The 2023 Presidential Election and the Future of Nigerian Democracy

The Future of Diplomacy Research Group, Institute for the Future of Knowledge (IFK) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in collaboration with the African Union Studies Unit at UJ’s Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) will hold a Panel Discussion: The 2023 Presidential Election and the Future of Nigerian Democracy.

In a year packed with many elections in Africa, Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and most populous country will head to the polls on 25 February to elect its President. The contest has been widely dubbed a three-horse race between the candidates of the two main political parties, Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as well as Labour Party’s (LP) Peter Obi who was recently tipped as the next President by a poll conducted by Bloomberg. Given the internal and external challenges such as insecurity, corruption, high levels of unemployment and a declining influence in international affairs that have characterized the Muhammadu Buhari era, the next administration will have to grapple with the mammoth task of strengthening Nigerian democracy and enhancing the country’s international stature.      

Against this backdrop, this webinar seeks to engage the implications of the presidential election for the future of Nigerian democracy.