Summary
The minister evangelised about Obasanjo and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) while dismissing allegations of ballot boxes being stuffed, intimidation of the opposition and the closure of polling stations. The idea of another president for life on the continent was greeted with hostility and thrown out by the Senate to the bewilderment of Obasanjo's supporters - dubbed the Third Termites by critics - and to the joy of fans of democracy. Public services and crumbling infrastructure need to be restored and improved, but the biggest challenge the new president faces is how to deal with the crisis of violence in the Niger Delta, where most of the country's oil is produced and transported.
See the full content of this document
Extract
Big Men and Ballot Boxes
MY INTRODUCTION TO THE OPAQUE BUSINESS OF Nigerian politics came on a spring day in a five star London hotel. The venue was the Hilton, Park Lane and my host a Nigerian cabinet minister. It was May 2003, Olusegun Obasanjo had just secured a second presidential term and earlier that week, one of his fiercest supporters had granted us an interview.
As with many elections in Africa, doubts were raised over the credibility of th...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
