The President’s grand development plans contrast sharply with partisan manoeuvres in Parliament and beyond
In a year’s time Ghana should be producing 150,000 barrels of oil a day and its economy should be growing at well over 10% a year (AC Vol...
A bizarre series of fires at government buildings has led to a whispering campaign reminiscent of the spate of brutal murders before the 2000 election campaign, which...
Vol 51 No 5 |
- CÔTE D'IVOIRE
No government, no electoral commission, no firm date for elections – the President has got what he wanted
Once again, President Laurent Gbagbo has driven democratisation off the rails. On 12 February, he used Article 48 of the Constitution, which allows him to take exceptional measures...
The officers who threw out President Tandja must quickly prove they’re serious about constitutional rule
So far, Niamey’s new military leaders have played by the new-model putschists’ book. They ousted controversial President Mamadou Tandja on 18 February, then promised a rapid restoration of...
Salou Djibou, commander of the main armoured unit in Niamey, led the assault on the Presidency which culminated in the capture of President Mamadou Tandja and his ministers...
The putschists use former Pentagon officials to polish their image
Blamed for the massacre of over 100 civilians last September, the junta in Conakry is trying to improve its image via a United States-based public relations company run...
From the surrealism of ‘missing president’ Umaru Yar’Adua, linked to the outside world via a ghostly voiced interview with the BBC, and with attendant disputes of legitimacy and sovereignty, Nigeria has solved the crisis in its own way, by effecting what some call a ‘democratic coup’. One by one, the elected institutions of state (the powerful governors’ forum and both houses of the National Assembly) and several non-elected regional councils met and agreed to support the handover to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.
Whatever the constitutional doubts that remain, the 9 February resolution by the National Assembly, citing the ‘doctrine of necessity’, to recognise Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President was...
Now a man in a hurry, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has to stamp his authority on Abuja and quickly decide which ministers and officials can help him and...
President Faure Gnassingbé is set for an easy victory against a divided opposition in the 4 March national elections: the main opposition parties plan to boycott the vote...
The on-again off-again plan to renovate the railway
linking coastal Lagos to Kano in the north may formally start up this
year, but questions about the validity of any contract...