Vol 38 No 25 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Doing the business 19th December 1997 With the country deep in debt, what matters now is business and its political links Helped by a mini-economic boom and political strong-arm tactics, President Henri Konan Bédié is looking more comfortable in power four years after the death of Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Yet...
Vol 38 No 25 | NIGERIA After Yar'Adua 19th December 1997 The death of a detained politician has focused attention on northern discontents Whatever caused the death of gaoled Northern military politician Shehu Musa Yar'Adua'on 9 December, it has sent a powerful message that Northerners can expect no special favours from...
Vol 38 No 25 | LIBERIA Dokie's death 19th December 1997 Who killed the former Deputy Speaker of Liberia's Transitional Assembly, Samuel Dokie, and his three travelling companions? The investigation into their murder and apparent torture (their bodies were...
Vol 38 No 24 | NIGERIA Rebranding Abacha 5th December 1997 The personality cult around General Sani Abacha is growing rapidly, ahead of his expected candidacy in next August's presidential elections. A new biography entitled – Sani Abacha –...
Vol 38 No 24 | MALI Tarnished 5th December 1997 Mali's democratic credentials are being questioned by Amnesty International in its report Mali: basic liberties at risk. It lists allegations of police torture of arrested opposition activists, after...
Vol 38 No 23 | SIERRA LEONE Cracking Koroma 21st November 1997 The Freetown junta starts playing for time and recruits more fighters The much-trumpeted Conakry peace accord of 23 October is already falling apart at the seams. Under the accord, Major Johnny Paul Koroma's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council undertook to...
Vol 38 No 23 | TOGO Mini-Mobutu okay? 21st November 1997 Western donors are doing business with Eyadèma and are likely to accept his election Africa's strongmen are finding that disapproval from Western donors does not hurt them much. Denis Sassou-Nguesso is once more the ruler of Congo-Brazzaville by force of arms. In...
Vol 38 No 22 | NIGERIA The General's transition 7th November 1997 As Sani Abacha makes his political plans there is growing disquiet in the military No one who has visited the Presidential complex at Aso Rock in recent weeks doubts that General Sani Abacha, encouraged by his wife Maryam and his 'kitchen cabinet',...
Vol 38 No 21 | NIGERIAOIL AND GAS Clearing out 24th October 1997 Uncertainties about General Abacha's health have prompted a rush for oil profits Nobody knows whether General Sani Abacha will take off his uniform and try to win an election as his own civilian successor in August 1998. Moreover, he may...
Vol 38 No 21 | SIERRA LEONE Junta versus junta 24th October 1997 Major Johnny Paul Koroma's junta is increasingly personalising what it calls its 'dispute' with General Sani Abacha. In this way, it hopes to divide West African opinion over...