Vol 39 No 13 | NIGERIA Abubakar meets Abiola 26th June 1998 After releasing some political prisoners and negotiating with the gaoled winner of the 1993 elections, Abuja breaks the political ice For a regime which proclaims continuity with its predecessor, the new order in Abuja under General Abdulsalaam Abubakar is making some major changes to the political script written...
Vol 39 No 13 | NIGERIA Revolving doors in Abuja 26th June 1998 Abuja’s hoteliers are among the most obvious beneficiaries of General SaniAbacha’ sdemiseon8June.Sincethen,theinlandcapital’ s hotels and guest houses have been full of would-be advisors, influence- pedlars, contract-seekers and curious...
Vol 39 No 12 | NIGERIA A cardiac coup 12th June 1998 Military dissidents may prove the most serious threat to General Abubakar's pledge to hand over to civilians in October As enigmatic in death as in life, General Sani Abacha died suddenly in the early hours of 7 June. He left many Nigerians puzzling over whether it was...
Vol 39 No 9 | NIGERIA Army arguments 1st May 1998 The coup plot trial has brought some military divisions to the surface The death sentences handed down on 28 April to six convicted coup plotters - all from the Yoruba south-west - will do little to settle the unease in...
Vol 39 No 9 | NIGERIA Oil slick 1st May 1998 The appointment of Federal Capital Territory Minister Lieutenant General Jerry Useni as head of a taskforce to tackle the chronic gasolene and diesel shortage is having little effect....
Vol 39 No 8 | NIGERIA Living dangerously 17th April 1998 Alarms are sounding about General Abacha's plans to follow President Suharto's example What have Indonesia and Nigeria got in common? On the face of it, almost everything - deepening economic crises, embattled military leaders, a web of corruption and nepotism...
Vol 39 No 7 | NIGERIA Room at the top 3rd April 1998 As the coup plot trials near their conclusion, a sweeping military reshuffle looms and a new civilian presidential candidate emerges True to his word, his supporters say, General Sani Abacha is determined to hand over to a civilian successor in October - himself. A year ago, that script...
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 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...