Lukman Abdulmalik
After a keenly contested presidential election in Nigeria, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Wednesday morning declared Tinubu as the winner of the 25 February 2023 presidential election with 8,794,726 votes.
Tinubu defeated his closest rival Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party who secured 6,101,533 votes of the 24,965,218 total vote cast.
Also, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) came a distant fourth with 1,496,687 votes.
However, some residents of Kano State, a commercial city in Nigeria, have reacted to the victory of the president-elect, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a random survey conducted by Stallion Times in some parts of the Kano metropolis, some residents in the State reacted negatively while others were positive about the result of the presidential election.
As observed, daily activities continue without any form of special celebration.
Sani Abubakar Alhassan, a resident of Diso in Gwale Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano expressed that “Honestly, this is not what I hoped for. I wished Kwankwaso emerged as the winner, but I prayed that Tinubu will be the best for Nigerians and do his best in transforming this country.”
Another resident from Gaida Tsakuwa, a section of Kumbotso LGA, Ali Mukthar Haliru, said: “I am not happy with the outcomes of the final result; actually there are irregularities in this election.
“We need a leader who is healthy and competent enough to make this country progress, actually there is nothing celebrated; I can only pray to God to make Tinubu the best for us.”
In a telephone interview, Baban Larai popularly known as Mai Asiwaju, a resident of Zawachiki in Kumbotso LGA expressed his happiness over Tinubu’s victory, he narrated that “This is the freest and fair election ever in Nigeria, there was no rigging.
“I am happy Tinubu emerged the winner because I believe he has better plans for a better Nigeria just as he progressively built Lagos State.
“Only in this election in Nigeria most APC governors could not deliver their state to APC, so this shows that people actually came out and voted for their chosen candidate, not party.
“I will pray to the Almighty to guide our newly elected President and make him do the right thing for Nigerians.”
A group of young men at Dorayi Babba, Gwale LGA, were seen discussing the outcome of the presidential election.
In a Focus Group Discussion, Musa Nura Muhammad said: “Since around 7:00 am we have been discussing our worries over this 2023 presidential result, we the youths are not pleased with it.”
He added that most of our voters are not literate enough when it comes to electing competent leaders, imagine some voters were given a sachet of Spaghetti and Clothes to vote, do they expect such leaders to do the right thing?
“I think there’s a need for more voter education in the Northern States of Nigeria because compared to the South and Western part of this country, people have grown above using food or clothes to buy their votes.
“But anything that happened we believed it as what God has destined, so we hope this choice will be favorable to us.”
Aminu Auwal a businessman in Sabon Titi Market who expressed happiness over Tinubu’s victory appealed to the president-elect to improve on the security situation in some parts of the North.
He explained that the fear of insecurities has caused setbacks in businesses.
“For instance, I export tomatoes to the South, but the insecurities in the northern part of the country have led to decreasing business, so I am appealing to Tinubu to provide the security agencies with the necessary logistics and support to curb crimes during his administration.”
