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The former Chief Election Commissioner of India, Mr. S.Y Quraishi, looks at the 2019 Nigerian elections. Nigeria has about 47% of the population of West Africa. Muslims and Christians are almost equal in numbers and there are 300 ethnic groups. About 82.3 million voters were registered to vote. Quraishi sees the 41% registered voters to be disproportionate to the total population. In India about 62% of the total population is registered to vote. The Independent National Election Commission (INEC) chairman, Mr. Mahmood Yakubu, says security, fake news, hate  speech, and expenditure control are the top issues. Postponement, delays and chaos at polling stations contributed to a historic low turnout, 35.6% compared to 44% in 2015. Police presence was discreet and needed for the elections. A coalition of 70 civic organizations monitored the elections and contributed to its credibility. In Lagos there were 1.1 million valid votes. India has strong interest in Nigeria's democracy. Over 135 Indian companies have operations in Nigeria, including  State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Tata, Bajaj, Birla, Kirloskar, Mahindra. The election commissions of the two countries have met yet there is need for more engagement. About 50,000 Indians live in Nigeria. By continuing the process established by the two earlier elections including a peaceful transition from Mr. Goodfellow to Mr. Buhari, Nigeria is strengthening the democratic process. In continuing the fight against corruption, building infrastructure, the difficult process of modernization and development is taking place even with difficult economic conditions. ...

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This NYT's look at PDVSA the Venezuelan oil industry 2026 and in the years 2013-2026 after Chavez is an eye opener on what happens when socialist ideas of distribution and equality fall apart. There are dangers on both sides the Right, the Left makes no difference mere labels, vigilance, good leadership, clean governance, good management hard work, are essential for countries and peoples to prosper.The operations of the Venezuelan oil industry in these years as shown in the NYT. show the failures of the Chavez ideas for the economy, hyper inflation and mismanagement of the country's oil resources that followed in 2013-2026. From Nigeria, to India in the years just before the 2014 elections, to West Bengal, India in 2026, many such lessons in Indian states post Independence 1947, Sri Lanka, clear lessons on how socialist regimes take a turn into financial disaster as dreams evaporate and economies are destroyed with lack of jobs and industry, mismanagement and corruption. Everything falls apart, billions of dollars of public funds are lost, economies are ruined, people's lives destroyed, a cautionary tale for future generations. In Latin America, Asia and Africa most prone to such disasters, where bad leaders can come to power through elections if the situations are allowed to be created where this can happen through the lack of effort to build better societies that work. ...

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Nigeria's reserves stood at $11.5 billion at the end of 2013 and even that has been emptied in advance of 2015 elections, says the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi. Sanusi pointed out to parliament that the state owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. has failed to remit $20 billion to the Nigerian Treasury. Economic development in Nigeria has suffered from decades of corruption and mismanagement, including neglect of basic infrastructure such as roads and electricity. Sanusi was suspended by the government of Jonathan Goodluck for unauthorized sending of $1 billion in central bank funds to Nigerian universities for improving campus buildings.

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The NYT's Adam Nossiter sends this report from Kano, a northern city of 5 million in Nigeria, before the elections for president in Nigeria in March 2015. Nigeria is still divided between the Muslim north and the Christian south. The northeast is facing an insurgency by Boko Haram Muslim militants. The two candidates are the current president, Goodluck Jonathan, a Southern Christian seeking another term, and a former military ruler and northern Muslim, Buhari Muhammad, who is now working within the country's democratic framework. The mood in the country reflects the the lack of essential needs- security lacking in the north with the Boko Haram bombings in Kano and control of areas in the northeast. The Nigerian military has failed to control the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast. Presidential elections were postponed for six weeks as the Nigerian military grappled with the deteriorating security situation. During this short period South African mercenaries hired by the Nigerian military and the forces of the governments in Chad and Niger which border the area controlled by Boko Haram have pushed the insurgents back, restoring some degree of Nigerian control. The improved security situation benefits the current government. In this report the residents of Kano describe their frustration with the lack of security, electricity, water, and education. Oil revenues have failed to benefit the vast majority of the people of Nigeria, as needs for water, electricity, roads and other infrastructure remain unaddressed six decades after independence....

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Nigeria's president Buhari is reelected with a margin of 4 million votes. Delays, accusations of fraud and bits of violence marred the election but not to the extent of previous elections. Despite the accusations of manipulation independent observers say the problems were not so frequent that they would affect the outcome. The 76 year old president won with a large margin even though Nigeria faced a deep recession which increased unemployment and the northeast faced insurgency of Islamic militants. 

Buhari campaigned on spending for large infrastructure projects, social welfare programs and fight against corruption. The 2015 election provided a peaceful transition from president Goodfellow to Mr. Buhari from a different party. The competing candidate Mr. Abubakar was a wealthy businessman in the logistics sector. Voters preferred the continuity and Mr. Buhari mobilized effectively with the governing All Progressives Party.

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Muhammadu Buhari wins the March 2015 presidential election in Nigeria winning 54% of the vote compared to 45% for incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan. The peaceful transition is another first for Africa for the size of a country like Nigeria. Buhari was a military ruler for 20 months following a 1983 coup. This is his fourth try running for president. This time he campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, and anti-terrorism campaign as Boko Haram insurgency is affecting the northeast of the country. He also campaigned for economic development and jobs, as Nigeria is sorely lacking infrastructure development such as road, water, electricity, especially in the Muslim north of the country where Buhari is from. Incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan failed to tackle the problems, and the situation deteriorated in 2014-2015 with the lack of security in the country, as the Boko Haram insurgency affected the northeast. In 2015 oil prices collapsed leading to a sharp depreciation in the value of the Naira, Nigeria's currency, and lower oil revenues, a significant setback....

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Elections in Nigeria on February 16 are seen as a referendum on president Buhari's first term. 84 million voters will chose who will lead Nigeria, Africa's largest democracy. The choice is between Mr. Buhari and Mr. Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Buhari won office in 2015 with his All Progressive's Party on three promises of ridding Nigeria of endemic corruption, fixing the economy, and tackling security issues. The economy entered a recession and then climbed out of recession under Buhari. Mr. Atiku plans to privatize parts of the state owned oil company, a plan which has been received with some skepticism considering problems with privatization around the world. A remarkable aspect of this election is that half of registered voters are aged 18-35, who see their leaders as out of touch. In fact many are supporting a "Not Too Young to Run" campaign to encourage younger people to run. 2015 was the only time Nigeria had a peaceful transfer of power since civilian government was installed in 1999. The candidate with the most votes is declared winner if they have at least one quarter of the votes in two thirds of Nigeria's 36 states and the capital Abuja. Nigerians look for someone who will unite the country as the  democratic process is only now being popularized and planted in Nigeria. This is not an overstatement as Nigeria has Muslim North and Christian South, and 200 ethnic groups.  ...

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The 2019 election recorded the lowest turnout in Nigeria's history. Voting was especially low in the south where opposition candidate Abubakar was ahead, and much higher in the north and northeast which has consistently supported president Buhari. This BBC report says voter apathy seems to have set in. In the north Buhari is seen as a principled man of the people helping him get a lead of 4 million votes. Even though security concerns have affected about 2 million people in the north from Boko Haram militants the INEC made provision for 400,000 displaced people to vote. 

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President Goodluck Jonathan as "Mr. Clean" aroused many of the same hopes now aroused by the election of Buhari as president of Nigeria. Under Goodluck Jonathan Nigeria's foreign reserves declined from $50 billion to $33 billion, and there is $1 billion in the sovereign wealth fund. About $20 billion in pilfering of state funds was reported by the Central Bank of Nigeria, but no action was taken by Jonathan. Indians may pride themselves on a better performance, yet prime minister Singh of India, seen as "Mr. Clean," allowed auctioning of telecom licenses in the second term, that had to be cancelled because of corruption. Throughout emerging markets not just in oil producing countries, poverty remains entrenched, because funds that should go into infrastructure and services are misused, which creates a disincentive for foreign investment, further adding to the problems in these countries. India and Nigeria are the two fastest growing countries in the planet, and the unspoken fear is that the demographic dividend with so many young people will be wasted by corrupt and inefficient management of the economy and resources of the two countries. The time lost in the last years of the Singh administration and the four years of the Jonathan administration will never be regained, the hopes of millions of young people are dashed again and again, and the goodwill of Europe and the U.S. eager to participate with the latest technologies in the development of the two countries, as they have done in China, is wasted....

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The lack of economic opportunities for an increasingly urbanized African younger generation is a major challenge. The median age of 19 makes Africa the world's youngest continent. Megacities are growing up in places such as Lagos and Kinshasha as millions leave subsistence farming to go to cities. Unlike Asia and Latin American countries men and women are coming to shantytowns in cities at a time when Africa is much poorer for a similar level of urbanization that Asian and Latin American nations reached decades earlier. In 1993 this WSJ analysis and graphs show the Asian emerging economies and sub Saharan Africa had similar GDP per capita of $2415, by 2019 this was $4000 for Africa and $12,000 for Asian emerging economies. Latin America was at $10,000 in 1993 and in 2019 was at about $15,000. The gap widened considerably between Asia and African countries. Asian emerging economies increased GDP to 5 time from the same starting point as Africa in 1993, Africa doubled GDP over the period of 25 years to 2019. Latin America started from a much higher point and increased GDP by only 50% over 25 years. Asian economies that performed better over this period did better because of stable even entrenched governments such as in Singapore with Le Kuan Yew and in China with stable successive governments under CPC leadership of prime minister Deng. The difference in Asia was a commitment across all classes and groups to development, a sense of development as a way to make up for the years lost under colonialism of foreign powers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A sense of correcting historical injustice and wrongs. This is a missing ingredient in the processes unfolding in Latin America and Africa in the last 25 years. ...

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Efforts by the new petroleum resources minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to increase Nigeria's oil quota, and pass a bill in Parliament to increase taxes on foreign oil companies to take a bigger share of profits in joint ventures. She is undertaking a government effort to allocate 10% of oil revenues to the Niger delta.

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The dangers of a population explosion in Nigeria, as infrastructure is woefully falling behind and creating failing living conditions.

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A biographical account of Nigeria's acting president Goodluck Jonathan, who brings an academic background as a biologist with a doctorate in zoology and is a former environmental official. Nigeria faces huge problems of corruption, north-south tensions, and lacks basic infrastructure especially power generation capacity. He brings humility and is associated with environmentalists. He was selected as vice president because of his clean government credentials.

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The drop in oil prices in 2014-2015 leads to a decline in the value of Nigeria's currency, the Naira, by over 10% in 2014. The Naira dropped to 186.9 to the dollar by Dec. 2, 2014. The foreign exchange reserves drop to $2 billion in Dec. 2014 from $20 billion in 2008. Investment in infrastructure and the electricity grid is badly needed. Imports of arms for the military add to budgetary strain as the government tackles the Boko Haram terrorist threat in the Kano region. The central bank puts out a revised budget based on an oil price of $73, as Brent crude dropped to $68. Like Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone dependent on iron ore exports, Angola and Mozambique on oil revenues, Zambia on copper, and South Africa on mining exports, much of Africa's economy is dependent on commodity exports. About 80% of Nigeria's government revenue is from oil exports, according to the IMF. And the entire budget for the nation with the largest population in Africa is only $30 billion.