt to revamp Lagos state.
However these accomplishments and feats were achieved through the massive cooperation of the citizens, thus, in other words, the next step from here is to cooperate with the incoming president so as to enable his administration to work effectively to meet their laid-down goals. We the citizens, I believe have already begun cooperating by shunning electoral violence of any kind.
To conclude, I do encourage fellow Nigerians, to not lose hope but to be optimistic about the current situation as losing hope will not solve any problem but rather, throw us deeper into despair. Thus, we hold the key to Nigeria’s future, and if we work together, we can build a nation that will serve as an example of growth, hope, and prosperity for future generations.
References
Vanguard “2023 Presidential Election Results By States (Declared by INEC)” (Mar. 2 2023) https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023-presidential-election-results-by-states/ accessed March 3, 2023.
Channels Television “Full Text Of Tinubu’s Acceptance Speech” (March 1, 2023) https://www.channelstv.com/2023/03/01/full-text-of-tinubus-acceptance-speech/ accessed March 3, 2023.
