African Arguments

Top Menu

  • About Us
  • Write for us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • RSS feed
  • Donate

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Country
    • Central
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Congo-Brazzaville
      • Congo-Kinshasa
      • Equatorial Guinea
      • Gabon
    • East
      • Burundi
      • Comoros
      • Dijbouti
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Kenya
      • Rwanda
      • Seychelles
      • Somalia
      • South Sudan
      • Sudan
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Red Sea
    • North
      • Algeria
      • Egypt
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
      • Western Sahara
    • Southern
      • Angola
      • Botswana
      • Lesotho
      • Madagascar
      • Malawi
      • Mauritius
      • Mozambique
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Swaziland
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • West
      • Benin
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Côte d’Ivoire
      • The Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger
      • Nigeria
      • São Tomé and Príncipe
      • Senegal
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • Politics
    • Elections Map
  • Economy
  • Society
  • Culture
  • Specials
    • #EndSARS
    • Covid-19
    • Travelling While African
    • From the wit-hole countries…
    • Living in Translation
    • Red Sea
    • Beautiful Game
  • Podcast
  • Debating Ideas
  • About Us
  • Write for us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • RSS feed
  • Donate

logo

African Arguments

  • Home
  • Country
    • Central
      • Cameroon
      • Central African Republic
      • Chad
      • Congo-Brazzaville
      • Congo-Kinshasa
      • Equatorial Guinea
      • Gabon
    • East
      • Burundi
      • Comoros
      • Dijbouti
      • Eritrea
      • Ethiopia
      • Kenya
      • Rwanda
      • Seychelles
      • Somalia
      • South Sudan
      • Sudan
      • Tanzania
      • Uganda
      • Red Sea
    • North
      • Algeria
      • Egypt
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
      • Western Sahara
    • Southern
      • Angola
      • Botswana
      • Lesotho
      • Madagascar
      • Malawi
      • Mauritius
      • Mozambique
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Swaziland
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • West
      • Benin
      • Burkina Faso
      • Cape Verde
      • Côte d’Ivoire
      • The Gambia
      • Ghana
      • Guinea
      • Guinea Bissau
      • Liberia
      • Mali
      • Mauritania
      • Niger
      • Nigeria
      • São Tomé and Príncipe
      • Senegal
      • Sierra Leone
      • Togo
  • Politics
    • Elections Map
  • Economy
  • Society
  • Culture
  • Specials
    • #EndSARS
    • Covid-19
    • Travelling While African
    • From the wit-hole countries…
    • Living in Translation
    • Red Sea
    • Beautiful Game
  • Podcast
  • Debating Ideas
Politics

Why Nigeria’s election really MATTERS – By Richard Dowden

By African Arguments
March 27, 2015
1864
2
Share:

dowden9This week’s election in Nigeria is the most important African event of the decade. The “˜Africa Rising’ story can only continue if the continent’s biggest economy is stable and its rulers can transform the lives of its 174 million people, as well as the region and the entire continent.

The choice is stark. Africa is the continent with the most potential, the least development and the greatest underused human talent and neglected potential. Nigeria is the big one: The gateway to Africa’s future. The rest of the world – political, commercial and cultural – is ready to engage and invest. All Nigeria needs is stability, good leadership and governance. This election and the policies of those who win it can either help create that stability or destroy it. Such an opportunity may not come again for another decade.

55 years of wasted opportunities have left 60% of Nigerians living in poverty. Unlike previous generations, the 90 million Nigerians under 14 years old are able to see the reality of how things work in Nigeria and how they are done elsewhere. Connected, they will know what they are entitled to. Denied access to education, healthcare and employment, they will suffer and die in the dark. Gaining these universal rights, they could make Nigeria one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world.

Richard Dowden is Director of the Royal African Society.

Previous Article

South Sudan: war without end – By ...

Next Article

Nigeria 2015: Goodluck Jonathan’s fight for survival ...

mm

African Arguments

2 comments

  1. Ben Igiebor 27 March, 2015 at 21:14

    Good analysis, Richard.

    I am currently in Lagos and will witness the election tomorrow at a polling booth in Ikoyi. I’ll be back in the UK on Tues, 31st.

    Rgds,

    Ben Igiebor

  2. reginald arkhurst 29 March, 2015 at 11:55

    Spot on Richard where Nigeria leads the rest of Africa will follow so they must get it right. Reginald Arkhurst FCIArb FRSA

Leave a reply Cancel reply

  • Politics

    Does “Save Darfur” Feed Darfur?

  • Nigeria election risks: An opposition rally ahead of Nigeria's finely poised 2019 elections. Credit: Atiku Abubakar campaign.
    NigeriaPolitics

    Nigeria’s win-or-die elections and what can be done before the vote

  • Editor's PicksNigerSociety

    A forgotten community: The little town in Niger keeping the lights on in France

  • 80845
    Followers

Interactive Elections Map

Keep up to date with all the African elections.

Most read

  • kenya refugee camps closure

    Whether or not Kenya closes its camps, much damage has been done

  • Will President Samia Suluhu Hassan address gender inequality in Tanzania?

    Tanzania has a female president. Does it have a feminist president?

  • central african republic us: Several foreign partners are involved in the CAR, from the UN to Russia and France, but few have the perceived neutrality to intervene diplomatically. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

    Why the Central African Republic and the US might need each other

  • elections: President Idriss Déby of Chad has been in power since 1990. Credit: Paul Kagame.

    Chad elections: President Déby seeks a sixth term in a region for old men

  • President Denis Sassou Nguesso won the 2021 elections to secure another term.

    Congo: Sassou Nguesso wins another term but still faces two big threats

Brought to you by


Creative Commons

Creative Commons Licence
Articles on African Arguments are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
  • Cookies
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • en English
    am Amharicar Arabicny Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanha Hausait Italianpt Portuguesest Sesothosn Shonaes Spanishsw Swahilixh Xhosayo Yorubazu Zulu
© Copyright African Arguments 2020
en English
am Amharicar Arabicny Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)en Englishfr Frenchde Germanha Hausait Italianpt Portuguesest Sesothosn Shonaes Spanishsw Swahilixh Xhosayo Yorubazu Zulu