Even as the President Muhamadu Buhari administration has said it is not
witchunting anyone in her anti-graft war, the International Republican
Institute (IRI), has revealed that the initiative has largely divided the
country between the North and South lines.
Presenting the report of her recently conducted poll to journalists in
Abuja, the IRI acting regional director, Africa, John Tomaszewski, said a
similar split can be seen in regional perceptions of the economy with 75
per cent of respondents in the South-east think the economy had become
worse, compared with 44 per cent in the North-east.
He said: “it is important to note that this perception is largely split
between the North-south lines, with more negative views noted in the South
than in the North.
Tomaszewski further stresed that divisions in perceptions of the country’s
trajectory are stark as almost half of respondents in the North-east (40
per cent) said the country is headed strongly in the right direction,
compared to just 10 per cent in the South-east, where 49 percent believe
that the country is moving strongly in the wrong direction.
“This poll attests to the significant work that Nigerian government must
do to address regional divisions and other issues of governmental
responsiveness and accountability affecting the Nigerian people. But it
also highlights the tremendous achievement of the Nigerian people in
committing to the democratic process despite the difficulty of past
elections, and is a promising indicator for the country’s democratic
development since the return of democracy in 1999.”, Tomaszewski added.