Vol 42 No 22 | NIGERIA Unknown soldiers 9th November 2001 A massacre of more than 200 Tiv causes ructions in the military and the federation When Nigerian soldiers slaughtered more than 200 civilians in Benue State, they called into question the moral basis of President Olusegun Obasanjo's government. The Obasanjo regime, in contrast...
Vol 42 No 21 | BURKINA FASO On Blaise's trail 26th October 2001 Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré is the latest in a series of African leaders on overseas visits to be harried by human rights organisations. He spent mid-October in...
Vol 42 No 20 | GAMBIA The re-election game 12th October 2001 A fixed vote and foreign indifference will put Jammeh back in power Almost no one expects a free vote on 18 October, when President Doctor Alhaji Yahya Jammeh (Colonel, Retired) is up for re-election (AC Vol 42 No 6). His...
Vol 42 No 20 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Accident-prone 12th October 2001 P>Almost everything that could go wrong for President Laurent Gbagbo's national reconciliation conference in Abidjan is doing so (AC Vol 42 No 18). None of the three main...
Vol 42 No 19 | MALI Stand to ATTention 28th September 2001 By the end of October Mali's national hero, General Amadou Toumani Touré (ATT), will almost certainly announce that he'll stand in next year's presidential election. ATT is said...
Vol 42 No 18 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE In denial 14th September 2001 The politics and economics aren't as bad as they look, says President Gbagbo 'There is no political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire,' President Laurent Gbagbo assured diplomats and politicians on 7 September. He was inaugurating the National Reconciliation Forum, which is meant...
Vol 42 No 18 | TOGO The Chile factor 14th September 2001 With 34 years in power and reason to fear retirement, President Gnassingbé Eyadéma shows signs of joining the club of presidents seeking to hang on in power. Premier...
Vol 42 No 18 | GUINEA Constitutional Conté 14th September 2001 Guineans believe President Lansana Conté is also eager to join the 'third term' club. Territorial Administration Ministry officials are behind the 'spontaneous demonstrations' for a referendum on another...
Vol 42 No 17 | NIGERIA Northern Lights 31st August 2001 The north wants to rule again but its two strongest candidates are deadly rivals General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida is once more at the centre of Nigerian politics. As he celebrated his 60th birthday in Saudi Arabia on 17 August, many northern Nigerians...
Vol 42 No 17 | NIGERIA Shariacracy on trial 31st August 2001 The adoption of Sharia hasn't reduced crime and corruption Nigerian advocates of Sharia – governance according to the norms, principles and rules laid down by Islamic law – face a reckoning this year. The poverty and frustration...