Whoever wins Nigeria’s election faces a crisis of inclusion

Africa’s biggest democracy is at a fork in the road after successive politicians have increasingly failed its young electorate, writes Leena Koni Hoffmann.

The World Today Published 3 February 2023 Updated 2 February 2023 4 minute READ

Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, will be heading to the polls on February 25 for the seventh time in 24 years of uninterrupted democratization. Yet the upcoming presidential election is taking place amid deep economic hardship, record unemployment and inflation, persistent fuel shortages, the repression of civic spaces and worsening security conditions, particularly for the country’s youth. The hugely consequential outcome will determine the country’s demographic and democratic futures.

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