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Peter Obi could shake up Nigeria's election

Transcript¹

As voters in Nigeria, Africa's largest democracy, go to the polls, a third party candidate threatens to upset the status quo.

Producer Tom Saater contributed to this story.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Voters in Africa's largest democracy, Nigeria, go to the polls tomorrow in one of the most unpredictable elections in recent memory. What usually boils down to a race between two main presidential hopefuls has been turned on its head by a third candidate, who has galvanized young people. And in an election where the largest percentage of registered voters are under 35, the unexpected campaign of Peter Obi could be pivotal. NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu reports from Lagos.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE²: Meet the Obi-dients (ph). These are the supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate whose campaign threatens to upend the status quo of Nigerian politics. Today, they are out campaigning, and groups of them set off through the grounds of a sprawling³ lower-class estate in Obalende in Lagos. They wheel a small speaker, blasting some of the many songs made about him.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting in non-English language).

AKINWOTU: A small burst of joy and energy to keep marching on through the heat. Twenty-six-year-old Miriam Ikechukwu is campaigning for the first time.

MIRIAM IKECHUKWU: I know a lot of young people who have never voted. And they've gone out to register - even older people who have never bothered to vote.

AKINWOTU: And she's right. People like her are more galvanized. More people registered to vote than ever before. It's unclear exactly how much that has to do with Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and now a presidential candidate of the relatively⁴ small Labor⁵ Party. But his campaign has been electrified⁶ by a wider grassroots movement that has burst onto the political scene.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Sorry, we never give shishi.

AKINWOTU: No shishi means no money - because Nigerian political campaigns are usually awash with cash and gifts. But they say what they're really offering is change. Obi is a center-right candidate with support from a curious coalition⁷ of different groups, including left-wing workers unions, first-time voters and older people, often middle class, who say their children's futures⁸ are on the line.

Is this the first time you're working in a political campaign?

TITI OWORU: Yes. And I'm knackered.

AKINWOTU: Fifty-two-year-old Titi Oworu said she had to come out. She was tired of criticizing politicians but not doing something about it.

OWORU: I felt it's not enough to just stay at home. So I just thought, OK, if for nothing, because of my son and his - my grandchildren. So I need that to be on record that Grandma got up, and I was part of the change for Nigeria.

AKINWOTU: Several polls have predicted Obi will win, but he's not necessarily the front-runner.

(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD CHEERING)

AKINWOTU: Thousands of people fill a stadium in Lagos at the final rally for 70-year-old Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress. Both he and 76-year-old former Vice⁹ President Abubakar Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party are the two established front-runners and have been dominant¹⁰ political figures for a generation.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: If you want a better tomorrow for Nigeria, vote Peter.

AKINWOTU: Back at the Obi campaign, Lorita, who would rather not give her second name, says, in a way, this election is about more than winning. It's about awakening¹¹.

LORITA: The opposition¹², they know. They know very well that something big is coming. And they know that we have - we've woken up. Even if he doesn't win, they will know that, OK, something actually hit them this time around.

AKINWOTU: Voter turnout was under 35% in 2019. This time, whatever the outcome, many are waiting to see if young Nigerians have woken up to become a more decisive political force shaping their future.

Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Lagos.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OBIDIENT ANTHEM")

RJAY: (Singing in non-English language).