Nigerians in Cameroon say they want change as new President to be elected

By Pavel Joseph

Election day in Nigeria is at hand. As citizens within and without the country are hoping their favourite candidate wins, those in Cameroon are not left out. They have said their home country needs change.

Out of the 18 candidates vying to replace Muhammadu Buhari on February 25, only three stand a realistic chance to win. Peter Obi (Labour Party), Bola Tinubu (All Progressive Congress – APC), and former vice president Atiku Abubakar (People’s Democratic Party – PDP).

A few hours to the polls, CNA is sampling some opinions of Nigerians living in Cameroon. Most of them have expressed support for Peter Obi.

“I was feeling bad at some point that I won’t be in the country to go and elect a new president. But all thanks to social media I am more ready to give and show my support to Peter Obi the presidential candidate of the Labour Party” Faith Jimoh based in Douala said.

“I think Peter Obi’s vision for Nigeria is better than that of the rest of the candidates and he’s younger, he understands the plight of the common man and the youths in Nigeria” another citizen added.

Okwi Odii is also a supporter of the 61-year-old. According to her, the influence of the two other frontrunners is not to be underestimated.

“According to my analysis, Atiku and Tinubu will share the muslim votes while Obi will take all the Christian votes and emerge as the president of Nigeria” Odii enthused.

Another individual, Owobi Merit, also thinks Obi’s grip of the Christians will hugely give him the edge over the others. “Tinubu was wrong from the beginning by choosing a muslim as his running mate knowing he is also a muslim. Nigeria is too diverse for a particular religion to rule”.

Tinubu’s running mate is Senator Kashim Shettima, while Peter Obi has Datti Baba-Ahmed as vice-presidential candidate.

Some of the Nigerians based in Cameroon have said they are ready to go to the consulate to celebrate if their preferred candidate wins.