Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Shutting down for safety

If Nigeria shuts down most offices and businesses in the capital, the place might be safe for foreign officials.

Nigerian Government Shuts All Public Schools, Offices for World Economic Forum

The Nigerian government has slapped a massive security cordon on Abuja in response to a deadly car bomb Thursday, ordering the closure of all public schools and offices from Wednesday when the capital will be hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa.

The economic meeting is scheduled to hold from Wednesday to Friday, and will be attended by world leaders and business executives around the world…

The government said the measure is to ease the flow of traffic within the city and enable those attending the forum carry out their assigned roles…

Nigeria to close Abuja schools in security crackdown

Nigeria's government is to shut schools and government offices across the capital Abuja, while a World Economic Forum conference takes place next week.

A big security operation is being promised to protect more than 1,000 delegates at the three-day meeting, after two deadly bomb attacks in Abuja.

An explosion late on Thursday killed 19 people, two weeks after a nearby bombing left 75 dead.

Islamist militant group Boko Haram is being blamed for the violence…

President Goodluck Jonathan's government says 5,000 police and soldiers will be deployed for the World Economic Forum on Africa, which begins on Wednesday.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the presidents of Rwanda, Senegal and Kenya will be among international as well as African figures at the forum.

While the official reason for closing all schools and government offices in Abuja is to ensure traffic flows smoothly, tightening security is also a likely reason, the BBC's Will Ross reports from the Nigerian capital.

Fewer vehicles on the roads should enable stricter searches and cut the number of potential targets for further bomb attacks, he adds.

"The government has taken the strongest measures to ensure a safe forum. We ask participants not to let terror win," Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement…