Chibok residents vote for security in Nigerian election

CHIBOK, Nigeria — In Chibok, the village in northeastern Nigeria’s restive Borno state that is still suffering the loss of more than 200 schoolgirls who were abducted last year by the armed group Boko Haram, some voters traveled hundreds of miles to cast their votes in the country’s landmark presidential election.

“I know it was a huge risks but it is my civic duty to cast my ballot,” says Allen Manasseh, who traveled nearly 500 miles from the capital, Abuja, to Chibok, his hometown, where he cast his vote on Saturday. His cousin Maryam was one of the kidnapped girls, and Manasseh is still hoping for her return. “We will keep demanding for our girls to come back,” he said.

Like many in Chibok, Manasseh is disappointed in President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the mass abduction of the schoolgirls on April 14 by Boko Haram. It took more than a week for Jonathan to make a public comment on the abduction, and he has still never visited the troubled community to express his condolences. “I tried to engage the government of Goodluck Jonathan, but the government treated us as if we were criminals just because we were demanding our girls,” Manasseh said.

Chibok voters went to the polls on Saturday, and the main opposition party, led by the former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, won by more than 7,000 votes. Nationwide, Buhari defeated Jonathan by a landslide, with a margin of more than 2 million votes. Jonathan issued a statement on Tuesday congratulating Buhari, and across Africa’s most populous nation, Buhari supporters celebrated an unprecedented moment — the first time an opposition candidate has won a presidential election in Nigeria, and a peaceful transition of power.

Buhari’s campaign slogan of “change” appealed to Nigerians seeking an administration that will tackle rampant corruption and an economy suffering from a falling currency. But for many in northeastern Nigeria, where Boko Haram has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than 1 million in its campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate, security is the number one issue.

“Security is the priority,” said Bulus Mungopark, a leader in Chibok’s vigilante force. “And concerning our girls, we believe Buhari will do everything to find out girls because Jonathan is too weak to do so.”

Buhari’s military background appeals to those frustrated with Jonathan’s inability to defeat Boko Haram after more than six years. Nigerian soldiers have been accused of being too heavy-handed in their attempts to clear villages of suspected Boko Haram fighters, and also of running away from oncoming Boko Haram attacks. The armed group has turned into a threat to regional security, and Nigeria’s neighbors have stepped into the fight.

Mungopark, who traveled about 80 miles from Maiduguri to Chibok to cast his vote, said he has engaged with Boko Haram fighters on numerous occasions, sometimes alongside Nigerian troops. Since February, the Nigerian military has made some gains in the fight against the armed group. Last week, the military announced the recapture of the strategic town of Gwoza, where Boko Haram fighters had set up a base.