Rule of Law in Nigeria
The judicial system in Nigeria continues the process of creating a rule of law. How would your students evaluate the progress? What evidence would they look for in the future to further evaluate the state of the "rule of law" in Nigeria?
Nigeria governor sacking reversed"An appeal court in Nigeria's central Plateau State has reversed last November's impeachment of its state governor, Joshua Dariye...
"He was accused of embezzling nearly $9m in public funds...
"Mr Dariye was sacked by eight of Plateau State's 24-member state house of assembly in a process that the court said was illegal.
"President Olusegun Obasanjo has been criticised for using his powers to target political opponents in a tough anti-corruption campaign."
AND
Nigeria VP challenges poll list"Nigeria's vice-president is challenging the electoral commission's decision to bar him from standing as a candidate in next month's presidential elections.
"Electoral officials say graft charges against Atiku Abubakar would have to be dropped for him to be eligible.
"His lawyers have been granted an accelerated hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday...
"But the BBC's Sola Odunfa in Lagos says a final decision is unlikely to be delivered before early April because the parties will fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
"Our correspondent says if Mr Abubukar wins, Inec would have to postpone the poll in order to print and distribute ballots papers - which would have to carry his name, photograph and party emblem - for some 60m registered voters...
"Last week a high court ruling ruled Inec could not disqualify candidates, but electoral officials chose to interpret the constitution differently on Thursday.
"It omitted Mr Abubakar from its list of 24 presidential candidates eligible to run, saying that as he has been indicted for corruption he was disqualified.
"'Once you have been indicted, Inec cannot do anything about it,' Inec Chairman Maurice Iwu said..."
Labels: Nigeria, Nigeria politics, rule-of-law
Olusegun Obasanjo, chicken farmer?
Michael Harvey, from his post in Abu Dhabi, alerted me to an article in the
Boston Globe about this possible competition to the American poultry industry. (Apologies for the silliness, but the image of Obasanjo retiring to a chicken farm brought it on.)
Roy Greene, the
Globe reporter does offer some interesting observations about the upcoming elections. None of them should be novel to your students once they've studied about Nigeria.
Election in Nigeria has US ramifications: Hopes are for first peaceful handover
"President Olusegun Obasanjo is clear about his plans after finishing his second term and overseeing the national election in April: He will retire to the pastoral life of a gentleman chicken farmer.
"But many in this chaotic West African nation of 132 million are not so confident that Obasanjo will fade quietly from the scene. They worry that the 69-year-old leader might seize upon any voting irregularities, on the rising strife in the volatile Niger Delta region, or on the risk of religious and ethnic clashes as a pretext to declare a state of emergency and cling to power.
"After all, Nigeria has been down that road before...
"On the eve of Obasanjo's scheduled departure, democracy is facing a crucial test in Nigeria, Africa's most-populous country and its largest oil producer. If he hands power to an elected successor, it will be the first such peaceful, constitutional transfer of power from one civilian government to another since Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960...
"One worry is that divisions in a country split roughly into the Muslim north and mainly Christian south, and among such ethnic groups as the Yoruba, Hausa, and Ibo, will boil over. Festus Okoye, a lawyer in Kaduna, the northern city that saw deadly clashes between Muslims and Christians in 2002 over a beauty contest held there, said he could not rule out election-related violence if Nigerians believe their will at the polls has been ignored...
"Western diplomats here credit Obasanjo with beginning to tackle the massive government corruption...
"He established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2003... Although critics accuse the agency of only going after Obasanjo's opponents, they concede that the fact that it even exists is a historic advance for Nigeria.
"Obasanjo also strengthened Nigeria's role as a regional leader... [and] Nigeria last year became the first African country to pay off it debts -- about $30 billion -- to the Paris Club, an informal group of creditor nations.
"But Obasanjo (pronounced o-BAS-in-jo) has faced criticism over a host of daunting problems that are resonating during the campaign, foremost the growing uprising in the Niger Delta in southeastern Nigeria, the center of the country's petroleum production...
"Meanwhile, the main candidates seeking to replace Obasanjo have hit the campaign trail. They are: Umaru Yar'Adua, the nominee from the ruling People's Democratic Party; Obasanjo's vice president and former supporter Atiku Abubakar; and Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator. All are Muslims from northern Nigeria..."
Labels: Nigeria politics
