Yemisi Adegoke
BBC Africa

After it was announced that Muhammadu Buhari had been re-elected as president of Nigeria, WhatsApp groups have been buzzing with this picture of him as the "King of the North":

The reference is both to the TV series Game of Thrones, which followed a fight for the throne of the north, and also that Mr Buhari who did very well with voters in the north of Nigeria.

Mr Buhari swept the north of Nigeria in the election, while his closest contender Atiku Abubakar did better in the south and east.

Mr Buhari and Mr Atiku are both from the north, which meant observers were watching closely to see how the north voted.

People on social media have been adding their own commentary:

For those of you who are not fans of the fantasy drama series, Buhari Snow is a reference to Jon Snow, a king of the north in Game of Thrones. At least, that was when the north was a separate kingdom, before the Targaryen dynasty united all of the kingdoms to form the Seven Kingdoms.

This tweeter is also using the hashtag #AtikuMakeThatCall which is trending in Nigeria.

This hashtag is being used by people to urge Mr Abubakar to call Mr Buhari and admit defeat, as then President Goodluck Jonathan did when Mr Buhari was first elected, in 2015.

Mr Abubakar has rejected the election result, and explained why he hasn't made that call to Mr Buhari in a statement earlier today:

"If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South," he said.

After Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected, one of the questions analysts are asking is: why was the turnout so low?

Turnout was a record low at just 35.6%.

It was even lower in the Nigerian financial capital, Lagos. There, only 18.3% of registered voters cast their votes.

Before the election, some 18 to 20-year-olds in Lagos and Abeokuta told the BBC that they were not going to vote.

Here were some of their reasons.

The artist

Image source, Grace Ekpu

The hawker

Image source, Grace Ekpu

The furniture maker

Image source, Grace Ekpu

Read more: Does Nigeria's 'generation democracy' want to vote?

BBC World Service

Image source, Reuters

The former president of the Seychelles, France-Albert René, has died at the age of 83.

Mr René seized power in a coup in 1977 - the year after independence from the UK - and ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago for 27 years.

Supporters credit him with introducing a socialist development programme that included free healthcare and education.

Critics say he ran an oppressive regime that crushed dissent in the country.

Mr Rene reintroduced multi-party politics in 1991 and won successive elections before retiring in 2004.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

There's been a deadly train crash at Cairo's main railway station.

State television says at least 20 people have been killed and 40 have been injured.

The details are still sketchy, but reports suggest the train had hit a platform barrier at high speed before exploding, causing a huge fire.

Charred bodies were seen on the tracks and clouds of black smoke covered the sky.

Read more on the BBC News website.

Mercy Juma
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has congratulated Muhammadu Buhari after he was re-elected leader of Nigeria.

In a statement Mr Kenyatta said he was looking forward to continuing to work closely with Mr Buhari to consolidate "mutually beneficial areas of cooperation for the greater good of both Kenya and Nigeria".

He also posted a tweet to congratulate Mr Buhari, saying his victory was a "clear demonstration of the trust and confidence" Nigerians have in him.

Fergal Keane
BBC Africa editor

Image source, Reuters

The breadth and depth of corruption in Nigeria is so great, it affects so many aspects of public life that making serious inroads into the problem would require a focus, energy and application that was lacking in President Buhari's first term.

The second problem he faces in fighting corruption is having the necessary political support. There is undoubted public backing but Mr Buhari's party is compromised by senior members suspected of enriching themselves through graft. The fear is that across the board the looters will carry on pretty much as normal.

Economically, ending the dependency on oil revenues needs to happen at a much faster pace. The World Bank has predicted sluggish economic growth: 2.2% for the coming year in a country with unemployment of more than 20% and nearly half the population living in extreme poverty.

President Buhari also faces an array of security threats from clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the Middle Belt, continuing instability in the Niger Delta and - most worrying of all - a revived threat from Islamic extremists in the north of the country.

Read the full article here.

Image source, Reuters

Nigeria's President Muhamamdu Buhari has urged his supporters not to "gloat or humiliate" the opposition following his victory in elections.

"Victory is enough reward for your efforts," he told his supporters at the headquarters of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the capital, Abuja.

He added that he was "deeply humbled" by his victory and would intensify efforts to improve security, restructure the economy and fight corruption.

"We have laid down the foundation and we are committed to seeing matters to the end. We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out," Mr Buhari added.

The president won by 3.9 million votes, obtaining 15.2 million votes to the 11.3 million of his nearest rival, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president and business tycoon.

Read: 'New broom' seeks to sweep clean

Image source, Reuters

Nigeria's main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected President Muhammadu Buhari's victory in Saturday's fiercely contested election.

PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan told BBC Newsday that the results were totally unacceptable.

He said the party was questioning the high numbers of votes for Mr Buhari in insurgency-hit states in the north, such as Borno and Yobe, whereas the number of votes for PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar in states in the south were “reduced”.

The PDP would hold a meeting later today and decide how to proceed, Mr Ologbondiyan added.

Reuters news agency quoted another PDP official, Osita Chidoka, as saying the party would consider mounting a legal challenge against the result.

"We will explore all options including the belief that the legal process in Nigeria is one of the ways to resolve issues," Mr Chidoka said.

The electoral commission denies the vote was rigged.

Read: Atiku Abubakar profile

Nigeria's opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) has been "roundly" defeated in elections - and should accept the result so that the country can move on.

That is the view of Jibrin Ibrahim, the director of the Centre for Democracy and Development think-tank in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

BBC Newsday's James Copnall has been speaking to him:

Supporters of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari have been singing and dancing through the night in the capital, Abuja, as it became clear he was poised to win a second term.

Image source, Reuters

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been re-elected for a second four-year term, the election commission says.

The 76-year-old defeated his main rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, with a margin of nearly four million votes.

Mr Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the result.

Turnout was 35.6%.

Delays and violence marred the run-up to Saturday's poll but no independent observer has cited electoral fraud.

Mr Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 19 of the 36 states while the PDP was victorious in 17 states and in the capital, Abuja, according to the electoral commission (Inec).

Read more on the BBC News website.

Our proverb of the day:

Click here and scroll to the bottom to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome back to BBC Africa Live where we will bring you the latest news and views from around the continent, including President Muhammadu Buhari's victory in Nigeria's election.

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now.

Keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or check the BBC News website.

A reminder of today's wise words:

And we leave you with this picture of market life in Lagos in Nigeria taken by the BBC's Grace Ekpu:

Image source, Getty Images

The US, Britain, Norway and Canada have all expressed concern over Sudan's "return to military rule", reports AFP news agency.

"Allowing security forces to act with impunity will further erode human rights, governance and effective economic management" in Sudan, AFP quotes a joint statement by the four countries' Khartoum embassies as saying.

"The return to military rule does not create a conducive environment for a renewed political dialogue or credible elections."

"We also note continuing reports of unacceptable use of live fire, beating of protesters and mistreatment of detainees," said the statement.

President Omar al-Bashir declared a state of emergency on Friday in an attempt to end a 10-week uprising that has threatened to bring an end to his 30 years in power.

He dissolved the government and banned public protests.

The state of emergency comes with extra powers for the security services.

Since the state of emergency was announced, hundreds of pick-up trucks with mounted machine guns have been deployed onto Khartoum's streets.

Image source, Getty Images

Zimbabwean activist Rashid Mahiya has been arrested and charged with subversion following violent anti-government protests last month, his lawyer told AFP news agency.

Mr Mahiya is director of Heal Zimbabwe Trust and chairman of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an alliance of rights and social action groups.

Charges against Mr Mahiya stem from a meeting he organised in December which was attended by several non-governmental organisations, AFP adds.

Investigators allege that he used the gathering to call on other groups and fellow Zimbabweans to "subvert the elected government", his lawyer told Tonderai Bhatasara told AFP.

Every December is the "cutting season" in Tanzania, where thousands of young girls are forced to undergo the illegal practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).

This involves removing all or part of a girl or woman's external genitalia, including the clitoris, an ordeal that could cost them their lives.

In fear of her being "cut" by her own family, 12-year-old Rosie Makore made the difficult choice of running away to a safe house.

She was taken back to her village to confront her mother about whether or not she will be returning home.

Watch:

You can watch the Storyville's Defying the Cutting Season on iPlayer after the broadcast at 22:30 (BST) on 26 February 2019.

Mayeni Jones
BBC News, Lagos

Image source, Getty Images

Election results from Lagos, the Nigerian financial capital, show that only one in six registered voters cast their votes in Saturday’s presidential elections.

That’s just 18.3% of the eligible voters.

Only six million people registered to vote and just over one million votes were cast. That's in a city where, estimates say, the population is just over 20 million.

The south-western state has historically had a low voter turnout despite having the largest number of registered voters in the country. There were 300,000 more votes cast in the state in 2015.

Follow the latest results on our live map here.

Anne Soy
BBC Africa, Nairobi

Image source, Getty Images

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says it has shut down an Ebola treatment centre that was attacked and set on fire on Sunday night.

A relative of a patient died while trying to escape after suspected rebels attacked the centre at Katwa in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

MSF says the Ebola treatment centre was partially burnt and is now unusable after stones were thrown at it, and parts of the structure were set on on fire.

The mayor of Butembo told the BBC that they suspect the attackers were thought to be local militias but the motive is unknown.

This deals a major blow to efforts to control the outbreak.

The area is the new epicentre of the country’s biggest and most complex outbreak of Ebola.

Nearly 550 people have died and hundreds more have been infected since last July.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is increasing his lead as the results of Saturday's presidential elections are being announced.

He is now 1.8 million votes ahead of his main rival Atiku Abubakar after the declaration of results from 20 states plus the Federal Capital Territory.

The results from Lagos state - which had the largest number of registered voters - have been announced in the last few minutes and Mr Buhari won there with a 53% share of the vote.

The results for much of the south-east - which is where Mr Abubakar is expected to do well - have not yet been announced.

Follow the latest results on our live map here.