A defining moment

Nigerian voters elect a new president on Saturday amid economic turmoil and militant attacks. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( On the surface, Nigeria bears many of the elements of a broken state. About 133 million people — around two-thirds of its population — live in poverty, without access to adequate food, shelter, health care and sanitation. A potpourri of armed gangs kidnap and kill at will across much of the country, while criminal syndicates last year stole roughly a fifth of the West African nation’s daily oil production. Debt service payments will soon cost more than the government generates in revenue. Key reading: - [The Bond Market Is Already Betting Against Nigeria’s Next Leader]( - [Cash Crisis Exposes Nigeria Ruling Party Schism Before Vote]( - [Lack of Cash Is Stalling Nigeria’s $220 Billion Informal Economy]( - [Nigeria Faces Stunted Generation, Is No. 2 for Malnourished Kids]( - [A Guide to the Top Contenders Vying for Nigeria’s Presidency]( And yet, Africa’s most populous nation is also its largest democracy. When the 93.5 million registered voters go to the polls on Saturday, it will mark the seventh election since the end of military rule in 1999 in what is likely to be the biggest democratic exercise in African history. The vote comes at a perilous time: After eight years under Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians are by nearly every metric poorer and less safe. The past few weeks have highlighted the dysfunction of the Buhari era, as acute shortages of both cash and gasoline have spread across the country. All of it is the result of what critics argue are grossly misguided government policies. Pledges to turn Nigeria’s fortunes around have come dutifully from all three of the main candidates: ruling party stalwart Bola Tinubu; former vice president Atiku Abubakar, who’s making his sixth bid for the highest office; and Peter Obi, whose third-party candidacy has been powered by a record number of young voters fed up with the status quo. Those young people will decide the future of what by 2050 is set to be the world’s third most-populous country, with some 400 million people. The danger for Nigerians is that after the votes are cast, little will change. — [Neil MunshiÂ]( Obi supporters at a campaign rally on Feb. 11.  Photographer: Benson Ibeaubuchi/Bloomberg Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. Find out how the worlds of money and politics intersect in the US capital. [Sign up now for the new Bloomberg Washington newsletter](, delivered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Rock solid | Even as Beijing portrays itself as a neutral actor that can broker peace in Ukraine, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said during a visit to [Moscow]( that relations with Russia were “solid as rock.” Wang held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today and is scheduled to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Tune in for the next in our series of special Twitter Space conversations about one year of war in Ukraine. Today’s chat at 8am ET/1pm London will focus on the impact on global energy supplies and markets, and on the environment and renewable energy policies. You can [listen via this link](. You can also [listen back to our conversation yesterday]( on the war itself and military lessons learned. Support pledge | Joe Biden said Putin would never win his war in Ukraine, in a speech in Poland after the US president’s surprise trip to Kyiv. Biden [warned]( there will be “hard and very bitter days” ahead as Russia prepares a counteroffensive against Ukrainian forces, and said that the US and its allies would continue to support the government in Kyiv. - Listen to our [podcast]( on how Ukraine continues to beat back Russia. The Russian invasion dealt an unprecedented blow to Ukraine’s economy. Check out [our five charts]( detailing the impact and showing how Kyiv funds its wartime budget. Holding course | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to step up [rebuilding efforts]( following two deadly earthquakes and stick to a timetable for elections on May 14, as he seeks to shore up popularity ahead of a potential hit to the economy, [Selcan Hacaoglu]( and [Firat Kozok]( report. The earthquakes that devastated southeast Turkey and Syria two weeks ago killed more than 42,000 people and destroyed whole cities. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [We’re Back to the Cold War’s Bipolar Disorder: Andreas Kluth]( - [Adani Isn’t India, But Its Woes Are India’s: Andy Mukherjee]( - [Robots in Chinese Factories Can’t Do It All: Anjani Trivedi]( Going local | Chinese authorities have [urged]( state-owned firms to phase out using the four biggest international accounting firms on concerns over data security, sources say. China’s Ministry of Finance is among government entities that urged state-owned enterprises to let contracts with the Big Four auditing firms expire and instead hire local Chinese or Hong Kong accountants. - Xi called for fundamental scientific research to be [accelerated]( so that China can become self-reliant in critical technologies, part of Beijing’s efforts to counter US sanctions on everything from semiconductors to software. Explainers you can use - [Why US-Russia ‘New START’ Nuclear Treaty Is in PerilÂ]( - [Wall Street Clashes With Green Bankers Fed Up With Oil Agenda]( - [How the Pandemic Changed Our Commutes to the Office]( Debt deadlock | Two years after Group of 20 finance ministers announced a blueprint for debt relief for more than 70 low-income countries, the agreement once touted as historic looks increasingly [fragile]( and yet another front in a geopolitical tussle between the US and China. If G-20 ministers meeting in India this week are able to break the deadlock, it would unlock restructurings in Sri Lanka and Zambia. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with [David Westin]( on weekdays from 12 to 1pm ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2pm ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here](. News to Note - Australia’s fleet of nuclear [submarines]( provided under the Aukus agreement will be the “biggest leap in our defense capability in our history,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. - The mass [protests]( that have wreaked havoc on Peru’s mines, agriculture and tourism appear to be running out of steam, boosting the chances of an economic rebound with President Dina Boluarte still in power. - Nurses in the UK [suspended]( further strikes, saying they’re entering intensive talks with ministers in a move to unlock a dispute over pay. - Bureaucrats in Vietnam are increasingly wary of signing off on investment projects for fear they could be implicated next in an [anti-graft campaign]( that has taken down three of the country’s top-ranking officials this year. - Qatar is shipping thousands of mobile homes used to accommodate World Cup fans to Turkey, where they will be used as [temporary housing]( for survivors of the recent massive earthquakes. And finally ... Despite a ravaged economy, businesses, civic groups and citizens in Ukraine are helping replenish arms on the front and boost morale. In Bloomberg’s Big Take story today, [Marc Champion]( and [Daryna Krasnolutska]( look at how [crowdfunding]( is raising money for everything from drones to mortars to covering costs for military training, medical supplies and the design of apps to calculate artillery trajectories. The aid fills supply gaps on a fast moving battlefield that the army can’t, either for lack of money or an excess of bureaucratic procedures. The Balystyka sewing factory in Kyiv produces military uniforms and tactical gear. Photographer: Julia Kochetova/Bloomberg Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. 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