Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)On first look, not much separates the two front-runners contesting Nigeria’s presidential election. Both are men in their 70s with previous experience of high-level politics. Both are from the same ethnic group. And both are Muslims from the north of the country.
Incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress party, known as the APC, and Atiku Abubakar, of the People’s Democratic Party, or PDP, will face the Nigerian electorate on February 16 when Africa’s largest democracy votes.
Although they share demographic similarities, ideologically, the two men are opposed.
Buhari, who took power in a military coup in 1983 and was ousted in another coup before waiting almost three decades to be eventually elected president, relies more on the government and public sector and is suspicious of investment, both domestic and foreign, says financial analyst Bismarck Rewane.
Abubakar, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, is a staunch capitalist who made his fortune investing in various sectors in the country.
Regardless of who the electorate picks — and there are 70 more candidates to choose from — the outcome will dramatically shape the fortunes of Nigeria’s more than 190 million people
The vote comes at a critical time for the country’s economy, a lynchpin of the region. The recent oil price crash sent Nigeria’s economy into turmoil when the price of a barrel plunged to $40 at its lowest from a high of $100, leaving the country’s major revenue source depleted.
Although the country has emerged from recession and GDP grew slightly, 87 million Nigerians now live in poverty, the highest number of impoverished people in the world, overtaking India to move into the top spot in 2018, according to The Brookings Institution.
Last year, philanthropist and billionaire Bill Gates bluntly told Nigeria’s politicians they needed to abandon infrastructure projects and focus on developing human capital and the country’s large youth population, which at more than 60% of the population, is one of the highest in the world.
“The current quality and quantity of investment in this young generation in health and education just isn’t good enough,” Gates told CNN.