Word: nigerias
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Shagari believes that he and his National Party of Nigeria will improve on the narrow victory they won in 1979, when the country returned to civilian government after 13 years of military rule. "I feel much more confident than in the previous election," Shagari told TIME in a rare interview. "Now we are going to project ourselves not just from our intentions but from our past actions and performance...
Shagari's leadership is widely acknowledged to have been an effective balm for the country after a turbulent decade in which Nigeria was racked by three military coups and a bloody civil war. He has promoted a spirit of unity by evenhandedly distributing federal funds to the country's 19 states, regardless of which party is in local control. In an effort to make Nigeria self-sufficient in food, Shagari launched a "green revolution," an ambitious rural development program. He has also made education a top priority; hundreds of new schools have been built since he came...
...scholarly, soft-spoken Muslim given to wearing the beaded cap and flowing white robes traditional to northern Nigeria, Shagari, 57, looks more like a poet than a veteran of the rough-and-tumble of politics. In fact, he is both, although he confesses that he has had little time for verse since becoming President. Active in politics even before Nigeria became independent from Britain in 1960, he was one of the architects of Nigeria's new constitution, which was modeled after that of the U.S. and went into effect...
Divided as it is, the opposition could still cut into Shagari's support enough to deny him an outright victory. Nigeria's constitution requires that a presidential candidate must win both a plurality of the popular vote and 25% of the ballots in two-thirds of the states. The law was designed to ensure that presidential candidates would seek support nationwide and come to office with broad backing. If Shagari or any other candidate fails to meet that requirement, the political horse trading could go on for months-at great peril to the country's hard...
...least overbearing, most overwhelming man in the tournament (not to mention the most unlikely participant in the sport) was 7-ft. Akeem ("the Dream") Olajuwon, 20, a converted soccer goalie discovered in Lagos, Nigeria, by a U.S. State Department worker acquainted with Houston Coach Guy Lewis. Olajuwon can run like Alberto Juantorena, the Cuban Olympian, and is a precocious protege of former Houston Rockets Center Moses Malone, now with Philadelphia. "What is the most important thing Moses has taught you?" Olajuwon was asked. "Don't sign anything," he answered...