Word: nigerias
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...past five months the new President has tried to blend military orderliness with the freedoms of a democratic political system. So far, his resolve has withstood mounting economic pressures. Until 1980 Nigeria was flush with revenues from its oil industry, which at one time produced 2.3 million bbl. a day and yielded $23.4 billion a year in revenue. But the worldwide petroleum glut has left the country, which earns 95% of its foreign currency from oil exports, teetering on the edge of economic collapse. Last year Nigeria produced a daily average of 1.4 million bbl., earning $11.3 billion. Even...
Astonishingly, one of Babangida's first moves was to invite public debate on how to deal with Nigeria's $24 billion foreign debt. In a series of unprecedented public meetings, as well as in newspaper editorials, Nigerians resoundingly opposed the government's application for a new $2.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Although the money was badly needed to keep pace with the debt, Babangida suspended negotiations with the IMF. Instead, he shrewdly used his mandate to impose many of the draconian austerity measures that the IMF had suggested. Among them: doubling the price of gasoline and tripling...
...same was true of Mohammed Rafindadi, who headed the National Security Organization, Nigeria's intelligence arm. A former clerk in the Foreign Ministry, Rafindadi used his power to conduct a purge in Nigeria's diplomatic service, firing some of its very best people. He also rounded up many ordinary citizens and kept them in "protective detention." Babangida sacked Rafindadi and curbed the powers...
...President released more than 100 detainees and made a point of inviting critics of past Nigerian governments to serve in his administration. He took steps to defuse tribal conflicts by distributing important government jobs among representatives of Nigeria's major tribes, the Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani. Babangida himself is a Muslim from the Nupe tribe in the northern part of the country. His striking wife Maryam is a Roman Catholic of Ibo background. The First Couple have become well known for their frequent soirees where guests can easily and openly engage in discussions of nearly every aspect of Nigerian...
...sponsor a national debate on the transfer of power to a civilian government. Said he: "I wish to reaffirm that this administration does not intend to stay in power a day longer than is required to lay the necessary institutional framework to bring about a better and more stable Nigeria." The voluntary and orderly turnover of power to a civilian government would flout the norm in Africa, where coupmakers have all too often made similar pledges. Many observers, in fact, believe that Babangida's program will entrench military power for years to come. Still, he has promised to restore Nigeria...