Vol 47 No 21 | NIGERIA All for one, not yet 20th October 2006 Under threat of corruption charges, state governors are losing their political nerve As the net closes in on those state governors accused of corruption and fraud, President Olusegun Obasanjo's position has strengthened markedly against his Vice-President Atiku Abu...
Vol 47 No 21 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Diamonds, gold and guns 20th October 2006 Both sides in the divided country exploit the underground economy to pay for fresh weapons Another round of regional negotiations has failed, a credible election is impossible by the deadline of 31 October and the international and regional organisations look increasingl...
Vol 47 No 21 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Diamond dollars 20th October 2006 Diamonds slip through the export ban imposed on Côte d'Ivoire last year. Many are now routed through Ghana. Production is estimated at between 114,000 and 214,000 carats, c...
Vol 47 No 21 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Toxic trials 20th October 2006 International oil traders Trafigura's Chief Executive, Claude Dauphin, and his West Africa Manager Jean-Pierre Valentini remain in Abidjan's high-security Maison d'Arrêt et d...
Vol 47 No 20 | NIGERIA Leaving it late 6th October 2006 Six months ahead of the next presidential election, no one knows which candidates are standing and which are heading for gaol In a system that typically leaves the key decisions until the last moment, Nigeria's politicians are leaving things very late. Nominations for candidates for next April's state and...
Vol 47 No 20 | NIGERIA No consensus on the census 6th October 2006 No Nigerian official has been able to explain convincingly the reasons for the delays in publishing the results of the national census held in March. That is no surprise as the mat...
Vol 47 No 20 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE The toxic trade 6th October 2006 How lethal waste came to Abidjan and who brought it there The poisonous waste was carried on a Greek-owned tanker , the Probo Koala, flying a Panamanian flag, leased by the London branch of a Swiss oil-trading company whose fiscal headqua...
Vol 47 No 20 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Toxic timeline 6th October 2006 2 July: Probo Koala docked at Amsterdam after unloading at Algesiras, Spain. It asked Amsterdam Port Services (APS) to empty its slops tank. More than 500 cubic metres (m3 ) were u...
Vol 47 No 20 | GAMBIA Jammeh tomorrow 6th October 2006 The President's boast that he will hold power for the next 40 years no longer looks so idle Opposition posturing and weak election monitoring handed President Alhaji Col. (Rtd.) Dr. Yahya AJJ Jammeh another easy win in the presidential election on 22 September. But it was...
Vol 47 No 19 | NIGERIA Pots, kettles and corruption 22nd September 2006 Allegations about President Obasanjo and his deputy mean a livelier if not cleaner election While President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice-President Atiku Abubakar sling mud at each other, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), an official anti-corruption body l...