The Re-election of President Buhari As Reported In The French Press

Nigeria as a country is not a household name in France,but when you mention the abduction of Chibok school girls and the Nigerian civil war,the  image of the most populous country in West Africa comes into full representation.Very often,in the midst of specialists there is a negative impression of Nigeria as a failed state that is reminiscence of the bankruptcy of Africa magazine cover lines in the 1990s. And in a way,these factors explained the neglect of the 2019 presidential election by the press.

Presidential Election Preparations

To most newspapers the election was a contest between two old politicians as the age of the candidates was the main pre-occupation of many commentators and a section of Nigerians.Gradually the opinion of the people changed and the audio-visual media focused on the work of the electoral commission when the election was postponed due to technical problems.Another element was the fact that the media ignored the participation of international observers and the first positive coverage of the election came from Ghalia Kadiri in the Le Monde.Who reported the ethnic crisis in Plateau state and covered the work of enterprising Nigerians in the sectors of waste recycling and Internet start-ups like BudgetIT.

The Re-election of President Buhari

In the issue of February 28,the reporter of Le Monde wrote that the outgoing president scored 56%, that abstention attained 40% and disclosed that the new president in his address considered his re-election as a victory for democracy in Nigeria.Surprisingly,Jeune Afrique reputed for its positive coverage of Nigerian affairs in the light of the Algerian crisis relegated the election story to a short piece signed by Fiacre Vidjinniou from Lagos, captioned,Buhari Part Two. Where the author detailed the achievements of the government and how vice-president,Osinbajo proved his mettle as acting president in 2017.

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