In Nigeria, election spectacle at odds with rampant poverty

A manual laborer pulls a cart of hay as men drive past on a motorcycle, near the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Kano, northern Nigeria Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. Nigeria's main opposition party charged Thursday that the election commission has kept more than 1 million ghost voters on the national register, raising fears of vote rigging ahead of Saturday's presidential election. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Chart shows Nigerian unemployment rates from 2014 Q4 to 2018 Q3; 1c x 3 inches; 46.5 mm x 76 mm;

RUGA SETTLEMENT, Nigeria – On the eve of Nigeria's election on Saturday, the spectacle of campaign expenditure is at odds with the rampant poverty afflicting many.

The lack of campaigning in impoverished areas contrasts with the election-time bustle of downtown Abuja, where the capital's streets are adorned with colorful posters of presidential candidates and where their followers are bused to boisterous events.

It also highlights the frustration many of Nigeria's poor feel amid an election campaign said to be one of the country's most expensive ever as incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari tries to shake off the challenge of his billionaire rival, Atiku Abubakar.

Unemployment in Africa's most populous nation of 190 million was over 23 percent in the third quarter of 2018, up from 8.2 percent when Buhari took office, official figures show.

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