Teaching Comparative

American-Nigerian Politics

In one of the rare intersections of American and Nigerian politics, the connection might be corruption. It should be noted that the evidence against the Nigerian vice president is based on statements by Rep. Jefferson, and that nearly all of the currency marked by the FBI for a payment to Vice President Abubakar was found in Rep. Jefferson's home freezer.

The Washington Post report:


Nigerian Entangled In Jefferson Investigation

"The corruption investigation of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) has taken many strange twists...

"But one of the most puzzling and intriguing facets of the case is Jefferson's ties to Atiku Abubakar, the vice president of Nigeria. Abubakar, a wealthy businessman and one of the leading candidates in next year's race for president of Nigeria, divides his time between his homeland and Potomac, Md., where he and one of his four wives maintain a $2.2 million mansion.

"Jefferson, who was a member of a House Ways and Means trade subcommittee, got to know Abubakar [pictured at right] after the Nigerian was elected vice president in 1999. Later, Jefferson turned to Abubakar for help in winning a lucrative Nigerian telecommunications contract for a high-tech firm in Kentucky that was paying Jefferson bribes, according to an FBI affidavit. Jefferson told a business associate in a secretly taped conversation that Abubakar was "corrupt" and needed a hefty bribe and a cut of the profits in return for his help -- allegations Abubakar has strongly denied.

"Abubakar's involvement in the case has created a buzz in Washington's diplomatic circles and generated intense political controversy and media attention in Nigeria -- a country that is trying to shed its long-standing reputation for corrupt government.

"'I don't think it will be simply excused or trivialized,' said J. Stephen Morrison, director of the Africa program for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 'I think his opponents will use it, certainly. Nigerian politics is hardball.'..."

posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:51 AM