Voters react as their party’s ballots are counted at a polling station in Lagos, on February 25, 2023, during the Nigerian general and general election.
JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
Voters react as their party’s ballots are counted at a polling station in Lagos, on February 25, 2023, during the Nigerian general and general election.
JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
LAGOS, Nigeria – Voting took place across Nigeria on Saturday, to decide one of the most competitive and unpredictable polls in years. It will take a few days until the final results are available. As always, the election brings ordinary life to a strange standstill.
In Lagos, its most populous city, the often busy or congested commercial streets have turned into a cyclist’s paradise. Football games fill empty streets. Bus stops, fronts of restaurants, pharmacies and schools, were converted into polling stations and people queued around the block in the heat.
Youth play soccer in the street before going to a polling station at Ojuelegba in Lagos on February 25, 2023, during the Nigerian general and general election.
BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images
hide captions
switch captions
BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images
Youth play soccer in the street before going to a polling station at Ojuelegba in Lagos on February 25, 2023, during the Nigerian general and general election.
BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images
Elections are always big events, but many voters consider them urgent. The past eight years have seen widespread economic misery and a growing sense of vulnerability. Threats from armed groups have evolved from being isolated in regional groups to being felt across the country.
Many voters said this election was an opportunity to put the country on a better path. Many young and old said they were voting for the first time.
While voting went smoothly in many areas, in others voting was fraught with challenges and risks. Voters at a polling station in Surulere, a district in Lagos, queued up to seven hours before they cast their ballots. Election commission staff arrived late and the voter verification system had technical problems. Some disappointed home. Others complained bitterly but waited, determined to vote. But as they did, relief quickly gave way to fear as masked gunmen suddenly swooped in, opened fire and snatched the ballot box.
After the gunmen left, many people searched the ground for their belongings, now littered with ballot papers, phones, slippers, and quickly returned home. But some wait to see if voting will begin again.
Tom Saater contributed to this story
