Nigeria's Struggles: Hunger, Violence, and a Calm President

In the city of Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria, nearly 5,000 children attend a school that may soon lose all its funding. Families there struggle to find enough food, and terrorist groups have made life dangerous for years. Yet Nigeria's president, Bola Tinubu, seems relaxed — even taking a month-long vacation to France during campaign season. A reporter from The Economist traveled to Borno State to find out why so many Nigerians are suffering, and why their president isn't worried about the upcoming election.

In a maths class at Gwanghwamun Primary School, students learned how to use an abacus — except there were no real abacuses. The teacher drew one on the chalkboard instead. About 100 students were packed into each classroom. The school is set to lose its funding within a year, partly because organizations like Save the Children have had to cut back on spending around the world.

Parents at the school spoke about how hard life has become. One mother said she doesn't have enough food for herself, making it impossible to feed her children. Maiduguri is the capital of Borno State, one of Nigeria's poorest regions. For about twenty years, terrorist groups have attacked the area, kidnapping children, stealing from farmers, and fighting the Nigerian military.

Young people in Borno cannot find jobs, and traders cannot find customers. A lean harvest, rising food prices, and cuts to global aid have made things even worse. The United Nations' World Food Program says malnutrition in Borno State is at its worst level in ten years. A local doctor named Dr. Nura Tukor runs a clinic for children who are dangerously malnourished and described caring for a mother who nearly died after giving birth to triplets.

President Tinubu's main argument for reelection is that his economic reforms are working. Three years ago, he ended a government fuel subsidy — a program that kept fuel prices low — and fixed confusing rules around money exchange. These changes have helped make Nigeria's economy more stable, and inflation has dropped. But most ordinary Nigerians, especially the poorest, have not felt any improvement in their daily lives.

Elections in Nigeria are complicated, and that is why Tinubu feels confident. As the current president, he controls the ruling party's organization and has a lot of money behind his campaign. His posters are everywhere, and some voters said they didn't even know who else was running. Religion and ethnicity also play big roles — Muslim leaders encourage followers to vote for him, and Yoruba voters often support him simply because he is one of their own.

Perhaps the biggest reason Tinubu isn't worried is voter turnout, the number of people who actually show up to vote. In the last election in 2023, only 20% of people in Borno State cast a ballot. Nationwide, only 27% of voters participated. When unhappy citizens stay home on election day, unpopular leaders can still win easily — and in dangerous places like Borno, going to a polling station could mean running into armed militants.