Nigeria Swears In a New President While Doubts Persist about its Democratic Future
By Daniel Hollingsworth
May 29, 2007 | Printer Friendly

The Washington Post reports that Umaru Yar’Adua was sworn in as President of Nigeria on May 29 after elections that have provoked widespread international concern questioning the legitimacy of the vote.  The outgoing Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who lost the election by a wide margin, boycotted the inauguration to protest what many believe was a rigged election.  Yar’Adua acknowledged these perceived shortcomings of last month’s vote in his inaugural address, but he called on all parties to “to immediately suspend all violent activities and respect the law.”  He has promised a review of electoral processes, saying that he will make the reduction of corruption a central focus of his presidency.

Yar’Adua is the hand-picked successor to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is expected to maintain a strong presence in Nigeria as chairman of the board in the ruling People’s Democratic Party.  Obasanjo’s presidency began in 1999 amid promising signs for his country.  He had previously ruled the country as a military dictator in the 1970s, but in 1979, he transferred his power to a civilian government, the first such voluntary transfer in Africa.  When that civilian government was overthrown by the military, Obasanjo became an ardent opponent of the succession of military regimes that followed, and he was sentenced to life in prison in 1995.  After being freed in 1998, Obasanjo easily won presidential elections in 1999, promising to reduce corruption and stabilize the fractious ethnic and religious environment of the country.

Now at the end of his two terms as President, his tenure is viewed mostly with disappointment.  While economic progress has arguably been made, owing largely to the country’s wealth of oil resources, instability has hampered even these potential gains.  The political climate has continued to be dominated by corruption, creating doubt over the prospects for democratic progress in Nigeria.  Obasanjo and Yar’Adua have hailed the first transfer of power between two civilian governments as a sign of democratic strength, but most observers believe that the ruling party’s consolidation of power reduces the chances that democracy will take hold.

A group of 48 Nobel Laureates, including Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka, has called for new elections to be held within the next 18 months, expressing their concern that “the new government's lack of legitimacy increases prospects for violent conflict with serious consequences for Nigeria and the region.”  The European Parliament is also advocating the withholding of EU aid to Nigeria until new elections are held.  Emma Ezeazu, of the Alliance for Credible Elections, argued that “after eight years Obasanjo is leaving Nigeria the way he met it.  We have a tradition of rigged elections but he has given us the most-rigged election in the country's history."

References:

Washington Post: Umaru Yar’Adua Sworn In as Nigerian President

International Herald Tribune: Obasanjo leaves Nigerians uncertain of their democracy, future (AP)

Forbes: Yar’Adua Says Oil Region a Main Focus (AP)BBC News: Yar’Adua ‘to make poll reforms’