Word: babangida
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...plunge in living standards has finally driven many of Nigeria's 100 million people to turn against President Ibrahim Babangida, the army general who has ruled the country with an arbitrary hand since 1985. He has repeatedly promised to restore the democratic government Nigerians believe they deserve; just as often he has gone back on his word. Since he annulled the results of a presidential election in June won by one of his handpicked candidates, Moshood Abiola, on the ground of alleged electoral fraud, Babangida has convinced the public that he will never willingly step aside...
...there was no rejoicing in Lagos last week when Babangida announced his retirement from the armed forces and installed a new "interim" government that is plainly intended to serve as his puppet. The transitional government promised to hold another presidential election by the end of next year, but Nigerians dismiss the new businessman-President Ernest Shonekan, one of Babangida's closest cronies, as a front behind whom Babangida will continue to exercise real control...
...many Nigerians what is really at stake is not whether Abiola takes office, but whether they will ever have a country they can be proud of. Democracy advocates detest Babangida and the other soldiers -- who have ruled the country for 23 of its 33 years of independence -- for diminishing the Nigerian soul. Endemic corruption; the narrowing opportunities in the country that once held out so much promise; the exploitation of bitter rivalries among the three largest ethnic groups, the Yoruba, Ibo and Hausa-Fulani -- all have sapped the nation's resources, its cohesion, its confidence. Instead of building a nation...
Still, pro-democracy leaders believe that international pressure combined with massive passive resistance in Lagos will force Babangida from power. They have warned their followers to keep off the streets so that soldiers will not have an excuse to shoot...
...long as he remains in command of the only sources of wealth in the country, Babangida will not be easily dislodged. Already some thoughtful Nigerians have suggested that the interim government, though a sham, should be given a chance to solve the country's manifold problems; to do otherwise would risk more bloodshed. Yet such a prudent course may only delay the day of reckoning, when Nigerians who dream of democracy will have to risk their lives to make it come true...