Word: abiola
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Thanks for your accurate portrait of Nigeria's political tragedy [WORLD, July 20]. We should observe a moment of silence for both General Sani Abacha and Chief Moshood Abiola, for they were my fellow Nigerians. The 18th century English writer Alexander Pope wrote, "For forms of government, let fools contest; whate'er is best administer'd is the best..." The fault lies not so much in Nigeria's form of government as in our selfish nature as Nigerians. ANTHONY A. AIYA-OBA Boston...
General Abdulsalam Abubakar's nine-month timetable for a transition to military rule is good news for both the country's military rulers and their civilian opposition. "The sudden death of both General Sani Abacha and Moshood Abiola left all sides in disarray," says TIME reporter Clive Mutiso. "It turned the military's planned election -- in which Abacha was the only candidate -- into a referendum over whether a dead man should rule the country. But it also left the opposition without a clear alternative...
...mythmaking will be easier because of the bizarre circumstances of Abiola's demise. Still a prisoner, he had just sat down with a top-level U.S. delegation visiting Nigeria to push for democratic reforms when he had trouble breathing and collapsed. Ninety minutes later, he died in a military hospital. The mystery of his death touched off riots in Lagos and other southwestern cities that left at least 55 dead as his fellow Yorubas took revenge on Hausa northerners, the ethnic group that dominates the military regime. Angry youths set fires and barricaded the streets of Lagos, battling police...
Even some of the most vocal exile leaders, who have been howling for years for Abiola's immediate release and installation as President, have done business with the generals. During the eight-year reign of General Ibrahim Babangida, from 1985 to 1993, Abiola himself often operated as a bagman, showering large sums on prominent African Americans who would have been embarrassed to take money directly from a military dictator. An effort by Jesse Jackson to strengthen ties between African and African-American businessmen benefited from Abiola's largesse, as did the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation: each reportedly received...
...political prisoners and promises to free the rest. There is enormous pressure on the military to relinquish its grip so that new elections can be held before the end of the year. And, of course, miracles do happen. Nigerians need look no further than the transformation of Moshood Abiola from a fixer into their country's new symbol of democracy for indisputable proof of that...