David Pilling, the Africa editor of the Financial Times, has stated that the expectations from Nigerians for Bola Tinubu to perform well are so low.
Reiterating that Nigerians have long harboured a robust scepticism towards their leaders, Pilling said there are doubts about Tinubu’s legitimacy as the duly elected president.
He cited the open letter to US President Joe Biden by Chimamanda Adichie, the feted author, as one instance.
“Adichie castigated the Americans for endorsing the result. There is no proof that the election was stolen — or bought. But there are plenty of grounds to suspect a result that is being challenged in court by the defeated candidates.
“Election day, far from being the clean, digitally assisted process promised, was an exercise in chaos.
“Many polling booths opened late, voter intimidation was rife, and tallies were not uploaded, creating wriggle room for fraud,” he noted.
Pilling further stated that few Nigerians expect the courts to annul the result declaring Tinubu, the winner.
He added:
“That means Tinubu, whether Nigeria’s most famous living novelist likes it or not, will be president for the next four years. Assuming he survives that long. Such is the suspicion about him that many even doubt his official age of 71.
“Visibly ill, lacking a strong mandate, and in charge of a country teetering on the edge, Tinubu appears to have little going for him.”
The 58-year-old journalist, author of The Growth Delusion: The Wealth and Wellbeing of Nations, described Tinubu as a man that “appeared to epitomise all that is wrong with Nigeria’s governing class.”
