Vol 40 No 11 | GHANA Reforming the reformers 28th May 1999 Schisms are growing in the ruling NDC - much to the delight of the opposition Jerry John Rawlings' ruling National Democratic Congress is frenetically purging party ranks and has launched a full-frontal assault on a group of dissident NDC politicians known as...
Vol 40 No 11 | SIERRA LEONE Forced to talk 28th May 1999 Weaknesses on both sides may just offer a chance of serious negotiations on power-sharing and amnesty (AC Vol 40 No 6) as talks between President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah...
Vol 40 No 11 | NIGERIASOUTH AFRICA Fernandez letter 28th May 1999 Who was behind the crude attempt to smear President Nelson Mandela by linking him to an oil deal with Nigerian middle-man Chief Antonio Deinde Fernandez? Copies of...
Vol 40 No 10 | NIGERIA Golden parachutes 14th May 1999 Military 'pensions' and mismanagement threaten the incoming civilian government It's now clear that President Olusegun Obasanjo's incoming civilian government will face a major financial crisis when it takes office on 29 May. The massive drawdown in foreign...
Vol 40 No 5 | NIGERIA Soldier go, soldier come 5th May 1999 President-elect Obasanjo's greatest challenge will be his plans to reform the military and end the putschist mentality The Nigerian conundrum - ‘it takes a soldier to end army rule’ - is to be tested again. General Olusegun Obasanjo, the choice of most army officers...
Vol 40 No 5 | NIGERIA Virtual voters 5th May 1999 Election monitors coined a phrase for General Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidential victory on 27 February: the result was not ‘free and fair’ but ‘generally reflects the will of the...
Vol 40 No 8 | NIGERIA The $2.7 billion hole in the bank 16th April 1999 The military regime is leaving its civilian successor a mountain of dubious debts and undermining prospects for economic recovery General Olusegun Obasanjo's newly elected government starts work on 29 May. But the bright hope is dimmed by an unexpectedly grim financial legacy from the outgoing military...
Vol 40 No 8 | NIGER Accidental coup 16th April 1999 The murder of President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara on 9 April was a genuine coup d'etat. After a couple of days' confusion, the dead man's supposed ally,...
Vol 40 No 8 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Fighting the Fund 16th April 1999 President Henri Konan Bédié's attempts to make political capital out of his government's problems with the International Monetary Fund have badly misfired.
Vol 40 No 7 | NIGERIA Muddy waters 2nd April 1999 Friends of President-elect General Olusegun Obasanjo say he is incensed by the decision of the outgoing military regime under Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar to award 11 oil exploration blocks...