Nigeria will hold Africa’s biggest election in February 2023 when the continent’s most populous state selects a new president. The election will be a test of the country’s democratic progress since the end of military rule in 1999. It will also be a bellwether of how the “Giant of Africa” will navigate a series of evolving economic, social, and security challenges amid democratic backsliding in the region.
This contest differs from previous elections in many notable regards. First, a new electoral act is in place along with a first-of-its-kind digital election register that will be tested in a country with a history of widespread vote manipulation. Second, the playing field is more diverse and divided, with a third-party candidate from a historically marginalized region challenging the two long-dominant parties. Third, the youth are increasingly vocal in the aftermath of anti-police-brutality protests that swept the country in 2020. All the while, global macroeconomic shocks and high-profile terror attacks have exacerbated Nigeria’s fragility, prompting heated debate about whether the country needs experienced leadership or a clean slate to weather the storm. An uptick in election-related violence and ethnically charged rhetoric throughout the year has led observers to warn that the country may face its most volatile political contest in over a decade.
Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with three of Nigeria’s leading researchers to understand what is at stake in the 2023 election and what implications this election will have for West Africa.
Please join Hudson Institute for a fireside chat with Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs and John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and co-director of the Urban Warfare Project.
Join Hudson Institute and the Ben Franklin Fellowship for a two-panel discussion examining US policy as it confronts the crisis of terror in Nigeria.
Join Hudson Institute's Center for the Economics of the Internet for a keynote address given by Tricia Paoletta on the Trump administration's progress in managing and reallocating the electromagnetic radio frequency spectrum from the federal domain.
Join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth.
