20110419
reuters

Nigerians have voted for Goodluck to lead the West African nation for the next four years. The incumbent president from the People's Democratic Party polled a simple majority of votes and surpassing the required 25 percent of vote in two third of the states in the country in the April 16 presidential elections.

Goodluck
Jonathan had garnered approximately fifty nine percent of total votes to defeat his closest rival Retired General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress of Progressive Change who polled almost 32 percent of votes with over twelve million votes mainly from Nigeria’s north.

Nigerians have been reacting to the emergence of incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in Africa’s most populous nation.

“I wouldn't have voted for Jonathan because PDP has failed," a Lagos resident, Olayemi Ogunwole said. “I hope those from the ruling party who lost in parliamentary election would not be brought into his cabinet.” Jonathan who was vice president had taken over as president following the death of Umaru Yar’Adua last year.

Olayemi called on the president-elect to create job opportunities for people and provide electricity. “The money that many people use in buying fuel [to power generators] can be killing. He should make life generally better for people.”

“I believe he [Jonathan] is going to consolidate on what he has been doing. He is a very purposeful man,” Timothy Choji, a journalist based in Gombe State, northern Nigeria said. He added that power supply has improved in the state. “I can't remember a day I slept without light.”

For Micheal Oyetayo, a Law graduate who is passionate about the music industry in Nigeria, many Nigerians are living below normal standard. “If he can address poverty alone, Goodluck has made my day,” Michael said in a phone chat from the Nigerian capital Abuja. “I am sure he is going to do well; he is not tribalistic and not a religious fanatic.”

According to Victor Aluyi, a finance consultant in Lagos, the election of Jonathan “shows that Nigeria is still in the throes of ethnic and religious divide and seriously it will take time for that to go away going by the reaction that has trailed the poll result in the north”

“All in all....we'd expect to see him buck up and be more assertive,” he said in Lagos via face book. “I believe he'll do well’’

Violence in the North

Violence had spread across several states in Northern Nigeria when it became clear Good luck Jonathan would be returned as president.

In Potiskum, the capital of Yobe State,. a member of the Nigerian Youth Service Corps, NYSC confirmed that protesters were burning churches at noon on Monday, because Buhari a northerner was not voted in. "They felt cheated,'' he said, refusing be named. He added that serving corps members were been moved to the army barracks for safety.

In Kano, a twenty four hour curfew was imposed after post election violence erupted while a 6 a.m to 6pm curfew was imposed in Bauchi State. A curfew was imposed in Gombe State, following a bomb scare. "There has been heavy presence of the military across the major streets," a resident confirmed on the phone from Gombe.

Kaduna, a state which Buhari won with a little over fifty percents of total votes cast was on 24 hour curfew on Monday after reported cases of violence across the city. “They had to stop movement,” a resident in Kaduna town said.

Nigeria


The Nigerian capital was not spared of the possibility of violence.

“Abuja is quite cool, but yesterday there was a bomb scare in Wuse market,” Michael, a resident of the capital city told AfricaNews reporter in a telephone chat on Tuesday. “They had to close down the whole Wuse.” Michael said the bomb scare came after youths supporting Buhari were shouting “CPC.” He said other than that, Abuja was safe with very high security.

Call for calm

President Goodluck Jonathan and the opposition CPC have condemned the violence across the northern part of Africa’s most populous country, urging calm.

In his acceptance speech, following his declaration as the president-elect, Jonathan called for peace and unity, expressing his willingness to work with the opposition in building a better Nigeria. “I regard them, not as opponents, but as partners,’’ he said.