On Boko Haram's frontlines, a city prepares to vote

Pulse News Agency International by AFP

February 15, 2019 9:37 PM

A string of bombed-out bank branches are a reminder of the not-so-distance bloody past in Mubi, in northeast Nigeria's Adamawa state.

A girl selling water waits for costumers at a market, which was attacked last year by Boko Haram Islamists, in the Nigerian city of Mubi

Nearly five years ago, Boko Haram fighters overran and looted the city, as they captured territory across the remote region and declared an Islamic caliphate.

The jihadists even renamed Mubi "Madinatul Islam" or "City of Islam", before they were finally driven out in a military counter-offensive in late 2014.

A twin suicide bombing in May last year that killed 86 brought bloodshed to Mubi once again. There have also been hit-and-run raids in nearby towns.

But largely, life has returned to normal .

No clearer sign of that is preparations for presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday, where residents say they're more than ready to line up and cast their votes.

Two names on the ballot paper will stand out: President Muhammadu Buhari, who pledged to defeat Boko Haram, and Atiku Abubakar, the former vice-president who hails from the state.

"God brought Buhari for us and Buhari fought the insurgency and now we're living in peace," said Mohammadu Malla, an onion trader.

Since 2009, the Islamist group has killed more than 27,000 people and left some 1.8 million others homeless in its quest to establish a hardline Islamic state in northeast Nigeria.

Confidence

Buhari, a former military ruler, swept to power in 2015 on a vow to end the fighting but as he seeks re-election faces a tougher task.

Abubakar has campaigned hard on the 76-year-old head of state's inability to end the violence -- and his failure to quell insecurity elsewhere.

That could see him chip away at Buhari's traditionally strong support base in the wider north.

"I will vote for him because he's from here and therefore we will support him," Hagatu David, who sells cashew fruits, said of 72-year-old Abubakar.

"Our children have no jobs. They finish school, and then there are no jobs for them. If we cry to him, he's going to help."

Remote, semi-arid northeast Nigeria was impoverished even before Boko Haram emerged. But Mohammadu Malla, who stayed in Mubi during the jihadist occupation, said they made it worse.

"Life was so bad back then. Now God has made things much easier," he added.

Despite recent attacks in the Madagali area, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the north, election officials expect the vote to be safe.

On Friday, heavily guarded convoys fanned out from the Adamawa state capital, Yola, to deliver ballots and voting materials to polling units.

Special polling units have been set up to cater for many of the internally displaced who have fled to places like Mubi to escape the fighting.

"We are confident of the security," said Deborah Luka, from the Independent National Electoral Commission in Mubi.

The mosque targeted in last year's suicide bombing has been rebuilt, with fresh concrete and tinted blue windows.

Standing outside, Baba Ahmadu, who was injured in the blast, reflected on his close call, with the endurance of many in the region who have seen so much.

"Life has continued and God has kept me here," he said.

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Electoral posters are among the signs that life in Mubi has largely returned to normal AFP

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (l) could see his tradtional support base in the north weakan as former vice-President Atiku Abubakar campaigns on the head of state's failure to quell insecurity AFP

Pulse News Agency International by AFP

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