For a first post, I’ll introduce myself, give a short outline of my interest and background in Nigeria, and outline the purpose of the blog. I am currently a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Oxford, where my work focuses on the politics of corporate regulatory reform in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Before pursuing a research career, I worked as a broadcast journalist in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. I covered the 2015 Nigerian election and, since then, I have followed, reported on, or written about Nigerian politics and the Nigerian economy in one capacity or another.
This blog is a venue to share my thoughts and analysis on the road to Africa’s largest exercise in democracy. It also serves as a record of the ups and downs on the way to the polls for future reference. The primary focus is the presidential election on February 25, 2023, but we might drift into discussing the senate and house races that will be decided on the same day, and the gubernatorial elections in March.
Oliver McPherson-Smith, Ph.D 