Last week’s frenzied rally reflected the interest in Kano, a key prize in Nigeria’s presidential elections on February 16. But crowd sizes are an unreliable indicator of political support in Africa’s most populous nation, where by and large, no-one does anything for free. At the Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training, a think-tank at Kano’s Bayero University, Kabiru Bello Dumbulun dismisses the boast as “just election talk”. – Market views –From the posters around Kano, Buhari has retained his image as a man of the people, even if four years in power has taken some of the shine off his appeal. “Elections are about mass of votes,” said Moses Aluaigba, an associate research professor at the Aminu Kano Centre.

Source: Punch February 04, 2019 12:56 UTC