Author Archives: richa

Bola Tinubu

The nation of Nigeria in West Africa has had a long history of corruption rampage elections and transfers of power from one government to the other since they are in a parliamentary system with the most recent election being no exception. The election, which was held back in February and took several weeks for the ballots to be counted, which the opposition and many others say that this left plenty of time for corruption and tampering with ballots to happen. The winner was Bola Tinubu from the All Progressive congress who won with about 37% of the vote being officially sworn in on May 29. Allegations and instigations occurred all summer until the opposition party (People’s Democratic Party) officially asked the Supreme Court of Nigeria to impeach the president.

Nigerian Supreme Court

Their claim for the appeal was that the election was ‘erred in law’ and corrupt. They also went after Tinubu and stated that he was ineligible to even run due to his supposed dual citizenship and a criminal inditement within the United States. The appeal was ultimately shot down stating firmly that Tinubu will be the president of the nation for the next four years. This was only the second time in the nation’s history that they had a peaceful transition of power (although still lackluster and possibly semi corrupt) and will stand as more proof to the world that Nigeria is continually moving towards democracy.

Sources:

Full List of Chief Justices of Nigeria’s Supreme Court

https://apnews.com/article/atiku-court-election-tinubu-appeal-nigeria-b0b279c1cb07ce7124dee26e84022e83

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64760226

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/28/1160062514/nigeria-election-opposition-parties-call-sham

Macau Checkpoint, China

 The Troubles of Chinese Traffic:

As everyone knows, China is one of the most populated countries in the entire world, which leaves infrastructure heavily pressed to get millions of people through the system. As we dig deeper though, a large population is not the only reason that Chinese roadways are heavily bogged down with traffic. 

Chinese cities were simply not built for cars:

With China being such an ancient civilization, some of the cities built are thousands of years old and were not built with modern cars in mind. The roads were built for smaller and lighter ancient modes of transportation in mind and not our modern and heavier cars. This is why, with the growth of automobiles, Chinese cities have relatively inefficient road layouts and traffic flow. 

Chinese Driver’s Education is sub par:

The teaching process for Chinese drivers when first learning is drastically different than that of the United States or other European countries of the likes. Many classes are taught on closed courses for the learner, so lots of drivers are legally allowed to drive on the roads, but have never seen traffic.  

Overcrowded Highways

Although many highways were designed with mass amounts of traffic in mind, horrific traffic jams have still pervaded chinese roadways for decades. For example, in 2010, one jam spanned over 100 kilometers and lasted more than ten days. In response, the Chinese government instituted a system where only citizens with even or odd numbered license plates could drive on a given day.

About the Authors:

Richard: I am from Portland, Oregon and have had a passion and interest in travel. I have been able to travel to multiple countries around the world with my family and will likely continue to do so as I get older. I find differences in culture, social mindsets, and terrain to be worth engaging in, hence why I joined the Global ARC.

Tim: Most of my family has at least some interest in learning foreign languages, with myself being no exception. No foreign language classes were offered throughout elementary and middle school, which meant I came into high school with increased curiosity and motivation. It is because of this interest in both languages and foreign affairs that I joined the Global Engagement ARC.

Sources:

https://www.thoughtco.com/chinas-traffic-troubles-687418#:~:text=There%20are%20a%20number%20of,more%20than%2020%20million%20people). 

https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat13/sub86/entry-8368.html

https://www.arabiaweather.com/en/content/the-longest-traffic-jam-in-history-occurred-in-china-and-lasted-12-days#:~:text=The%20longest%20traffic%20crisis%20in,undisputed%20queen%20of%20traffic%20jams.%E2%80%9D