INEC Chair, Attahiru Jega
Hundreds of placard carrying Roman Catholics and pro-democracy activists on Thursday staged a demonstration in Nigeria to push for free and fair elections in Nigeria in the 2011 election.
The protesters carried placards along the streets of Nigeria’s largest city Lagos, some of which read “Injustice and bad leaders are bed mates” and “stand and be counted”.
There has been low zeal towards the election interest due to what many see as bad preparation and unrealistic election deadline as questions still linger over the credibility of the current available voters register.
There had been question marks also over the timing as many believe that the current demonstrated confidence by the Independent National Electoral Commission could represent a false hope and clandestine attempt by the ruling party to declare a winner out of desperation and attempt to cover up it’s failure.
The last election held in 2007 had been widely accepted as seriously flawed by many stakeholders in the government including the departed president Umaru Yar’Adua.
As the nation holds her next presidential, legislative and state gubernatorial election in January. President Goodluck Jonathan, has assured the nation of a free and fair election.
Some observers doubt this promise amid the current wobbly preparation.
Another area of concern is security following the current spate of killings across the country and reported cases of arms importation.
The Catholic church’s Justice, Development Peace Commission (JPDC) director Emmanuel Fadele said the march was aimed at sounding loudly to the government that Nigerians would cordon illegality come 2011.
President Goodluck Jonathan
Mr Fadele declared that the demonstration was further aimed at “co-opting every Nigerian to protect their vote, to ensure their vote is counted” without any fear of intimidation.
Election 2011 in January? AFP says “It’s almost an impossible task.
Nigeria has set off on what some may consider a near impossible task in Africa’s most populous nation — holding fair elections — and has upped the ante by giving itself only four months to prepare.
The electoral commission said this week that presidential, parliamentary and state polls would be held in January, prompting one newspaper columnist to call it the “maddest race against time in the history of Nigerian politics.”
Officials face a monumental task in preparing for the ballot in the oil-rich country notorious for election rigging and voter intimidation.
Their tasks include putting together an entirely new voter list, with the 2007 rolls riddled with false entries.
An estimated 70 million voters must be registered across the vast West African country comprising 36 regional states.
The opposition Action Congress of Nigeria described the timetable as “unrealistic and a recipe for failure,” while calling for the polls to be held in April, as they have been in previous years.
“The 2011 elections are critical to the survival of our democracy and the realisation of the consistent pledge by President Goodluck Jonathan to organise free, fair and credible polls,” it said. “We cannot afford to fail.”
Lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment moving the polls forward. The stated intent was to allow more time for disputes over results to be resolved before swearing-in ceremonies in May.
Some said the shortened timeframe could benefit Jonathan since it gives opponents less time to mount a campaign.
Jonathan has not yet announced whether he will run, though he is widely expected to do so soon, and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party has been divided over whether it should abandon him in favour of another candidate.
Voter registration is now scheduled to be held the first two weeks of November, with presidential polls set for January 22.
The election for parliament is slated for January 15 and governorship ballots are scheduled for January 29.
“It’s a bit rushed. (The electoral commission) should have given itself a little more time …to plug the loopholes,” said Ikeazor Akaraiwe, who led one of the commission’s monitoring teams in the past.
Britain, the former colonial power here, has called efforts to overhaul the voter register “a daunting task in the time available in this, the largest democracy in Africa.”
Britain’s minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, spoke of “the important role of civil society.”
“A system of parallel voting tabulation and transmission of results from the bottom up is needed so that they are not falsified,” he said.
Attahiru Jega, a renowned academic, was installed only in June as head of the electoral commission, which is known as INEC.
The appointment turned heads because of his perceived independence, but he too has spoken of the difficulties in preparing.
Many observers say Jega is well-intentioned, but is up against tough odds.
“It is noose tight,” said Olu Obafemi of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, “but the INEC boss enthuses passionate commitment.”
His success will depend largely on whether he is provided proper funding and logistical help, analysts say.
“He will conduct fair, free and credible elections. But he has to deploy the right technology, the right people to do the job,” said Debo Adeniran of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders.
Some an
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Good luck Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan has finally surrendered to the will of his teeming admirers by declaring that he would be putting across his Presidential candidacy in the next general election.
His green flag waved after emerging from a meeting with PDP state governors on Tuesday.
and the waved green flag has put paid to speculations as to whether he would run in the next election or not.
However President Jonathan said he would make his official public announcement about his political ambition on September 18,officially ending months of speculation as to whether he will seek the ruling party’s nomination.
The president made the announcement at a two-hour meeting behind closed doors with governors of the People’s Democratic Party, held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, shortly after the release of the 2011 elections timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Jonathan met the governors soon after an earlier meeting with PDP national chairman Okwesilieze Nwodo, as part his consultations ahead of the polls.
No official statement was issued at the end of both meetings, but sources in attendance at the meeting with governors said the president told them that since INEC had issued the election timetable, there was no time to waste and so he was joining the presidential race.
President Jonathan’s ‘yes I do’ first signal came about two weeks ago when he publicly announcement that he had nominated Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Alhaji Dalhitu Tafida as his campaign Director. Many saw the nomination as a clear indication of his intention to seek nomination under the ruling party, the PDP.
However, many governors were absent at the PDP governor’s forum meeting, and among those that were absent were Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido who boycotted it specifically to protest what he called EFCC’s harassment against him over what he described as “flimsy” petition, according to a top political source.
The governors were also said to have raised concern over the clampdown on them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over their perceived support for power rotation.
The president has been dawdling in announcing his decision, saying he was in consultation with some stakeholders.
His statement yesterday is likely to elicit strong resistance from particularly northern governors, who had said power should move to the North in 2011 in accordance with the PDP’s zoning arrangement.
Earlier on Tuesday, INEC issued the election timetable, showing that the elections would kick off with the National Assembly polls on January 15, followed by the presidential election a week later and governorship and state assembly elections on January 29, 2011.
Based on the timetable, announced by INEC commissioner in charge of information Solomon Soyebi, the political party primaries for the nomination of election candidates will be held from September 11 to October 30, while voters’ registration has been set for November 1 to 14.
After the elections, possible run offs for governorship and presidential elections will be held within seven days after the announcement of the result of the respective elections, Soyebi said, linking the timelines to provisions of the amended constitution and the Electoral Act 2010.
The timetable shows that campaign in public by political parties will commence on October 17 and will end on January 14, 21 and 28 for the three sets of elections respectively.
Registration of voters at the 120,000 polling units across the country will begin on 1st and end on 14th November, during which 70 million prospective voters are expected to be registered.
The voters register will be displayed for claims and objections between 20 and 25 November, while the final voter register is to be published on December 16.
INEC will issue notice of election on October 13 while political parties will collect forms CF001 and CF002 which contains personal particulars of candidates and party’s list of candidates for all elections from October 19 to 22.
Submission of form CF001 which contains affidavit and personal particulars of candidates and form CF002 which has the party’s list of candidates will be from November 15 for National Assembly, 22 for presidential and 29 for governorship/state Houses of Assembly elections, and same will be published on 22 November, 29 November and 6 December respectively.
Parties are expected to submit nomination forms to INEC between 4, 7 and 11 December, for National Assembly, presidential and governorship/state Houses of Assembly elections.
The last day for the withdrawal or substitution of candidates by political parties will be November 30 for the National Assembly, December 7 for presidential and December 14 for governorship/state Houses of Assembly elections.
List of all candidates will be published on 16, 23 and 30 December. Lists of all political party agents are to be submitted to the state resident electoral commissioners on January 8, 21 and 28 for each of the three elections.
Reading out the timetable at a news conference in Abuja, Soyebi said the commission acted “in exercise of the powers coffered on (it) by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the Electoral Act, 2010 and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf.”
The elections were staggered in accordance with section 25 of the Electoral Act which states that the elections should be held in the following order “a. Senate and House of Representatives; b. Presidential election; and c. State House of Assembly and Governorship election.”
The president made the announcement at a two-hour meeting behind closed doors with governors of the People’s Democratic Party, held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, shortly after the release of the 2011 elections timetable by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Jonathan met the governors soon after an earlier meeting with PDP national chairman Okwesilieze Nwodo, as part his consultations ahead of the polls.
No official statement was issued at the end of both meetings, but sources in attendance at the meeting with governors said the president told them that since INEC had issued the election timetable, there was no time to waste and so he was joining the presidential race.
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Human Rights Watch
Many Nigerian women and and teenagers are currently engaged in prostitution in many neighbouring African countries.
The women are tricked into the West African Coastal cities by men and women alike who know about those cities.
The idea sold to them is that in the face of hopelessness, they are tricked into believing that there are better opportunities and resources for better livelihood in those cities.
Many of those tricked into those false life are aged between 15 and 17 years old and in some cases younger and they floods the West African Coastal cities in dozen and only take their fate after realising they have no alternative means of returning back home. Many of the victims are being paid as little as $2 per visit, according to the reports.
The Human Right Watch deplored the human trafficking; claiming victims are forced to have sexual deals with men as young as 15 and 30 years old as their patrons and matrons make brisk businesses.
According to the Human Rights Group, ‘Human Rights Watch’, Nigerian women and girls are being used for brisk businesses in the neighbouring Ivory Coast where they are forced into prostitution and human degradation.
An HRW report released Friday August 27 says that dozens of Nigerian woman had been trafficked after being deceived with promises of a better life in other West African countries.
The international human rights organization says victims were between the ages of 15 and 17 or younger when taken to Ivory Coast.
The report says victims are forced to have sex with 15 to 30 men a night at 1,000 CFA francs ($2) per visit.
The case of human trafficking out of Nigeria has concerned the government which actually passed anti-trafficking laws that focus on human smuggling to other West African countries, Europe and the United States but not Ivory Coast.
While Ivory Coast has been left out of the banned cities remains a matter to clarify by the government.
“This is another landmark disgrace and failure by the Nigerian government as they systematically destroy the future of the country”, a human right activist, Nathaniel Oyinloye angrily reacted when asked to comment on the nation’s upgraded human tragedy and disgrace.
Nathaniel Oyinloye: "The greatest human tragedy"
Mr Oyinloye, who is the Coordinator of the United Kingdom based Nigerian Education and Employment Development regretted:“A country as influential as Nigeria today is an international laughing stock with the indignity brought to the people despite being one of the leading oil producing countries in the world”.adding that the world should intervene into the situation of Nigerian less privileged by mandatory laws of care for the nation’s voters who had suffered neglect and who continue to be raped economically by those who continue to create mini world around themselves at the expense of the nations public and future.
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President Goodluck Jonathan: "We should be more nationalistic"
Ex- Military leader, President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida has pointed accusing fingers at President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that he wanted to sabotage the People’s Democratic Party’s zoning system following a statement the President made recently on the eve of G8 meeting in Toronto, Canada.
The accusation has appeared a clear testimony on how desperate Babangida is to grab power, hanging on Northern factor as his recent outburst through his spokesman shows a clear indication of attempts by him to play a race card and climb on the back of Northern power stakeholders to rule Nigeria again.
Jonathan had said recently: “We are a country where our leaders tend to play tribal sentiments, saying I am from the south south; I am from North West; I am North, I’m South, I am a Muslim and I am a Christian. All these are selfish motives to make people who probably cannot compete with others…to use these sentiments.”
President Goodluck Jonathan’s also added that Nigeria is a country peopled by ethnic bigots “who reach out to their narrow cleavages when they cannot compete,”
Apparently, the President was sending a clear message to the nation, craving for a more nationalistic approach to the nation’s leadership instead of the old tribal card play.
Babangida in a swift reaction told Jonathan to watch his utterances.
The Ex- military ruler said on Sunday that the zoning agreement of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party must be respected “because Nigeria is in a peculiar situation that makes zoning inevitable.”
Observers in London who want anonymity said Babangida’s swift and extended reaction carried along desperation, self- centeredness and anti nationalistic feeling.
“ We should all vie for one Nigeria and a national and devoted leadership without any sense of tribal tilt” a legal practitioner said claiming that at 50, Nigeria should look beyond ethnism and should be more nationalistic.
Babangida’s statement also denote the former leader as a Nigerian with a special touch and therefore remains untouchable.
Babangida’s position in a statement conveyed by his spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua noted that the former military president was not in competition with any contender for the 2011 presidential election.
“Please, be informed that we are not in competition with anybody in 2011 presidential elections. Babangida is just in a class of his own. There is no nation in the whole world with peculiar features such as Nigeria. Given such scenario and reality, our method of power sharing, power distribution and representation has to be peculiar too,” said the statement.
Babangida’s statement said further that the issue of zoning or rotation was imperative “to keep the union stable in order to encourage and sustain developmental initiatives across board.”
“Nations work out models that suit their peculiarities. General IBB is a pan-Nigerian and given his stature as a statesman, you cannot possibly pigeon hole him into a regional leader. He only needs to ensure that the zones are well represented because any crisis in any one zone will affect the state of the union.
“You need political stability before you can talk about economic stability. Once any zone feels alienated, it would take away something from the sustainability, unity and oneness of the union.
“I feel unusually disturbed when highly educated Nigerians and lecturers discuss these issues with sentiment and biased considerations. It will help the state of our union if the zones feel a sense of belonging and not that of alienation,” said Babangida in the statement.
On his part, elder statesman and former presidential adviser to President Shehu Shagari, Tanko Yakassai, said: “It is unfortunate that of all people, it is President Goodluck Jonathan that is quoted of accusing fellow Nigerians as being ethnic bigots.”
Yakassai alleged that right from Jonathan’s inception as acting president and eventual confirmation as President, “he has been dancing to the dance of his ethnic nationality of Ijaws.”
“If Nigerians have now resorted to ethnic sentiments, it is because we are following the actions and utterances of the President. It is this presidential moral rectitude that is guiding ordinary Nigerians. If President Jonathan is ethnically biased, he is inevitably making other Nigerians tow his line of thought.
Ibrahim Babangida:" Iam alway disturbed when ..."
“Immediately he became the President, he appointed someone from his Bayelsa State in the person of the Dezeani Alison Madueke as the Minister of Petroleum Affairs, which is the mainstay of the economy. What did she do, she went on to recognise the Ministry and NNPC, where over 50 percent of the key positions were given to people from her (ethnic nationality) and the President’s area,” Yakassai alleged.
He said the Northern Elders Forum should be congratulated because in whatever they did, all the ethnic tribes of the north like the Kanuri, Nupe, Gwari, Fulani and Hausas were usually accommodated.
“This is unlike what is happening in Jonathan’s Ijaw National Congress where the Ibibio, Urhobos and others are not accommodated,” Yakassai said.
Similarly, chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Gen. IBM Haruna upbraided Jonathan, noting that his comment was insensitive.
“Well, I don’t think Nigerians are scared of competition outside their ethnic groups or similar sentiment. Politics is about interests in the first place and people must be able to define those interests. It is like in a football match; there are teams. In politics too, people must define their identity before anything else because they are the basis on which the scarce resources are shared,” Haruna said.
Jonathan said, “we are a country where our leaders tend to play tribal sentiments, saying I am from the south south; I am from North West; I am North, I’m South, I am a Muslim and I am a Christian. All these are selfish motives to make people who probably cannot compete with others…to use these sentiments.”
Jonathan’s statement on Thursday in Canada is generally viewed as an attack on the various groupings who have recently backed retention of the zoning arrangement.
Over a hundred northern leaders recently converged on Abuja to demand that the zoning arrangement by the PDP be respected by all the stakeholders.
Also, prominent northern elders recently met and demanded that Jonathan must abide by the pact.
Furthermore two separate rallies in support and in condemnation of zoning would be held today in Bauchi.
While many politicians in the North insist on the zoning formula, pro- Jonathan forces are said to be working round the clock to scuttle it.
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Goodluck Jonathan
Following the outcry that accompanied the nomination of party members as commissioners in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Presidet Goodluck Jonathan has announced his intention to withdraw such nominees from the electoral body
He made the declaration at the 51st meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.
President Jonathan, who referred to recent media publications on the issue, told members of the PDP NEC that even though there was no law barring political party members from being appointed into INEC positions, he decided to withdraw those who were associated with political parties in his desire to ensure free and fair elections next year.
The Action Congress (AC) had queried President Jonathan’s commitment to the conduct of free and fair elections, citing his nomination of members of the PDP as INEC commissioners.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party had said: “Ambassador Z. Anka contested the governorship of Zamfara on the platform of the PDP in 1999; General (AB) Mamman is a member of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, while Alhaji Yakubu Shehu contested the senatorial elections in 2003 and 2007 on the platform of the PDP in Kaduna State, and he is the chairman of PDP stakeholders in Giwa Local Government of Kaduna State. Yet, all these people were on the president’s list of appointments into INEC.”
President Jonathan said: “If we follow media publications, you will notice that they come with clear evidence of some people that are clear members of political parties. The constitution does not say that if you are a member of a political party, you should not be in INEC. No, that is very clear.
“You can be a member of a political party. We can decide to make the acting chairman (of PDP) the chairman of INEC, if we choose to do so, if we believe that he can conduct elections free and fair. I am not saying that he is going to rig election for PDP.
“In fact, the law emphasises that to be in INEC you must qualify to contest election into the House of Representatives. For you to contest election into the House of Representatives, you must be a member of a political party. So if you follow the law to the letter, you can appoint people in political parties to be in INEC.
“Active members of political parties will feel, wrongly or rightly, that we will be biased. If today I make the acting chairman as the INEC chairman, they will say PDP has taken over the place. But for that reason I promised Nigerians and the whole world that come 2011, we are going to conduct free and fair elections. For that reason, any body that will be in INEC should be somebody that should be above board.
“People should have confidence in him because perception is one thing and reality is another. If they perceive that he will do the wrong thing even if he does the right thing, and somebody fails election, they will believe that he was manipulated out and for that reason, those people that have been linked to have played key roles in political parties, I am withdrawing them,” he explained.
President Jonathan drew the attention of the party chieftains to the coming elections, saying that the party must prepare itself by ensuring greater internal democracy that would ensure that candidates emerged through a free and fair process, noting that there would be no automatic tickets.
He said: “I want to plead with the party that, especially as the elections are coming, one of the areas where we normally have problems is the issue of internal democracy; that this time round as a party and as a nation, we have to do things in a way that will not bring problems for us.
“So all the areas that we used to have some irritations we should avoid them and let’s work together and see that the next candidates we present for all levels of election from the least, the councillorship, to the highest, the presidency, should be candidates selected by the people.
“The party has to set up machinery to make sure that we resolve, at least, most of this crisis before the elections because I have mentioned several times that on my own part and on the part of the government, we will make sure that the votes of Nigerians count for the final election,” he said.
He also said he was worried about the security situation in the country, especially kidnapping in the Eastern states and announced the resolve of the administration to tackle the problem frontally.
According to him, “the issue of kidnapping is a problem that the government must tackle frontally and I have decided that I must tackle it frontally. We can no longer continue to live in a society where, even if your wife is going to church, you have to look for AFC to follow her. If your children are going to school, you have to look for machine gun-carrying security people to follow them. How many people can afford that?”
In his welcome address, the acting national chairman of the party, Dr Bello Haliru Mohammed, called on party members to prepare their documents such as tax clearance and party membership, adding that screening exercise would be carried out before they were selected as party candidates for any election.
Meanwhile, worried by the unending crisis at the top management level of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the presidency, in concert with governors of the nine states in the region, gave an order to the feuding parties to sheathe their swords within 14 days or risk being sacked from the commission.
Specifically, the Managing Director (MD), Chibuzor Ugwuoha, as well as the Executive Director of Projects (EDP), Mr Eseotek Ibong Etteh, were given till the end of the month to show affirmative signs that they had reconciled their differences.
The resolution was the fallout of a meeting that dragged into the early hours of Wednesday between the presidency and the governors, even as President Jonathan ordered an investigation into the allegations bordering on due process infractions in the award of contracts at the NDDC.
The accusations and counter-accusations between Ugwuoha and Etteh had generated a lot of controversies in the past four months, just as the North-West representative on the board of the NDDC, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, resigned on Friday, last week.
He gave the board’s lack of firmness in handling the crisis as the reason for his action.
Although the Tuesday night meeting at the Presidential Villa was originally billed to receive briefing from the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Matters, Mr Timi Alaibe, on his post-amnesty preparations, the parley dragged into about 1.00 a.m on Wednesday, following an official briefing from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, about Kwankwaso’s resignation from the board of the commission.
The SGF, who was said to have read the resignation letter of Alhaji Kwankwaso to the meeting, according to a source, reeled off the various efforts his office had made to broker peace in the NDDC.
He reportedly blamed the development on immaturity on the part of those involved in the crisis.
“Although the meeting was initially for the Special Adviser on Niger Delta to brief Mr President and the governors of the nine states in the Niger Delta on his readiness for the post-amnesty programme of the Federal Government, it was a very timely thing that the president and the governors were unanimous in condemning the crisis at the NDDC because it is absolutely needless.
“Some at the meeting were of the opinion that the entire place be cleansed if they cannot work together, but the SGF was quick to educate all present that it was illogical for the entire system to suffer for the sins of one or two officials who have shown deep immaturity in handling the affairs of the commission, maybe because they are overwhelmed by their offices.
“So at the end of the meeting, it was resolved that a seven-day ultimatum be given to the MD and the EDP for them to reconcile their differences or they face outright sack.
“Not only that, the president ordered that since the thrust of the disagreement between the MD and the EDP was the issue of violation of due process, a committee be set up to immediately investigate the allegations and that anyone found wanting should be sanctioned appropriately,” the source said.
Nigerian Tribune gathered authoritatively that the pleas of the Rivers State governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, to extend the ultimatum to one month was overruled by the meeting.
Apart from the president, who presided over the meeting, others in attendance, according to the source, were Vice-President Namadi Sambo, the SGF, Chief of Staff to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff, eight of the governors of the nine states of the region (governor of Imo State was absent) and Mr Alaibe.
Although no official of the NDDC was present at the meeting, the office of the SGF, it was learnt, was directed to convey the decisions of the parley to them.
Source: Tribune.
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Acting President Goodluck Jonathan
Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, on the last day of his first visit to the United States, yesterday promised Nigerians credible elections next year.
Speaking to the Cable News Network (CNN)’s Christiane Amanpour, he reiterated that his priorities are electricity, electoral reform, and corruption. With reference to whether he will retain Maurice Iwu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, he said his focus was on overall electoral reform in Nigeria and not just the removal of one man.
Dr. Jonathan gave INEC credit for three minor elections that have been held since he assumed office, saying that they were generally free, fair and peaceful. He said that was proof that the commission can conduct responsible elections.
Noting that former military president Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida was free to run for the presidency, he stated that by the end of June when the tenure of INEC commissioners come to an end, he will evaluate them on the basis of individual merit.
Jonathan who also promised to bring to justice the masterminds of the Jos crisis to end the lingering strife in the area, blamed the western culture for Farouk Abdulmutalab’s move to bomb an American airline last year. He described Nigerians as peace loving people and welcomed the new vista in U.S.-Nigeria relations.
Asked whether he will run for office next year, he recalled that he had been in a similar position when he was a state governor, but left the door ajar. “I must first of all see whether the state is moving,” he answered. “If the country is not moving, what will I tell Nigerians I want to contest?
THANK you very much, indeed, for joining us on this programme.
Thank you for finding time to discuss with me.
Can I ask you first what an extraordinary name. How did “Goodluck” come to be your name?
I don’t know. I have to ask my father.
Have you had good luck? And do you think you’ll need more than good luck to face down the incredible array of challenges that’s on your plate?
Well, the issue of good luck, I don’t really believe that the good luck an issue. But at the present, I’ve been facing a lot of challenges. What some people will attribute to good luck could have been disastrous under some circumstances.
Well, let me ask you this. You are now acting president, because the president, Mr. Yar’Adua, is unwell.
Yes.
I wouldn’t say they are trying to undermine me, because the laws of the land are very clear. And, of course, that is why in the first place constitution is designed for two people to be in charge of government at every time, one superior and one inferior.
CNN
Have you seen him since he has come back from his medical absence in Saudi Arabia?
No, I have not seen him.
Why not?
The thinking of the family is that they should isolate him from most of the key actors in government. I have not seen him. The Senate president has not seen him. The Speaker has not seen him and at every single government function, I have not seen him.
Doesn’t that cause anxiety amongst the people?
Yes, it does. It does. Obviously, it does, but we cannot influence his family’s thinking.
Would you prefer that the family allowed you to visit him?
Yes, of course. But I will not want to force.
What is his actual state of health? This also is a mystery
I can’t say exactly. Only the medical doctors can.
Have they told you?
No, they haven’t.
Have they made any public statements?
Not quite. Not now. At the beginning, yes, but (Someone’s name – unclear) left for Saudi Arabia, I think in the second week or so, within the first week, we are told that acute pericarditis. After that, no other statement has been issued.
So if he can receive religious leaders, why can he not receive at least the acting president who’s acting in his name?
Well, religious leaders are there for (inaudible) blessings. Probably that is why they asked the religious leaders to go and pray for him. We are a very, very religious society.
Do you believe that those around him are trying to undermine you or your new cabinet?
I wouldn’t say they are trying to undermine me, because the laws of the land are very clear. And, of course, that is why in the first place constitution is designed for two people to be in charge of government at every time, one superior and one inferior.
Do you think he will ever come back to government?
I can’t say that. It’s difficult for any of us as mortals to say so.
So you are now acting president, and you have essentially a year, because elections will be held this time 2011.
Yes.
What is your most pressing issue?
The most pressing issue for Nigerian now, in terms of basic infrastructure, is power.
You mean electricity?
Electricity. Outside that, what is central to the minds of Nigerians now is an election that their votes will count, free and fair elections because we’ve been accused of as a country that our elections somehow are questioned. And I promise Nigerians that they will surely get that and I’ve done some experiments.
The next thing that Nigerians worry about is issues of corruption. You know we’ve been accused of as people who are in a privileged position in government amassing wealth at the expense of society. So they expect us to take these two issues seriously.
CNN Christianah AMANPOUR,
So what can you do to take those issues seriously? Obviously, the issue of good governance, of free elections, free of corruption is central, and you heard the United States has also said just now that you must remove the head of the election commission, Maurice Iwu. Will you do that?
You see, the issue of the – the electoral body – in fact, I even told the audience I addressed this morning, the issue is whether the present electoral body can conduct free and fair election or not. And I told them that, yes, they can, because I have done it with the same people.
On issue of the people at INEC, I told them that, look, between now and ending of June, most of the officials at the national level – they’re called commissioners – their tenure will end, and we’re going to review them on individual merit.
Within this period that I have been acting president, I have conducted three elections. They are conducted by INEC and it was free and fair. Only on Saturday, we conducted local council elections in the federal capital territory and all the information is that, apart from one or two that had some few discrepancies, they have been very peaceful, very credible… So that is the issue. So the issue is beyond one person.
But let me just ask you…
I’m not defending the chairman.
Do you think he will stay or will he be removed?
All of them we’ll review. And any one of them that we feel is not competent definitely…
Do you feel that Mr. Iwu is competent?
(Laughs) No, no, no, no. I know that this question continues to come up.
What I’ve said is… the issue is beyond Mr. Iwu.
I know. But I’m specifically talking about him, because it’s come up in your meetings with U.S. officials.
Yes, I agree that within the period that is (inaudible) there are quite a number of controversies. I agree. There are quite a number of concerns. There are quite a number of controversies. So I know what I’m telling you; that this very Iwu, I’m not trying to argue for him. The Iwu we are talking about has conducted free elections these past three elections that I’ve made reference to that are credible.
So the issue is beyond Iwu because we must set up an electoral system and our regulations and laws that will make sure that anybody who is appointed to that office should be able to conduct acceptable elections. And that is my focus.
OK. Will you run in 2011? Will you present yourself as a presidential candidate?
For now, I don’t want to think about it, because the circumstances that – the circumstances of the day are quite worrisome.
I came in as the vice president to run with President Yar’Adua, of course, getting close to period of election, he took ill. And I have to take over under somewhat controversial circumstances. Only last week, I reconsidered the cabinet. So let us see how Nigeria will move forward first. I had a similar experience when I was governor of my state.
I said, nobody should ask me whether I will contest election or not. I must first of all see whether the state is moving. If the country is not moving, what will I tell Nigerians I want to contest? Yes, I’m a politician and I would be interested in politics, since I’m still relatively young.
But the — the reason I ask you is because…
Yes, but I cannot even tell (ph) myself now. I must assess myself.
I understand…
You cannot just wake up and say you want to contest an election to be the president of a country. First of all, you must say, can you really bring the dividends of (inaudible) three months after which we review ourselves. And I used to tell people, look, if I’m not satisfied to what is happening (inaudible) election?
Well, I’m asking you because there is this informal agreement amongst various locations north and south which has been closely followed about taking turns at the presidency and that power must shift. For instance, Mr. Yar’Adua, who is from the north, has not even finished one term, and he should have a second term, according to your informal agreement. You’re from the south.
Yes.
So it’s kind of not your turn, so that’s why I’m asking you — and everybody’s very interested as to whether you will present yourself for elections.
Yes, those interests are there. I (inaudible) part of a lot of meetings in the ruling party (inaudible) even (inaudible) within the ruling party (inaudible) but, basically, the issue of whether I will contest or not is it (inaudible) I used to say that, if I contest elections, the elections in Nigeria are not only the presidency election, et cetera (inaudible) of Nigeria. There are options for me if I want to contest election. I (inaudible) contest as a vice president or anybody. I can contest as a president, because the laws allow me. But that is not my own priority now. My priority now is to see how, within this little period left, what impact can we show?
But let me just get something straight. You say that you can conduct and it’s possible that you will contest, yes?
It is, of course.
Yes? It’s possible that you will contest them?
These are options. I don’t want to think about it.
One other question on elections. Mr. Ibrahim Babangida , former Nigerian military leader who seized power, essentially, and ruled for about eight years in the late ’80s and ’90s, says that he wants to contest them again in 2011. Is that acceptable?
He’s very free. There is no law stopping Babangida (ph) from contesting. Babangida (ph) and any other military head of state (ph) is very free to contest.
What would that say about modern Nigeria?
It depends on the people, and that’s why we say that yes, it depends on I will say that the votes of the people must count. Babangida (ph) is a leader that has been head (inaudible) about eight years-plus, just like you said. Babangida (ph) has his friends. He has done some good jobs, even though some people may see nobody will be a leader that who will not see you from both left and right. But as an individual, Babangida (ph) is very free to contest the presidency. Other military (ph) leaders are interested in contesting the presidency, not only Babangida (ph), and they are all free. On that 11th day, Nigerian votes will count, and not me (ph)
Exactly. So there was a whole system set in place, but it seems to be fraying, and there’s a lot of concern, particularly given how vital it is as an oil-producing part of the world. What are you going to do about that?
Well, the amnesty process (inaudible) what’s happened is that people don’t really understand total concept of the amnesty. The amnesty is divided into three phases, the disarmament phase. That is the phase where militants surrender their weapons. Then rehabilitation phase and reintegration phase. some of these militants have been in that armed struggle for a very long time. And when young people are involved in carrying weapons (ph) against the state for very long time, there is a tendency for them to go into some forms of aberration-type behavior (ph) (inaudible) excessive alcohol or some of them they even (inaudible) so you have a process that you must follow. After the disarmament, the next is rehabilitation. You have to rehabilitate them. Then you have to properly integrate them into the society. So during the process of rehabilitation, you must reorientate their thinking and make them to learn some skills that will enable them and a decent living through the proper reintegration process. What’s now we are trying to make the best up to this time, we have not gotten the kind of (inaudible) but now (inaudible) we (inaudible) Niger Delta before the minister of defense, who handled the disarmament, was also coordinating the rehabilitation, and that was giving us a lot of problems. But now we are (inaudible) rehabilitation. The disarmament was the military exercise, so the minister of defense (inaudible) so the case of rehabilitation and reintegration has now moved into the hands of this president adviser to the president on the Niger Delta. We have a good programme._So by the first batch of trainees (inaudible) or so are going to move to their camps in the crossover state (ph) by the third week of April, so we have to do them in batches. The total number of militants (inaudible) 20,191 (inaudible) little more than 20,000 (inaudible) so it’s a lot of youth (ph). And it’s not easy to manage those number of people.
What about Jos, which we just saw an explosion of violence there between Muslim and Christian? What can you do about that?
No, no, no, it’s not a problem between Muslim and Christians. That is quite wrong, actually. The problem of Jos is — Jos occupies a plateau, quite a high land area in Nigeria. And that’s an area where a number of people settle outside the indigenous population (ph). In fact, even when Lagos was a federal capital territory, most — most Europeans who came to Nigeria, they preferred to stay in Jos._Because of the elevation, the temperature is very low. It’s like a sub-temperate climate where the temperature sometimes could drop up to minus two. No part of Nigeria that (inaudible) well, because of that climate and the mining of tin and others (inaudible) within that area._So there’s a lot of settlers from the southeastern part of Nigeria, from the southwestern part of Nigeria, and from the extreme north, so most of these settlers now play big in the economy, local economy. So the indigenous population feel that they have been excluded from the economy, and that has been bringing conflict from the early ’60s.
But what can you do about it?
Of course, we have (inaudible) in terms of what we are doing, we are discussing with the traditional rulers (ph), we are discussing with religious leaders, we are discussing with opinion leaders. That is to appeal to them (ph), and they are responding. Of course, we’re also providing security, because, first of all, you must provide adequate security to make sure that people don’t carry weapons and intimidate or kill others, so that is being done. Then we also are appealing to their conscience using their leaders, both opinion leaders, both their religious leaders, both traditional leaders. And it is paying off.
Nigeria , moving on
It is paying off?
Yes.
Do you think that kind of violence will stop?
(inaudible) I cannot say it will stop completely, but our commitment is to make sure that it stops.
With issues like Jos or the Niger Delta, with the fact that, as you mentioned yourself, there’s a severe power and electricity crisis, and all sorts of other issues, how do you make international investors feel confident? Even kidnappings there are, as you’ve said yourself, need to stop.
Realize (ph) Nigeria is a very big country. And some of these issues people raise in the media that makes it look as if the whole country is rampant (ph). It’s not quite so. We have a letter of (ph) international investors (inaudible) even in the Niger Delta, you have the oil companies (inaudible) everywhere. Yes, we have these occasional issues of kidnapping, but it doesn’t stop (ph). But we are also strengthening the local security system, the police force. We are trying to set up a special fund to make sure that we’re strengthening the police to maintain law and order. In addition to making sure that we provide what the people will need and appeal to different groups, to see reason why (inaudible) we are also doing what we think is right to increase the security, because you must secure the area.
You’ve just had meetings with President Obama. What was the most important issue that you discussed? I know President Obama discussed many things, including the issue of a joint fight against terrorism.
Yes, of course…
It was the Nigerian youth who tried to set himself and set a plane on fire over the United States.
Of course, that is an unfortunate incident. But I know you know more than me. When that issue came up, it was a global issue, and everybody traced the history of a young man. This man — this young man left Nigeria long ago, and he got indoctrinated in the West.
But do you nonetheless think it’s an issue that has to be combated, terrorism?
Of course. Nigeria — you know that the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Nigeria is one of the countries that signed it. We believe that the whole globe must be peaceful. We cannot (inaudible) cannot encourage that. Nigerians are not terrorists. We know the problem as African leaders. We are suffering from the use of small arms and light weapons. In fact, in Africa, the use of small arms and light weapons is more devastating to us than even the issue of nuclear terrorism, because Africans have died from small arms and light weapons, more than the nuclear terrorism, because most of these weapons used in the former Soviet Union are no longer relevant, and they’ve all been shipped into Africa._Most of the small arms and light weapons manufactured in America and other — in European countries are shipped down to Africa, and this is a cost of most of this crisis we’re having, this insecurity we’re having, so we totally support.
You’ve got 12 months, essentially, to enact the reforms you’re talking about, bringing about the changes, whether it’s to election law, whether it’s to the issue of peace. How much do you really think you can achieve in this short period of time?
We’ll do our best. Some of this (inaudible) human issues that you can achieve significantly, like we talk about electoral reforms and conducting clean elections. We don’t need 100 years to do that. We don’t even need a year to do that, because they’re human factors (ph). And a few months, we should be able to set up a system that can conduct free and fair elections. But all that is like basic infrastructure that needs a period that — that you conceptualize it, you figure out the design, you figure the planning, environmental assessment, and so on before you the physical execution of the projects. Those ones will take some time._But still, people will see that you’ve set up a clear roadmap. If you think the most challenging infrastructure that we have, the power infrastructure, the electric power infrastructure, we must set up a clear agenda that people will know that we are moving forward and we have milestones that we can benchmark you._Definitely a government that — we have 12 months, and especially — especially it’s an election period. Immediately after elections, government’s activities tend to slow down because of, of course, they are key positions that are in government._So we have that kind of a challenge. We don’t really even have 12 months. We can’t even claim to have 5 months. But what we promise is that within the shortest possible time, we take (inaudible) cannot take everything. We take the things that we believe we can leave some footprints, but most importantly for Nigerians to see that we are — we are serious and we are committed._
On that note, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, thank you very much for joining us.
Thank you.
QUOTE:
Electricity. Outside that, what is central to the minds of Nigerians now is an election that their votes will count, free and fair elections because we’ve been accused of as a country that our elections somehow are questioned. And I promise Nigerians that they will surely get that and I’ve done some
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"Fantasy Island" as circumstances Nigerians queue up in foreign Embassy for visa applications.
There seems to be no end to the barrage of bad news indicating that Nigeria is one of the most badly governed political entities in the world.
We already know, through indisputable statistical evidence drawn up by credible international agencies, that Nigeria ranks among the worst when it comes to such indicators as corruption, risk of doing business, and ability of its security agencies to exert effective control over its territory.
Recently, in a rating of universities in the world, Nigeria ’s numerous universities ranked among the worst even in Africa . We were also depicted as a country with one of the worst medical service deliveries in the world.
And now, another damning rating has come to show that Nigeria has maintained its seventh position in the world register of persons seeking asylum in foreign countries.
In its 2009 report, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) disclosed that Afghanistan , Iraq and Somalia top the asylums seekers’ list, followed by people from the Russian Federation , China , Serbia and Nigeria .
Of all these countries, China is the only one that has not been faced with the collapse or disintegration of its former mother state. Perhaps, Chinese are now capitalising on the liberalisation of their country’s economic space to offload some of its humongous population on the rest of the world.
In the case of Nigeria , there was a threat of disintegration, which ended in a civil war that stopped it. That war ended 40 years ago. The trend towards economic asylum seeking in other countries started in the early 1980’s when the full weight of military misgovernance and the myopia of the new civilian regime of Alhaji Shehu Shagari started dawning on the people. Since then, more than six regimes later, the trend of Nigerians drifting abroad for economic survival has continued to heighten unabated.
The Crest
There is hardly a day that passes in our international airports especially Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja Lagos and Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, when Nigerians, in their droves, are not being forcibly brought back from foreign countries to which they had strayed illegally.
On many occasions, forcible deportations have resulted in deaths of Nigerian citizens.
One does not need to look very far to find out the cause of these migrations. Like the proverbial “Andrew”, people are deserting the country in search of economic opportunities. Able bodied Nigerians would rather travel to other countries to live on the streets as homeless, jobless people in the hope that one day something would come along and change their fortunes.
It is this trend which forced many Nigerians to arid country such as Libya that makes Nigeria a laughing stock to eccentric leaders like Muammar Gaddafi, who feel that dividing the country could help in solving its problems which it could not handle as a united nation.
Nigerians have to realise that nothing good comes easy. It is only when we get the good leaders we have been yearning for that solutions to our problems will start coming out.
We cannot get good leaders by sitting in the comfort of our homes and complaining. We must get involved in the process of producing leaders.
This is why the general election of 2011 is an occasion to look forward to because it offers yet another chance for Nigerians to search for and enthrone the calibre of leaders that will bring out the best in one of the most endowed entities in the world.
Source: Vanguard Editorial
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Goodluck Jonathan: Envisioning a better Nigeria.
Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has reiterated his commitment to good governance in Nigeria indicating the nation had long been terribly infected with the wicked virus of backwardness and underdevelopment.
The Acting President apparently had no illusion that his tenure had faced an uphill task in turning the fortune of the nation around.
According Jonathan, “As a nation, we are challenged. Over the periods, we have failed to do what we should have done and we have done those things we should not have done.
Jonathan made the call in Abuja at the commemoration of the completion of Archbishop Peter Akinola’s Decade of Primacy and the presentation of Reverend Nicholas Okoh as the fourth Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).
During the service at the Cathedral of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, Jonathan reiterated government’s commitment to transform the country into the dream of past heroes who had envisioned a great and virile nation.
He noted that the social, political, religious and economic crises in the country were as a result of long time inaction, neglect and the lack of political will by the past leaders.
Jonathan admonished the church to pray for the progress of the country and to preach against crimes and other vices.
“We know our problems. We want religious leaders to join us in solving the problems. We promise to do our best and we are totally committed to transforming this country.”
Jonathan apparently was making a snappy reference to the state of the nation which had been reeling in the pain of under-development as a result of long neglect and the permeated corrupt practices in high places with the attending accumulation of ill-gotten wealth by government stakeholders who had sucked the nation dry at the expense of her development.
The Acting President revisited the maladies that had befallen the nation as a result of log neglect which had culminated in dilapidation of the nation’s social political and economic structure in the event of lack of patriotism by many past rulers who have ignored the nation’s progress.
Jonathan reiterated his determination to turn things round for our dear nation
Archbishop Peter Akinola
He commended Akinola for his positive contributions to the development of the country and Christianity in his 10-year-tenure as primate.
The acting president also expressed optimism that his successor, Okoh, would be capable of stepping into Akinola’s shoes.
“When I was coming here, I pondered whether Okoh, because of his gentle look, will be able to step into Akinola’s shoes but when I listened to him, I bowed,” Jonathan said.
Earlier in his sermon, which touched on religious, social, political, economic and infrastructure issues, Okoh set an agenda on the direction of his leadership.
Okoh said the spread of the gospel by preaching, education for church leadership and making disciples through teaching would be his central focus.
He restated the position of the Nigerian Anglican Communion against homosexuality and same sex marriage.
On national issues, the new Archbishop charged the government to pursue the Amnesty programme to its logical conclusion.
He urged the government to channel the resources of the country towards improving the lot of Nigerians.
“Oil is God’s property, abuse of oil revenue is a sin against God and the people of Nigeria.”
Okoh also admonished the government to take the issue of power and security very seriously, noting that without stable power and adequate security, the economy would not grow.
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Goodluck Jonathan, may announce new cabinet in 48 hours.
A list of would-be cabinet Ministers has been sent by the Acting President to the Senate for approval.
Acting President Goodluck Jonathan had been rumoured to be compiling a new list to replace disloyal Yar’Adua Ministers live up to expectations yesterday even though the list has been met with low zeal of approval by the general public.
The list of the first batch of the cabinet members includes names of 7 former ministers, a new economic czar, Olusegun Aganga, a managing director at Goldman Sachs in London and 16 others.
Some of the former ministers whose names were included are Godsday Orubebe, Adetokunbo Kayode, Odein Ajumogobia, Mrs. Deziani Allison- Madueke, Fidelia Njeze, Architect Nuhu Somo Wya and Sen. Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, some of the new names includes former student activist and deputy governor of Nassarawa State, Labaran Maku, Prof. M. K Abubakar (Kaduna) and others
List of ministers:
Bello Masari
Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke
Nuhu Somo Wya
Odein Ajumogobia
Fidelia Njeze
Adetokunbo Kayode
Sen. Akinlabi Olasunkanmi
Godsday Orubebe
Josephine Anenih
Prof. M.K. Abubakar
Navy Captain N.S. Olubolade
Eng. Chris Ogienwonyi
Ndanusa Alao
Alhaji Murtala Yar‘Adua
Hon. Nduese Essien
Alhaji Umaru Aliyu
Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed
Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga
Bawa Bwari
Senator Bala Mohammed
Adamu Maina Waziri
Labaran Maku
Senator Sanusi Daggash
Emeka Wogu
Bello Adoke (SAN)
Mrs. Josephine Tapgun
Suleiman Bello
Umar Bature
Musiliu Obanikoro
Jonathan had been widely reported as having sent some list of new nominees to the Senate last week with the list rumoured to comprise only ministers being retained from the old cabinet sacked last week.
It is aimed at preventing the complete paralysis of government in one of Africa’s top oil producers while security clearance of the newcomers gets underway.
On Tuesday before the lists weresent , the Vice President consulted with many of the country’s influential groups including 36 state governors, following up on talks from the previous day.
He also met with a former military ruler and mediator in crises in several west African countries, Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Monday.
Abdulsalami is seen as well respected in the military and comes from the mainly Muslim north, while Jonathan is a Christian from the south.
“We cannot be waiting forever,” Ikedi Ohakim, governor of Imo State, told reporters after meeting Jonathan.
A source close to the presidency said Jonathan expected to have met some of his top advisors Monday night and that the new cabinet line up must be out in the next two days.
“It’s likely to be ready within the next 48 hours,” the source told AFP.
Western and African diplomats in Abuja however suggest the government appointment might take longer than is thought.
“Our expectations are that a full cabinet should be ready by mid-month (April),” said one diplomat.
Another said the entire exercise should last roughly three weeks from the dissolution.
“It looks like the cabinet will be announced in two batches,” said another, adding the first 22 would likely be drawn from the old government, but nailing down the remaining 20 could be a “bit of a mess and a long political process”.
Others say Jonathan is also working against the clock with just under a year to next elections.
A team of advisors he appointed early this month urged him to move quickly to assert his authority.
“Now that you have been invested with the authority the nation expects you to proceed quickly to effect the needed transformation,” chief advisor Theophilus Danjuma told Jigeria Crest
Jonathan is seeking a pro-reform government for the west African giant, where much of the 150 million population lives in poverty without basics such as water and electricity despite its oil wealth.
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Nigeria’s acting president dissolved the Cabinet on Wednesday, purging top officials loyal to the nation’s ill president in his first major act since taking over the young democracy’s highest office more than a month ago.
Information Minister Dora Akunyili announced the decision by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan at the same time that the state-run broadcaster broke the news to citizens long confused about who remained in charge of the oil-rich nation.
Akunyili said Jonathan would issue a statement soon on who will now serve in the Cabinet.
“The acting president gives no reason for the dissolution,” Akunyili told reporters Wednesday night. “There is no vacuum in the government as permanent secretaries will take charge.”
The Cabinet remained stocked with loyalists of President Umaru Yar’Adua, a Muslim from the country’s north. Some cabinet members had begun to shift allegiances from Yar’Adua to Jonathan, a Christian from the country’s south, as time passed.
Akunyili herself had previously circulated a memo to the cabinet calling on it to install Jonathan as acting president — providing a rare public voice for those uncomfortable with Yar’Adua’s long absence from the country.
The move is the first major step by Jonathan, a quiet 52-year-old biologist from the Niger Delta who largely remained quiet as a constitutional crisis gripped the nation over Yar’Adua’s absence.
Yar’Adua left Nigeria in late November for medical treatment at a Saudi Arabian hospital over what his physician described as serious heart condition.
Though the nation’s constitution offers clear steps for president to hand over power in his absence, Yar’Adua chose not to implement them. For months, many wondered how Yar’Adua would rule Africa’s most populous nation from abroad.
The National Assembly empowered Jonathan to become acting president in a vote Feb. 9. Two weeks later, Yar’Adua’s handlers apparently whisked the ill president back to the presidential palace in an ambulance surrounded by a military convoy. However, Yar’Adua still has not been seen publicly since returning.
Jonathan largely shied away from making major decisions since becoming acting president, though he did move some cabinet ministers loyal to Yar’Adua into new positions. While fears of a coup permeated the country, which has a long history of military dictators, top officials in the armed forces promised not to intervene.
Those forces likely will be kept at bay, even with Jonathan asserting more power, said analyst Charles Dokubo of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.
“I think the Nigerian people have been so quiet and have been allowing things to unfold in an evolutionary manner,” Dokubo told The Associated Press. Yar’Adua supporters “might make noise about it, but I don’t think it will lead to any other upheaval or anarchy in the country.”
Still Jonathan remains largely unknown in Nigeria, a former deputy state governor who rose to the governor’s office after his predecessor was indicted on corruption charges. Now, as Yar’Adua remains ill and unseen, Jonathan finds himself at the helm as the West African country faces endemic corruption, simmering militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta and long-running religious tensions that have led to hundreds of deaths in recent months