By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Nigeria’s president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been listed among the influential Times magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year 2023.
Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election on held on Saturday, 25 February, 2023 ahead of his rivals People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party(LP).
The APC candidate polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat fellow contenders – Atiku Abubakar of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes, Labour Party’s Peter Obi had 6,101,533 votes to come third and candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Rabiu Kwankwaso with 1,496,687 votes.
Times magazine while selecting Tinubu as one of its 100 most influential people of 2023, said winning an election in Africa’s most populous country is no easy feat.
“But Nigeria’s newly elected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has had nearly two decades to prepare. Called Jagaban, or “leader of the warriors,” by his supporters, the now 71-year-old ran in a presidential election for the first time this March,” the magazine said of Tinubu.
“His campaign slogan, “It’s my turn,” was a nod to his role as a longtime political power broker. Tinubu helped restore the country’s democracy in 1999 after fighting military rule and then served two consecutive terms as governor of Lagos.
“Tinubu now faces a litany of crises in a fractured nation, including deep-rooted corruption, religious insurgencies, and shortages of cash, fuel, and power in a crumbling economy.”
Nigeria’s President-elect, however, seems aware of his inheritance: “Nigeria is one country and we must build it together,” he said in his acceptance speech.
