Politics in Nigeria
In spite of what the Nigerian press and the Washington Post correspondent think, I really doubt that this is the last we'll hear about Obasanjo's efforts to be president for life. The military-patronage complex seems to have decided on Obasanjo, and that force has rarely not gotten what it wanted. (And why is correspondent in Johannesburg better able to write about this than a reporter in DC?)Nigerian Lawmakers Block Changes to Constitution
Rewriting Would Allow President to Run for Third Term
"JOHANNESBURG, May 12 -- The push to rewrite Nigeria's constitution so that President Olusegun Obasanjo could run for a third term suffered serious setbacks this week as opponents mustered public commitments from enough lawmakers to block the bid.
"Supporters did not immediately concede defeat... But a series of emotional speeches condemning the plan in the national assembly appeared to doom it on Thursday. Forty-two members of the Senate have now announced opposition, five more than necessary to block any change to the constitution.
"Nigerian newspapers on Friday were nearly unanimous in reporting that the plan was dead or nearly so...
"Despite Obasanjo's attempts to distance himself publicly from the effort, it has widely been seen in Nigeria as emanating from his office. Opposition lawmakers have alleged that millions of dollars of bribes were offered to those who agreed to support a third term. Obasanjo denied the charge..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 9:33 AM
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