Turning down Leisure, Turning out for Labour, Turning around Lagos
Lagos turned around its voting history in the 2023 presidential elections, and that, in many ways.
The famed centre of excellence went high when the other 35 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) went low in their voter turnouts.
First, since 2015, the 2023 presidential election was the first time Lagos voter turnout was not the least in the country. This shift comes at a time when the country as a whole recorded the lowest voter turnout since 1999.
Voter turnout is the proportion of registered voters that eventually leave their homes to cast their votes on election day.
There is more. Of the 36 states and the FCT, only the turnout of Lagos voters exceeded that in the previous election in 2015, followed by Abia State.
Lagos: Turning down Leisure to vote
Lagos is characterised by high political participation but the least voter turnout. Several factors are responsible for this.
Besides the general disillusionment with the political system, lack of trust in the electoral process, and voter intimidation, Lagos voters are fraught with the challenges of a highly populated but thinly landed state.
Lagos has the highest population and population density in Nigeria
Records have shown that access to election logistics is lower in highly populated parts of the country. This causes longer queues to register to vote, collect permanent voter cards (PVCs), and vote on election day. This may discourage an ever-busy population like that in Lagos.