Umaru Yar'Adua
Craig Timberg of the Washington Post wrote this profile of Nigeria's president-elect, Umaru Yar'Adua.While we wait for news of further developments, this makes interesting reading. Yar'Adua might, after all, take office in May.
Nigerian Victor A Break With Past
"Nigerians are accustomed to certain things from their presidents. Most have been generals, or former generals, with big personalities and reputations for corruption. And those who haven't been installed through coups have come to power in elections so flawed they bore little relationship to popular will.
"Last weekend's presidential vote was as bad as most in Nigeria's troubled history, observers said. But the election of Umaru Yar'Adua -- a bookish and shy former chemistry teacher -- offers Nigerians a leader with a reputation for honesty and little resemblance to most of his predecessors..."[T]hose in his northern home state of Katsina, where he has been governor for nearly eight years, say Yar'Adua's public awkwardness masks a sharp mind and a resistance to manipulation that will serve him well in a political culture legendary for blustery, bullying, corrupt politicians. Observers also say that while Obasanjo likely endorsed Yar'Adua with the hope of exerting continued influence, his successor will be nearly impossible to manipulate...
"Yar'Adua is the scion of one of Nigeria's powerful political families. His father was a minister in the first post-colonial government. His brother was deputy president in Obasanjo's military dictatorship in the late 1970s...
"More revealing has been his record as governor of Katsina, which stands almost alone among Nigeria's 36 states with major infrastructure projects carried out in the last eight years. He spent $150 million on new schools, rebuilding 23 primary schools and founding a public university. The roads in Katsina also show serious investment; many have smooth pavement, curbs, proper drainage and streetlights -- all rarities outside Abuja, the capital...
"Critics in Katsina say the major projects have all gone to politically connected contractors. Yar'Adua's circle of advisers is small, and efforts to get him to invest more in social services have not been successful, activists say. Residents of Katsina remain among Nigeria's poorest, least educated and least healthy...
"There's also not much sign that Yar'Adua has brought a cleaner approach to elections than other ruling party officials..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:27 AM
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