Vol 48 No 18 | NIGERIA Gas project haunts politicians 7th September 2007 New developments in the investigations into Nigeria's $US10 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project on Bonny Island could have serious political ramifications in Washington and Abuja. Britain's...
Vol 48 No 16 | NIGERIA Making haste slowly 3rd August 2007 President Yar'Adua shows he is prepared to make sweeping changes – even if the pace of decision-making remains slow Essentially, the new presidency started last week. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua appointed his cabinet on 26 July and followed this four days later with a sweeping shake-up of...
Vol 48 No 12 | NIGERIA The new man in Abuja 8th June 2007 Vested interests in the police and political class are already trying to block President Umaru Yar'Adua's reform efforts At a subdued and well guarded inauguration ceremony in Abuja's Eagle Square parade ground on 29 May, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua talked about reforming Nigeria's rotten political system....
Vol 48 No 12 | NIGERIA Champagne in the Delta 8th June 2007 At Government House in Port Harcourt last week, waiters scurried around pouring bottles of Cristal champagne as a white jacketed crooner sang Frank Sinatra's 'My way' in honour...
Vol 48 No 12 | NIGERIARUSSIA Russian roulette 8th June 2007 The shooting dead of a Nigerian driver and kidnapping of six Russians from their compound in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom, looks like an escalation in a complex feud...
Vol 48 No 10 | NIGERIA A troubled transition 11th May 2007 The incoming government faces political road blocks as it tries to tackle the crises in electric power supply and the Niger Delta The gulf between the aspirations of the new political team under President-elect Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and the consequences of last month's disastrous elections is widening dangerously. Many around...
Vol 48 No 10 | NIGERIA Giant steps 11th May 2007 Mallam Nasir el-Rufai's student friends called him 'Giant'; he stands some five foot seven inches tall. These days he is more commonly known as 'Bulldozer', because of his...
Vol 48 No 9 | NIGERIA The dealmaking begins 27th April 2007 The victorious People's Democratic Party wants to co-opt enough dissenters to put the rigged election furore behind it Time is pressing President-elect Umaru Yar'Adua ahead of the planned inauguration on 29 May. By then, he will have to put together his government transition team from the...
Vol 48 No 9 | NIGERIA The men from the south 27th April 2007 Bayelsa State's head of security, Bola Igali, barked orders into his mobile phone. 'We have a security situation developing,' he told Africa Confidential, breaking off the interview. Shooting...
Vol 48 No 9 | NIGERIA Uneasy truce in Delta State 27th April 2007 Emmanuel Uduaghan, the winner of the heavily disputed governorship elections in Delta State, will have a critical economic and political role in the coming months. He is the...