Photo Credit: @ikamaechi Ikechukwu Amaechi

There were tales of anguish every where on Saturday, January 6, 2018, as Delta State, which links Nigeria’s South East and four South-East geo-political zones of the South West of the country was in lock-down mode as a result of its Local Government Council polls.
Most affected are Nigerians transiting from the South East through the all-important Niger-Bridge that links the commercial city of Onitsha, in Anambra State to Asaba, the capital of Delta to Lagos and other cities in the South West.
Taking to Facebook, an obviously angry Ikechukwu Amaechi, journalist and managing director of TheNiche newspapers, lamented on Saturday morning, who took several pictures of the long traffic of trapped vehicles on the Onitsha axis, he wrote: “This is Onitsha, stretching from only God knows where up to Niger Bridge Head since 8am. How do you describe this country and people that behave like this?
“Just because of LG poll? And we are laying claim to being part of the civilised world?”
In another post, he continued, “everyday, you go through a very frustrating and painful experience that convinces you that Nigeria is, indeed, a “big for nothing country,” and that is putting it mildly.
“As I write this, Delta State is on a lockdown. No movement! Why? Because the state is holding local government election. Nigerians who have no business with the election, who are going back to Edo, Lagos and other Nigerian states are all trapped at the Niger Bridge. You can’t turn back. I have been here since 8am, having left home early enough so as to get to Lagos early. Children are going back to school. Nobody cares. I am told we will be in this mess until 4pm. Yet, this is a local election that the ruling party in the state, PDP, is almost guaranteed to win 100%. Now, election is no rocket science. We have seen countries even in West Africa where elections are held and schools and businesses are not shut down. People take their children to school, go to the polling booths to cast their vote and go to work.
“Yet, almost 19 years into our so-called democracy, an entire state is shut down because of LG poll. There are people who are trapped as I am right now who may be on medical emergencies but can’t reach the hospital. You need to be a die-hard optimist to believe that this country is on the right path. Nigeria, giant of Africa, indeed.”