NIGERIA 2011 ELECTIONS: DOES OPINION POLL COUNTS
See the final election result here
The reactions that followed the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Debate aired on NN24 and anchored by Nigerian internationally acclaimed writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has left one issue behind that Nigerian youths are desirous of a change in the way things are done but how do they want the change and in what form?
The fallout of the Presidential debate in another clime would have resulted in automatic loss for Goodluck Jonathan and that would be no thanks to his absence, however a recent poll result still reveals that Jonathan is still ahead of all other contestants in the forthcoming April Polls.
The opinion poll conducted by Pollstar, an Abuja-based survey agency, revealed that of all the 14 Presidential candidates, President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP was leading with a score of 21 percent, with Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, coming closely with 20 percent.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director of Pollstar, Obi Benedict Ekene, other candidates of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, General Muhammadu Buhari, scored 18 percent and Nuhu Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, 17 percent followed by Patrick Utomi of Social Democratic Mega Party, SDMP, with 12 percent; Dele Momodu of National Conscience Party, NCP, 5.5 percent; Chris Okotie of Fresh Democratic Party, 3.5 percent, among others.
Ekene noted that Poll star, in the conduct of the poll, liaised with four major telecom providers, including MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat in Nigeria, to gather data from approximately 70 million respondents through SMS.
According to the result, the poll showed that in Lagos, the poll showed that Raji Fashola of Lagos got 24 percent; Ade Dosumu of PDP, 15 percent; Yomi Tokoya of ANPP, 12 percent, and Ademola Dominic of APGA, 10 percent. While the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN candidates in Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun is leading with 22 percent; Adetunji Olurin of the PDP, 17 percent, while Jide Awosede of LP got 12 percent. CPC leads in Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, others
In Oyo State, ACN was in the lead with 23 percent, while PDP came very close with 19 percent, just as the CPC is leading in Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, even as candidates of ANPP in Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Ebonyi, and Kogi are leading in the polls.
The result also showed that the PDP was leading in Niger, Taraba, Katsina, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Sokoto, and Cross Rivers, while the candidates of LP of Bayelsa, Timi Alaibe, and Pauline Tallen of Plateau were in the lead in their respective states. Also, Gbemi Saraki of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, ACPN led in Kwara, having polled 21 percent, while Fatai Ahmed of PDP got 17 percent.
These men are presidential candidates, who would you prefer?
For a follower of polls in Nigeria, it is an obvious fact that the electorate in Nigeria are still far behind in decision making, even when opinion polls are conducted with all fairness, electorates in Nigeria are easily swayed even at the last minute of election with few Naira in their pockets.
To make the desired change a reality, Nigerian youths need to stand up and do the first thing first by educating the electorate on reasons to reject and accepts candidates standing elections especially at the State, National Assembly and House of Assembly levels, instead of dissipating energy on the Presidential election alone, where all seems a foregone conclusion even with the incumbency factor.