Fears about Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, By Uche Igwe

There will be massive vote buying in the forthcoming elections. The scale may differ, and the required amount of money may increase. The well-intended efforts to re-design the currency may reduce it but will not eliminate it. Instead, it could become counterproductive in some instances. With the intensifying fuel shortages and limited availability of new notes, citizens are becoming hungry and angry. Some may end up selling their votes as a result of desperation.

There are indications that the forthcoming elections will be different, and the people are capable of being that difference, despite the signs of tension and apprehension that continue to spread across the landscape. The tectonic shifts in the interests of voters in the country and the issues stimulating those interests could be that difference. Political actors are anxious but appear determined to do everything within their powers to disrupt the imminent change, so that things go their way. For the first time…