Nigerian Polls So Far: The Twitter Saga – From Postponement To Awaiting Results
For more than two weeks, resident and diaspora citizens in the most populous black nation in the world have been actively and passively involved in choosing the leaders that will administrate the country for the next four years. What is most significant is the level of concern, interest and contribution on the part of Nigerians to make sure their choicest candidates get the win.
On February 16, many Nigerians literally started spending their entire data plans and battery life just to keep to tabs on happenings around the country using their Twitter accounts. Surely, online media houses did their best to furnish us with as many updates as possible. But none of these efforts can be compared to the instantaneous technology of tweets and threads. Information, from that day, spread like wildfire, burning every single polling unit in its wake. And because elections don’t happen everyday, here are some of the most interesting Nigerian poll tweets of all time.
Election Postponement
In what was no doubt a world record and first of its kinds, the Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC) suspended Nigeria’s polls just few hours before it was set to open. Many Nigerians had traveled far and wide to exercise their rights, and the news of the postponement was no doubt dumped on by all and sundry. While Professor Mahmood Yakubu – INEC Chairman – and his team know best what led to the incidence, here are the reactions we extracted from Twitter.
They have succeeded in postponing the elections na, since last year they fixed the date, few hours to voting time when people have gone to sleep they decided to postpone due to logistic challenges. Las las we must vote sha, come what may, even if they fix it on an invisible day.
— AngelsAreReal (@pansybng) February 16, 2019
And now, the fracas…
A Logistical nightmare? We haven't learnt from history in this country. This has taken us to the stone age. The INEC chairman, gave no logical reasons to balance our psyche; which means he saw this coming.
— Ike (@Ikechukwu877) February 16, 2019 
Now, the deserters.
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The Polls
After all, INEC slated 23rd February 2019 for the general elections. While some refused to believe this date and feared it as another tentative fix, others came out in mass to vote. Whatsapp updates literally made my phone hang, and the trend was nothing short of multiple waves getting in each other’s way.
The Mishaps
While the US and Canada urged Nigerians to go out and cast their votes, some rathered to stay home and watch. In some parts of the country, some level of violence from thugs and hooligans were recorded. As a result, some of the polls in such parts have been cancelled and postponed. Also, there were some funny moments. The woman lying on a mat above, waiting in line fr her turn, is the least of it.
Awaiting Results
So the polls have been concluded and the votes are being counted. As citizens all over the country have resumed work, they constantly refresh their Twitter accounts to keep to tabs with the developments. Here are the highlights.
Featured Image: Samuel Aranda/The New York Times
