Vol 44 No 8 | MALI Bamako blues 18th April 2003 The soldier-turned-president's carefully crafted consensus is threatened by a confident opposition President Amadou Toumani Touré ('ATT') has had little chance to relax after his election in May 2002, as he struggles with domestic politics and the economic fall-out from t...
Vol 44 No 8 | NIGERIA The big issues 18th April 2003 Whoever wins will have to tackle crime, constitutional reform and a sick economy After the multi-million dollar election cycle this month, the winners will face an array of pressing economic and political issues... Criminality and security: The police service ...
Vol 44 No 8 | NIGERIA North-south divide 18th April 2003 Nigeria's elections were pulled back from the brink of collapse on 16 April when leading opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari insisted he would not join a boycott of presidential ...
Vol 44 No 8 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Faux EO? 18th April 2003 President Laurent Gbagbo, under fire over renewed claims that his government is using mercenaries to fight rebels in the north and west, may have thought he was hiring South Africa...
Vol 44 No 7 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Unity's opponents 4th April 2003 Gbagbo grudgingly cooperates with a French-brokered peace agreement The 5 pm traffic jam of cars with African Development Bank licence plates heading out of Abidjan's Plateau business district to leafy villas in Cocody and Deux Plateaux is gone. In...
Vol 44 No 7 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Hard-core Gbagbo 4th April 2003 Around President Laurent Gbagbo is a hard core which is fiercely opposed to the Marcoussis peace accord and firmly convinced of the truth of Pastor Moïse Koré's asserti...
Vol 44 No 7 | GUINEA Up for grabs 4th April 2003 As President Lansana Conté lies dying, the international community courts Guinea Gravely ill with complications from diabetes, President Lansana Conté has withdrawn to his home village of Moussayah, leaving the army and the divided opposition holding th...
Vol 44 No 7 | NIGERIA Delta force 4th April 2003 Just when oil markets needed abundant West African crude supplies (AC Vol 44 No 6), an explosion of violence in Delta State has cut off a third of Nigerian production. Attacks by I...
Vol 44 No 6 | GUINEA Out for the Conté 21st March 2003 After Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, neighbouring Guinea faces troubled times. President Lansana Conté, who has heart trouble, diabetes and a heavy smoking habit, seems to...
Vol 44 No 5 | NIGERIA Outgunning the opposition 7th March 2003 Shaky administration and growing political violence threaten the credibility of April's national elections The political scene has been ominously quiet as several constitutional issues rumble. The most serious is whether the 18 April presidential election can be held within President Ol...