Vol 43 No 11 | MALI He's back 31st May 2002 The interest groups that helped Touré into the presidency want their reward The man who once said 'only an idiot' would want to be Mali's head of state was confirmed as President on 23 May after two rounds of voting...
Vol 43 No 10 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Interregnum 17th May 2002 Politicians are quieter, the banks are friendlier, the security men are restless The political peace depends, shakily, on the opposition's trust that President Laurent Gbagbo will deliver on his promises. The turning point came in February, with the Yamoussoukro Agreement...
Vol 43 No 10 | GUINEA Unstable 17th May 2002 Explosions in Conakry's main army camp on 5 May were not because of a coup but they show how the army's dominant role is becoming a liability.
Vol 43 No 10 | SIERRA LEONE Polling in peace 17th May 2002 The 14 May presidential and parliamentary elections were lauded as the most peaceful in four decades but political problems loom.
Vol 43 No 9 | NIGERIA The Generals' election 3rd May 2002 The military has helped tear the country apart but civilians still defer to the soldiers and politicians It is a measure of Nigeria's political class that in next year's presidential election, the two most likely candidates - Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari - are retired...
Vol 43 No 9 | NIGERIA Khaki blues, business suits 3rd May 2002 Civilian rule, even by a retired general, does not suit the army The army is back at the centre of politics, three years after it handed over to an elected government whose head, President Olusegun Obasanjo, is himself a recycled...
Vol 43 No 9 | LIBERIA Rebels without a plan 3rd May 2002 Guinean-backed rebels threaten Taylor and the UN is set to renew sanctions against him A queue of enemies is closing in on President Charles Taylor, who is trying to see them off with fire-power and politics. As the veteran opposition leader Ellen...
Vol 43 No 9 | LIBERIA UN gumshoes in Taylorland 3rd May 2002 President Charles Taylor, expecting United Nations sanctions against Liberia to be extended, despatched his skillful Foreign Minister, Monie Captan, to New York in late April to lobby the...
Vol 43 No 9 | SENEGAL Wade's wide world 3rd May 2002 Strong at international conferences, the President faces criticism at home High on the world stage, President Abdoulaye Wade hosted on 14-15 April an ambitious investors' conference for the New Partnership for African Development (NePAD), while trying to help...
Vol 43 No 9 | MALI Recycled general 3rd May 2002 Former military leader Amadou Toumani Touré (ATT) was running narrowly ahead on 1 May with some 27 per cent of the vote in Mali's 28 April presidential elections....