Vol 44 No 13 | NIGERIA Security blanket 27th June 2003 A new security team is emerging to take on rising crime, threats of terrorism and political unrest in the Niger Delta as President Olusegun Obasanjo consolidates power. Here, consi...
Vol 44 No 12 | NIGERIA Leaky and unlucky 13th June 2003 Revelations by Royal Dutch/Shell that thefts of crude oil from its operations in the Niger Delta could amount to as much as 100,000 barrels a day have been followed by threats of a...
Vol 44 No 9 | NIGERIA The naira republic wins again 2nd May 2003 Money-politics and vote-rigging will undermine President Obasanjo's second term without a full investigation of the poll 'Don't give me any more of those Florida results!' bellowed a Nigerian journalist at a computer screen in the Election Commission's media centre. The machine was spewing out result...
Vol 44 No 9 | NIGERIA Landslide in the Delta 2nd May 2003 The presidential and gubernatorial elections in the oil-rich Niger Delta set new standards of improbability. Just over twelve hours after voting ended in some parts of Rivers, the ...
Vol 44 No 9 | NIGERIA Generals on the hill 2nd May 2003 The Abuja-Minna axis still works for old comrades in arms Two former military leaders, General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, look out from their hilltop mansions in Minna, central Nigeria, unperturbed by the furore over...
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 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 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...
Vol 44 No 5 | NIGERIA The battle in the states 7th March 2003 The ruling PDP's grip on the state governors is under attack from all sides Nigeria's 36 state governors have proved a durable crowd. All but two of those elected in 1999 are to stand again for the same party in April's elections (AC Vol 43 No 25). All the...