Chronycles

I have been in Lagos for the last 13 years. I have voted before the 2023 election. The first time was during Obasanjo and it was okay and calm. Everyone voted and went back to their house. Before the election, I had been harassed because of my tribe. But the 2023 election was horrible. The presidential election was okay and calm. People voted freely. But the governorship was the opposite. You see people being flogged. I have not seen such in my life before.

There wasn’t any sign of danger before the election. The security before the election seemed good, but after it, it became bad. Everything turned upside down. I was able to vote, but I ran for my life. I wasn’t sure if I was targeted because of my ethnicity, because they were flogging everybody. I cannot remember any similar incident in previous years. What happened that day stayed with me because it lasted for a long time and created fear.

I was born and brought up in Lagos. The presidential election was fair, but the governorship was not because most people who wanted to vote for their candidates were not allowed. A lot of them were flogged by hoodlums and they could not vote. Due to the harassment, they were prevented from voting for the candidate of their choice. I also did not vote simply because of the harassment. The atmosphere was tense and people became afraid because of what they were seeing around them.

What happened in the 2023 general election was that the non-indigenes were actually bullied. They were asked to leave the polling units because they are not indigenous. We were intimidated. All were intimidated, some were beaten, some were stabbed. One of the Labour Party agents was stabbed at a collation centre and when he was taken to the hospital, after a series of surgeries, a few months later, he died because of this incident.

After schooling, I came to Lagos for a greener pasture. I have been living here for 13 years. Before the election, there was a cordial relationship with people from other tribes. We had a good time, we played. We were like, this 2023 election is a big one, we’ve never had [something like it] in Nigeria. It was like big lions ready to fight. Any time we sit, we discuss it as something big. But after the election, everybody minds their business.

Journalists usually find it difficult to cast their votes, because while on the field, they are posted elsewhere to work and are unable to exercise their franchise. But in 2023, I made sure that the area where I covered the election was close to my polling unit. So after covering a few polling units, I went to my own unit so I could cast my vote. It was the gubernatorial election.

I came to Lagos in 1996 during my youth service, and I’ve been here since then. Before the election, everything was okay. Because I do business and produce what people consume daily, most of my customers are locals, and I have a good relationship with them. I have been voting in almost all the elections because I like to exercise my franchise. I know my responsibilities as a good citizen.

The incident during the 2023 election was the first time I personally experienced something like that. I have been in Lagos for 30 years. I started voting when I was 25. As for discrimination and harassment during elections, I had not experienced anything like that before. On the election day, where I was, some groups of thugs came over there to scatter everywhere and beat people. The police officers were present there; I don’t know if they were scared of those guys.

I have been living in Lagos since 2013. Why I settled for Lagos is that, as a real estate student then, I looked at the opportunities I could get. I had offers in Ibadan, but even as a very young person, I was not going to stay because I wanted a different experience. My relationship with my community before the election was great and they all know me. Getting to talk with community residents helps me to familiarise myself more with my area.

Revisiting encounters with ethnic profiling, violence, and disenfranchisement in Nigeria’s 2023 elections. June 13, 2026 While I was going to drop my ballot paper in the box, I heard the man facing me say, “Oh, you live in this neighbourhood, abi (right)? Don’t worry, we’ll come for you.” And you know what it means … It’s really amusing. Yes, my name is Blessing. I hear that comment a lot that I look Igbo, but I’m Yoruba. I’m Ijesha.