A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, Friday said the 2015 general elections had polarised Nigeria into two, saying it was credible and peaceful  in the North and the South-west while in the South-South and South-East, results of elections to a large extent were written at homes.

Speaking at the investiture of Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State as Verbatim Magazine Man of the Year at Giginya-Coral Hotel, Sokoto, Onu said democracy could only grow and endure in an environment where elections were free,  peaceful and credible.

"So far in our country, Nigeria is divided into two parts. On the one hand in the North and South West, elections are reasonably free and fair while in the South-South and the South East,  results of elections, to a large extent, are written in homes," he said.

Onu maintained that all Nigerian citizens must be made to feel that they were participating in choosing their leaders, saying this was the only way to build trust between the people and their leaders.

He advocated the use of electronic voting in such a way that all elections would be conducted on the same day, adding that this would facilitate the conduct of credible elections in the country.

The former Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) said Nigerians owed a lot of gratitude to Wamakko for working very hard to effect a change in government, which had given hope of a  brighter future for all Nigerians.

He described Wamakko as a "Man of masses", who worked tirelessly to look after those who ordinarily could not look after themselves.

"We have come to honour a leader of his people at a time when many of the cherished values have been set aside and neglected in our dear country. We have come to recognise a leader who put the interest of his people first, in many of the things he did", Onu stated.

Speaking shortly after receiving the award, Wamakko averred that their sacrifice was for the interest of Nigerians, not for their personal gains, adding that they were ready to pay the supreme price for this country.

According to him, the struggle was to salvage Nigeria from bad governance and other vices that tarnished the name of this country among the comity of nations.

"Now the country's image has changed, all the national leaders had called our President-elect, assuring him of their support and cooperation", he said.

"Even the stigma that our nationals are facing outside the country is fast washing away and very soon it will be the thing of the past," he assured.

He commended the media, especially the Verbatim Magazine for the role they had played in making this change a reality, maintaining that if they had not done what they did, their effort would had been fruitless.

Also speaking, The Vice Chancellor of the Sokoto State University, Prof. Nuhu Yaqub, said Nigerians were lucky to have Gen. Muhammadu Buhari taking over from the most corrupt,  incompetent and unproductive leadership.

In his remark, the Editor -in -Chief of Verbatim Magazine, Mr. Tobs Agbaegbu, said the award was given to Wamakko for his outstanding leadership which had brought happiness to his people.