Vol 39 No 7 | NIGERIA From the shadows 3rd April 1998 Universally known as 'MD', former spymaster and police chief Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu (66) has emerged as the most credible challenger to General Sani Abacha's as yet unannounced...
Vol 39 No 7 | NIGERIA Not Alaafin matter 3rd April 1998 The detention at London's Gatwick airport on 24 March of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and his family after it was claimed that drugs valued at...
Vol 39 No 6 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Carpet crossing 20th March 1998 Talk of ouverture or power-sharing in Abidjan has been scuppered by the defection of leading oppositionist Adama Coulibally to the ruling Parti Démocratique de la Côte d’Ivoire ....
Vol 39 No 5 | SIERRA LEONE Freetown fracas 6th March 1998 The Nigerian-led ousting of Major Johnny- Paul Koroma’s Freetown junta raises awkward questions for Whitehall’s proclaimed ethical foreign policy and its ban on military cooperation with General Sani...
Vol 39 No 5 | CÔTE D'IVOIREUNITED KINGDOM Lions and elephants 6th March 1998 Abidjan provided high-level political backing to make a success of the British Week heavily branded with the title ‘Ensemble’ held on 2-8 March, which brought in a large...
Vol 39 No 4 | SIERRA LEONE Kabbah's comeback 20th February 1998 The returning civilian government faces empty coffers and a continuing rebellion Sierra Leoneans were surprised at the efficiency and speed with which the West African peace keeping forces (Ecomog) toppled Major Johnny Paul Koroma’s military Revolutionary United Front junta....
Vol 39 No 3 | GHANA Finding flagbearers 6th February 1998 Two years before the next election and amid more economic problems, the parties are agonising over their presidential candidates The best chance for the ruling National Democratic Congress to win the election in 2000 would be to find a way to put up incumbent President Jerry John...
Vol 39 No 3 | SIERRA LEONE Jump or be pushed 6th February 1998 Abuja is working on a military option if the Freetown junta refuses to go in April The commitment that Major Johnny Paul Koroma’s Freetown junta gave Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi, to hand over power by 22 April, looks less credible by the day....
Vol 39 No 2 | NIGERIA Plots, lies and videotapes 23rd January 1998 Amid general discontent and military nervousness, the Abacha regime's latest claim of a coup plot is unlikely to be its last General Sani Abacha is pulling out all the stops to gain maximum political advantage from the latest alleged coup plot. Videotaped scenes from interrogations of the accused, including...
Vol 39 No 2 | GHANA Zero tolerance 23rd January 1998 Hardline policing and economic pressures presage a tense political year Car thefts at gun-point, a high-speed chase through the streets of Accra on a hot Sunday afternoon, live commentary on the car-chase on local radio, a track-suited President...