Elections have never been Nigeria’s strong point. It has little experience of them, having been under military rule for most of the period since its independence in 1960. When they have been held, they have tended to be farcical, with violence, intimidation of voters, ballot stuffing and ghost voting all rampant.
The most recent polls in April 2011 were different, however. Although not flawless, they were seen as Nigeria’s fairest yet. Most importantly, few in the country doubt that the president, Goodluck Jonathan, was the legitimate winner. “He has credibility in the eyes of the Nigerian population and the international community,” says Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the new coordinating minister for the economy and finance minister. “That has taken care of a lot of things.”
