YMonitor: What the result of the 2019 Presidential election says about Nigerians

The Presidential election has come and gone, but the details of the election has found its space in history unchallenged.

Prior to this year’s election #NigeriaDecides2019, the 2015 presidential election had the lowest figures as it relates to voters turn out, just 42% of Nigeria’s registered voting population came out to choose their leaders. The general expectation amongst Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) was that the figures would improve by the next election.

The militant and evangelical advocacy carried out by notable CSOs including YMonitor on voters’ education practically had little or no effect with regards to voters turn out on the day of the election. This is not to say that our collective efforts amounted to nothing, as we recorded a high level of awareness and involvement in the process. And if the numbers of those that registered are anything to go by, we might say that having 84 million Nigerians register to vote, is a considerable achievement.

Elections
S/N State No. of Registered Voters No. of Accredited Voters Total Votes Cast Total Votes Rejected Voter Turn Out % Vote Rejection %
1 Abia 1,793,861 361,561 344,471 21,180 20 6
2 Adamawa 1,959,322 874,920 860,756 49,222 45 6
3 Akwa Ibom 2,119,727 695,677 605,140 26,365 33 4
4 Anambra 2,389,332 675,273 625,035 19,301 28 3
5 Bauchi 2,453,512 1,075,330 1,061,955 37,648 44 4
6 Bayelsa 923,182 344,237 335,856 14,089 37 4
7 Benue 2,391,276 786,069 763,872 34,960 33 5
8 Borno 2,319,434 987,290 955,205 35,419 43 4
9 Cross River 1,512,915 461,033 446,046 24,145 30 5
10 Delta 2,719,313 891,647 882,254 52,492 33 6
11 Ebonyi 1,392,931 391,747 379,394 20,263 28 5
12 Edo 2,150,127 604,915 599,228 38,517 28 6
13 Ekiti 899,919 395,741 393,709 12,577 44 3
14 Enugu 1,935,168 452,765 451,063 30,049 23 7
15 FCT 1,335,015 467,784 451,408 27,457 35 6
16 Gombe 1,385,191 604,240 580,649 26,446 44 5
17 Imo 2,037,569 585,741 542,777 31,191 29 6
18 Jigawa 2,104,889 1,171,801 1,149,922 43,678 56 4
19 Kaduna 3,861,033 1,757,868 1,709,005 45,402 46 3
20 Kano 5,391,581 2,006,410 1,964,751 73,617 37 4
21 Katsina 3,210,422 1,628,865 1,619,185 63,712 51 4
22 Kebbi 1,802,697 835,238 803,755 47,150 46 6
23 Kogi 1,640,449 570,773 553,496 32,480 35 6
24 Kwara 1,401,895 489,482 486,254 26,578 35 5
25 Lagos 6,313,507 1,196,490 1,156,590 67,023 19 6
26 Nasarawa 1,509,481 613,720 599,399 18,621 41 3
27 Niger 2,375,568 911,964 896,976 45,039 38 5
28 Ogun 2,336,887 613,397 605,938 41,682 26 7
29 Ondo 1,812,567 598,586 586,827 30,833 33 5
30 Osun 1,674,729 732,984 731,882 17,200 44 2
31 Oyo 2,796,542 905,007 891,080 54,549 32 6
32 Plateau 2,423,381 1,074,042 1,062,862 28,009 44 3
33 Rivers 3,215,273 678,167 666,585 24,420 21 4
34 Sokoto 1,895,266 950,107 925,940 54,049 50 6
35 Taraba 1,777,105 756,111 741,564 28,687 43 4
36 Yobe 1,365,913 601,059 586,137 26,772 44 5
37 Zamfara 1,717,128 616,168 597,224 18,785 36 3
  Sum 82,344,107 29,364,209 28,614,190 1,289,607 36 5

 

In the last Presidential election, Nigerians just decided to stay back, do not be moved by the numbers you saw on your way to the polling unit. At the end of the day, when the numbers were counted, only 36% of the eligible voters decided who became the President of Nigeria!

This is unprecedented in the history of democracy in the country, worse than in 2015. Is it not an irony that Lagos, which has the highest number of registered voters, at the end of the election, had only 19 percent of that figure show up, making it the lowest in the country?

Kano was second in terms of the number of eligible voters, it fared better in the number of voters turnout – 37%. Jigawa registered the highest number of voters’ turnout, with what could be considered a stellar performance of 56%. Only three states had more than or exactly 50% of voters’ turnout, and the three are in the North. The rest were below, with a majority within the range of 30%.

Analyst are saying that the next election would be better, but we cannot be so sure of that. Prior to the 2015 election, we anticipated so much and when the mantra of change began, we felt that it was going to be the best election so far in terms of participation, not knowing we were in for surprises. No one could have anticipated that the 2019 figures would be lower than 2015, but here we are with an all-time low voters’ turnout in an election. Maybe we should stop being carelessly optimistic, maybe we should equally agree that if the necessary things are not done, 36% voters’ turnout may just be a better figure compared to what would come in 2023.

Every election in Nigeria is worth the effort. Since 1999, all the elections that we have had, have one peculiarity or the other that makes them sacrosanct; a river that need not be trivialized to get to the other side. Hence we are being reductionistic when we say that 2023 is what matters and by then we may have a better figure.

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