Word: nigeria
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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...
...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...
...where the money came from; even fewer returned it. The currying of favor continued under the brutal reign of Abacha. During that time, all manner of prominent African Americans from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to delegations of clergymen, newspaper publishers and businessmen accepted government-sponsored tours of Nigeria, then sang the dictator's praises...
Despite all that, there is reason for optimism about Nigeria's future. Abubakar seems to mean what he says about restoring democracy. He has released a group of 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...
...Nigeria's military ruler has laid his cards on the table: He'll hand over the reins of power to an elected civilian government next May. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar announced Monday night that an elected government would take over on May 29, 1999, replacing the discredited political and electoral machinery established by his predecessor, General Sani Abacha. "The handover to civilian rule has been the key demand of the opposition," says TIME reporter Clive Mutiso. "Indications had been that the military planned to indefinitely postpone the transition, and opposition groups weren't going to stand for that." If they believe...