‘Tired of people taking us for a ride’: Nigeria readies to vote

Lagos, Nigeria – In Saturday’s vote, after a bitter campaign, main opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar and 71 other candidates will go head-to-head with Muhammadu Buhari for Nigeria’s top job.

Al Jazeera spoke to people on the streets of Lagos about how they planned to vote, and why.

Here is what they had to say:

Dele Gbadeyan, Businessman

Businessman Dele Gbadeyan says incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari can make Nigeria ‘great’ [Fidelis Mbah/Al Jazeera]

I am voting for President Muhammadu Buhari. He is not a corrupt leader, if he says he would do something, he does it. To make Nigeria great, let us all support him to finish his two terms.

John Bakare, Public Servant

I am voting for Omoyele Sowore. He has all it takes to be the Nigerian president. Sowore has offered his life for good governance, right from when he was in school; he has been deeply involved in human rights issues trying to ensure that the average Nigerian has a quality life to live. He has the integrity, he has the educational qualification that is required and he has the exposure and more importantly he has the zeal and the energy to give that expectation to Nigerians because we are tired of politics of bread and butter, we are tired of people taking us for a ride. In Sowore, we can see that he means well and the integrity is there to speak for him.

Chidi Kalu, Businessman

Businessman Chidi Kalu says ‘nothing is moving forward’ in Nigeria [Fidelis Mbah/Al Jazeera]

I am voting for Atiku (Abubakar) because in the last four years, Buhari hasn’t performed well; people are crying, the cost of things has doubled, people are going through a lot of pain and sorrow, people are suffering and nothing is moving forward. Many companies have folded up. At the organisation my wife was working at, they sacked about 250 of them. Let us try Atiku, if he doesn’t do well, after four years, we vote him out.

Samuel Akanbi, Salesman

The present government promised us a lot of things to change the country but it was like a trick. Atiku is a successful businessman and I want to vote for him because he understands the economy.

Wale Bello, Businessman

Businessman Wale Bello will vote for Buhari ‘because he is going to stabilise the Nigerian economy’ [Fidelis Mbah/Al Jazeera]

I am voting for President Muhammadu Buhari because I have confidence in him, he is not a corrupt leader, and he is going to stabilise the Nigerian economy, so let him continue.

Naomi Chinedu, Housewife

I am not voting for any of them. They only care about their pocket and their family. I will sit back at home and take care of my children.

Esther Paul

Esther Paul says candidate Kingsley Moghalu has the ‘ideas to move Nigeria forward’ [Fidelis Mbah/Al Jazeera]

I am voting for Kingsley Moghalu because he has shown himself to be a youth of quality and he knows what is going on with us in Nigeria and he has proved that with facts and data, most importantly. He has shown data as to why he needs to be president and I think he has awesome ideas to move the country forward.

Vincent Lois

I am voting for Atiku because he is someone who has Nigeria at heart.

Benjamin Chuks, Trader

Trader Benjamin Chuks says Nigeria’s economy is in a ‘downfall’ [Fidelis Mbah/Al Jazeera]

I am voting for Atiku Abubakar because I feel the economy is in a downfall and there is a lot of poverty, hunger and unemployment in the nation right now, so we need somebody to elevate us from that situation.

Aande Musiliu, Banker

Buhari is prepared to fix this country and he has my vote. I don’t care about the way he is portrayed in the media, I love him.