Al Jazeera – Violent groups known as ‘political thugs’ have been used by the established political parties for decades to influence the electoral process. This is how their violent robs Nigerians of their votes.
As Tobi Olayinka set out to vote on Saturday morning in Nigeria’s Lagos state, she took along a backpack filled with food and drinks and an umbrella against the sun.
The 31-year-old first-time voter believed she could make a difference with her vote. The Lagosian was determined to stick around her polling centre until the results came out.
Olayinka is one of the many young Nigerians who got enthused about voting with the emergence of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi, a third frontrunner in what used to be a two-horse race between big parties – the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
“I had so much hope that this time around, our future could be better,” she told Al Jazeera.
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