It is told that Nigerian Kings, if they had lost the confidence of their people, might be presented with a gift of parrots' eggs as a symbolic suggestion that they have overstayed their welcome and should consider retirement.

As President-elect of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu leaves for Europe to discuss his administration's transition to a new economy with European investors and other key allies, the outcome of the election is being contested before electoral tribunals. 

Economic reform and the creation of an investor-friendly climate were a major plank in Tinubu's agenda, and meetings with a number of potential investors, especially in the manufacturing, agriculture, tech, and energy sectors, have been lined up. 

Critics point out that, since being elected, President-Elect Tinubu, due to be sworn in on 29 May, has just returned to the country from a four-week vacation in France. 

As has become customary in Nigeria, election results are challenged before an electoral tribunal. Experts want that, although lower-level elections are often overturned, no Presidential elections, so far, have been reversed. Yet five petitions challenging the outcome of the latest elections were filed. Of these, one had been withdrawn and two dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja. 

That leaves the two major opponents still awaiting hearings of their petitions. Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic party, credited with 29% of the votes, claimed that Tinubu's election was invalid due to non-compliance with the electoral act. The third runner, Peter Obi of the Labor Party, credited with 25% of the vote, claimed that a conviction of Tinubu by a United States Court for ' an offense involving dishonesty and drug trafficking' should disqualify him and that Obi should either be declared the winner, based on the spread of votes between different states or that the election should be re-run. 

A complication is that the decision of the tribunal is not expected before the inauguration date, which creates a constitutional problem. 

The 25 February elections were considered to have been mainly peaceful, with a high turnout. Allegations of vote buying, intimidation, destruction of electoral infrastructure, and outright fraud were registered. The significant participation of the youth was characteristic.

One hopes that the green shoots of democracy in this vast country will not wither. And parrots are still producing eggs.