NIGERIA AP GOV 2013

More than 54.7% of the population (75 million people) live below the poverty line in a country where the life expectancy is 47. Eight years after the introduction of the president's privatisation programmes, Nigerians are still waiting for a guaranteed electricity supply, running water, sewerage services, improved rail and road services and telephone facilities. The capital, Abuja, is Nigeria's most expensive city, followed by the oil-rich Port Harcourt and then the largest city Lagos, the country's commercial capital. In May 2004, Mr Obasanjo introduced a home-grown economic reform programme named the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (Needs) which is intended to promote fiscal discipline and due process in public procurement, reform the civil service and banking system and introduce privatisation and transparency

. Human rights have improved considerably since 1999, though Nigeria still retains the death penalty. The Obasanjo government set up the Oputa Panel to investigate human rights abuses under the military, and established a Human Rights Commission. There is a large and active civil society and a free and vibrant media. However, there are reports of torture, beatings and extra-judicial killing, largely blamed on ill-trained members of the security forces.

Nigeria has some of the worst social indicators in the world: one in five children die before the age of five; 12 million children are not in school; and there are nearly two million Aids orphans.

Gordon Brown promised to help Nigeria tackle the unrest in the Delta

Do you get it????• Nigeria made its first transition from one elected

government to another when Obasanjo won a second term in April ________ (year) The ruling ___________ (party) also dominated the _________ (year) legislative elections, winning 76 of 109 _________seats and 223 of 360 House seats. The ___________captured 27 seats in the Senate and 96 in the House, while the Alliance for Democracy won 6 Senate seats and 34 House seats. Smaller parties secured the remainder.

Successfully completed, the _______presidential election was Nigeria's first peaceful handover from one democratically elected president at the end of his constitutional term to the next. The most recent failed election was the 1993 election of M. K. O.______, which was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, the military dictator ruling at the time. General Sani ________eventually seized power, and when _______tried to claim his presidency, he was imprisoned until his questionable death in 1998.

Do you get it????

The Nigerian general elections of 2007 were held on 14 April and 21 April 2007. Governorship and state assembly elections were held on 14 April, while the presidential and __________ ___________elections were held a week later on 21 April. Umaru _____ _______won the highly controversial election for the ruling ____________________ and was sworn in on 29 May.

President Olusegun Obasanjo thus could not pursue a third term. Additionally he was unsupported by Atiku Abubakar, his vice-president. Presidential candidates were announced in late December 2006, and 50,000 assault rifles were ordered to help the military maintain order during the election. Umaru Yar'Adua contested the election for the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), and the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) chose Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku Abu-Bakr, the current Vice-President, announced on 25 November 2006 that he would contest the election, and he subsequently became the presidential candidate of the Action Congress in December.

Results of Electionhttp://africanelections.tripod.com/ng.html#2007_National_Assembly_Election

Do you get it????

The Economist asked: Could Double-O make it three in a row?

What was the issue???

Elections April________Will Nigeria make it through a third presidential election?

On May 16, 2006 the Nigerian Senate voted to block a constitutional amendment which would have allowed its president to serve more than two terms in office.

Do you get it????

Kayode Fayemi, left, holding a microphone, a candidate for governor of Ekiti state, campaigns for the nomination of the Action Congress party.

Money and Violence Hobble Democracy in Nigeria NYT 11/24/2006

Election April 2007

By 10:30 a.m. in Oye, Nigeria, officials were unable to process a single ballot because voters had been kept away from the polling stations.

Millions Vote in Nigeria, but Intimidation Is Widespread

April 14 — Millions of Nigerians went to the polls on Saturday to choose state and local leaders in the first stage of what is to be a landmark election for Africa’s most populous nation. The voting was marred by unrest and violence across the country, though in some areas the polls appeared to go smoothly. In the oil-rich Niger Delta, militants attacked police stations, burning three to the ground. In the volatile north, the military broke up demonstrations.The election, if it is successful, could lead to something new in Nigeria: the first time one elected government hands over power to another, a watershed moment for a nation that has suffered through repeated coups, military rule and a grim civil war that nearly destroyed the country. The voting across Nigeria will choose governors for its 36 states and state and local legislatures. While much of the international attention has focused on the presidential vote, which will take place a week later, for most people state and local government has the deepest influence over their lives.

Voters in Nigeria lined up for hours on Saturday, long after the polls were supposed to start. There are wide accusations of ballot rigging in favor of the ruling PDP party NYT 4/23/27

Nigeria’s Governing Party Takes Lead in Elections

A man holding a ballot box was part of a mob that chased a

worker for the Nigerian election

commission, which has been accused of

ballot rigging and other abuses, on Saturday in Ekiti

State during state elections.

ADO EKITI, Nigeria, April 15 — Violent protests broke out in several of Nigeria’s 36 states on Sunday as partial results from highly contested state elections appeared to hand most of the victories to the governing People’s Democratic Party. The police said 21 people had died in election violence, but local newspapers estimated that the toll was at least twice that number. Allegations of vote rigging, ballot stealing and intimidation in several states in the first round of Nigeria’s landmark elections set off violence and raised fears that the country’s presidential voting, to be held later this week, could fail, according to candidates and independent observers. Of the 10 state governor races for which results were available, the

People’s Democratic Party was leading in 8.

A mob of young men and boys, angry because they were not able to vote, burned tires and demolished signs during a riot in the town of Malumfashi.

The rioters, supporters of the opposition ANPP party, accused the ruling PDP party of rigging the elections.

The rioters, supporters of the opposition ANPP party, accused the ruling PDP party of rigging the elections

An absolute majority or at least 25% in two-thirds of the states is required for a candidate to be elected in the first round.

Check to see that last pres elections were more thatn 50%

http://www.electionguide.org/election.php?ID=1099

Nigeria’s new president, Umaru

Yar’Adua, took office Tuesday in

Abuja. After a history of military

coups, Mr. Yar’Adua’s

inauguration was the country’s first

peaceful transition of power between

civilians

A First in Nigeria: A Peaceful __________of Power

ABUJA, Nigeria, May 29 (AP) — This time, the shots were fired in celebration. For the first time in Nigeria’s coup-riddled history, power passed between two civilians, as

the army hailed the new president, Umaru Yar’Adua, with a 21-gun salute on Tuesday

ABUJA, Nigeria, April 23 — The governing party’s candidate for president, Umaru Yar’Adua, easily won the election in Nigeria, election officials here announced Monday. But his chief rivals for the office immediately rejected the results, and international observers said that the voting, which took place amid chaos, fraud and violence, was not credible. . . .Mr. Yar’Adua, a 56-year-old governor of the remote northern state of Katsina, had been a reclusive figure from a prominent political family. Under the unwritten rules of Nigerian politics, which dictate that the presidency alternate between the north and south, a northern Muslim like Mr. Yar’Adua would undoubtedly replace Mr. Obasanjo, a Yoruba Christian from the southwest. . . . .Seldom seen outside his home state and rumored to have kidney disease, Mr. Yar’Adua was a surprise choice for the ruling party as a presidential candidate, leading to speculation that he was chosen as a weak stand-in for Mr. Obasanjo, who is limited to two terms as president by the Constitution. But supporters of Mr. Yar’Adua say he is his own man, who plans to continue the reforms of Mr. Obasanjo’s government, but put his own stamp on the nation.

And the winner is . . .

December 14, 2008Legal Victory Can’t Erase Nigerian Leader’s Troubles By WILL CONNORSLAGOS, Nigeria — The last legal challenge to the legitimacy of President Umaru Yar’Adua was quashed by the Supreme Court last week, but he and Nigeria are far from out of the woods.Although Mr. Yar’Adua, a former governor from a remote northern state, finally has a firm mandate to take charge of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and oil-rich country, he has accomplished so little in the 19 months since his flawed election that few believe that he can.In its 4-to-3 decision on Friday in his favor, the Supreme Court did little to inspire confidence in the president or in the circumstances that brought him to power. While dismissing the suit brought by opposition leaders to overturn the April 2007 elections, the court conceded that widespread voting irregularities had occurred and severely chastised the national electoral commission for incompetence. .

• Nigeria Registers 67.8 Million Eligible Voters for Coming General Election

Nigeria elects on federal level a head of state (the President of Nigeria) and a legislature (the National Assembly). The president is elected by the people. The _______ ___________has two chambers. The ____________ of ______________has 360 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies. The _______has 109 members, elected for a four year term: the 36 states are divided in 3 senatorial districts each electing one senator; the Federal Capital Territory elects only one senator.Nigeria has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and a third party that is electorally successful.

For pres: TRS: An absolute majority or at least 25% in two-thirds of the states is required for a candidate to be elected in the first round.

The People's Democratic Party is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential elections of , 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.

The PDP favors free-market policies which support economic liberalism, and limited government regulation. In The PDP strives to maintain the status quo on oil revenue distribution.

Though the PDP government setup the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to address the needs of the oil-producing Niger Delta states, it has rebuffed repeated efforts to revert back to the 50% to 50% federal-to-state government revenue allocation agreement established in 1966.

Social issuesThe PDP is against same sex relations, and favors social conservatism on moral and religious grounds. In 2007, the PDP-dominated National Assembly sponsored a bill to outlaw homosexual relations, making it punishable by law for up to five years in prisonOn the other hand, the PDP adopts a more leftist stance towards poverty and welfare. In 2005, President Obasanjo launched Nigeria's first National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to ensure that every Nigerian has access to basic health care servicesThe party is a moderate advocate of state-autonomy and religious freedom for the Nigerian provinces. In the year 2000 the introduction of Islamic law in some states in Northern Nigeria triggered sectarian violence in Kaduna and Abia states. The PDP-led federal government refused to bow to pressure from the southern, predominantly Christian states to repeal the law, and instead opted for a compromise where Islamic law would only apply to Muslims.

The Action Congress (AC) is a classical liberal Nigerian political party formed via the merger of the Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several other minor political parties in September 2006

The party was formed in 2006 in order to form a larger political opposition to the federally-dominant centrist People's Democratic Party and the Northern-based All Nigeria Peoples Party

The party ran Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who defected from the People's Democratic Party, as its presidential candidate in the 2007 presidential election. Abubakar was disqualified from the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, but the disqualification was later overturned by the Supreme Court.[1] Currently, the party's most prominent elected official is governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State.

The ANPP is the household party in the extreme north of Nigeria, primarily due to its mass appeal. It is the strongest opposition party, controlling seven of the nation's thirty-six states.

The ANPP is a right-wing conservative party with mass appeal. The party draws its strength from the predominantly radical region of Northern Nigeria, and strives to maintain the status quo of radical politics in the Nigerian polity.[

Nigeria moves to tighten gay laws

Wednesday, 14 February 2007, 18:57 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6362505.stm

BBC

Biafra war: Attacks, blockade killed more than a million

General Abacha was accused of stealing some $3bn from state

_______ _________: a sudden shock to state policy involving deliberate violation of constitutional reforms by a group of persons in authority; a quick and decisive seizure of governmental power by a strong military or political group. In contrast to a revolution, a coup does not involve a mass uprising. Rather, in a typical coup, a small group of politicians or generals arrests the incumbent leaders, seizes the national radio and television services and proclaims itself in power. French for stroke of the state or blow to the government

APRIL 1990 COUP D'ETAT SPEECHFellow Nigerian Citizens, On behalf of the patriotic and well-meaning peoples of the Middle Belt and the southern parts of this country, I , Major Gideon Orkar, wish to happily inform you of the successful ousting of the dictatorial, corrupt, drug baronish, evil man, deceitful, homo-sexually-centered, prodigalistic, un-patriotic administration of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.  We have equally commenced their trials for unabated corruption, mismanagement of national economy, the murders of Dele Giwa, Major-General Mamman Vasta, with other officers as there was no attempted coup but mere intentions that were yet to materialise and other human rights violations.

 The National Guard already in its formative stage is disbanded with immediate effect.  Decrees Number 2 and 46 are hereby abrogated.  We wish to emphasise that this is not just another coup but a well conceived, planned and executed revolution for the marginalised, oppressed and enslaved peoples of the Middle Belt and the south with a  view to freeing ourselves and children yet unborn from eternal slavery and colonisation by a clique of this country. Our history is replete with numerous and uncontrollable instances of callous and insensitive dominatory repressive intrigues by those who think it is their birthright to dominate till eternity the political and economic privileges of this great country to the exclusion of the people of the Middle Belt and the south.

General Abdusalami Abubakarer:

"All along - as far back as 1979, '72 - the military have been wanting to hand over, but because of one thing or another, the politicians, the civilians, fail to do things correctly and the military thought they should intervene to correct these anomalies."--NewsHour, 10/21/98

One of the most fragmented societies in the world:

• Ethnicity: Between 250-400 separate ethnic groups (many have very little in common, different languages, religions, etc…)

• Religion: Many arguments still exist over the preferential treatment given to the Christians by the British, the role of Islam’s religious law in the nation’s policymaking practices are also a major concern

• Region: Nigeria was divided into three federated regions five years before independence, differences are still very evident

• Urban v. Rural: Most organized protests occur in the cities, as well as media outlets

• Social Class: Rich v. poor division runs deep. Elites control the state’s resources-appealing to the ethnic and religious identities of the people

nearly a third of the population belongs of these three groups

Nigeria is home to some 250 ethnic groups Dominant among them is the _________ and ________who are overwhelmingly Muslim and concentrated in the north, the _______(also spelled Ibo), predominantly Christian and concentrated in the southeast, the _________are found in the southwest and are divided between Christian, Muslims, and local animist faiths.

The broad characterisation of a Muslim Hausa-speaking north, and a Christian south made up of two dominant tribes - the Yoruba in the southwest and the Ibo in the southeast - is a vast over-simplification.

In some states across central Nigeria, for example, it is possible to drive down a road, stopping at each tiny settlement, encountering a different language spoken in every single one.

And to further complicate this ethnic mix, over the decades and even centuries, people have moved around what is now modern day Nigeria. A substantial minority of southern Christians now live in the north, as many northern Hausa Muslims have migrated south

Nigeria's Middle-Belt has hundreds of communities living side-by-side

Reports of clashes in one part of Nigeria can lead to reprisals elsewhere

CIA Factbook: Religions--Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% --statistics vary—remember the census?English: official language

Diversity has created significant problems for the consolidation of democracy

each group to sees politics in zero-sum terms (an electoral victory by a Hausa candidate, for example, is viewed as a blow to the interests of the Yoruba, and vice-versa)military leaders often played on the fears of ethnic conflict as a justification for authoritarianism, arguing that democracy only exacerbated these fault lines between regions and peoples.

Army patrols have restored calm in Lagos

In May 1967 the Igbo dominated Eastern Region seceded from Nigeria, declaring itself the Republic of Biafra. Although the Biafrans were outnumbered and outgunned, they held off the Nigerian military for three years, helped in part by international support, which believed that the Nigerian government was conducting a genocidal war against the Igbo. Azikiwe, who had been dismissed from his post by the military government, became a prominent supporter of Biafran independence. Biafra was defeated in 1970. Although this did not lead to the Igbo extermination that many feared, the war itself exacted huge costs in terms of military and civilian life—estimates range from 500,000 to as high as three million

GO to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_3733000/3733321.stm

Nigeria Turns From Harsher Side of Islamic Law

KANO, Nigeria — Just last year, the morality police roamed these streets in dusky blue uniforms and black

berets, brandishing cudgels at prayer shirkers and dragging fornicators into Islamic courts to face sentences like death by public stoning. But these days, the fearsome police officers, known as the Hisbah, are little more than glorified crossing guards. They have largely been confined to their barracks and assigned anodyne tasks like directing traffic and helping fans to their seats at soccer games.The Islamic revolution that seemed so destined to transform northern Nigeria in recent years appears to have come and gone — or at least gone in a direction few here would have expected. When Muslim-dominated states like Kano adopted Islamic law after the fall of military rule in 1999, radical clerics from the Arabian peninsula arrived in droves to preach a draconian brand of fundamentalism, and newly empowered religious judges handed down tough punishments like amputation for theft. Kano became a center of anti-American sentiment in one of the most reliably pro-American countries in Africa. But since then, much of the furor has died down, and the practice of Islamic law, or Shariah, which had gone on for centuries in the private sphere before becoming enshrined in public law, has settled into a distinctively Nigerian compromise between the dictates of faith and the chaotic realities of modern life in an impoverished, developing nation. “Shariah needs to be practical,” said Bala Abdullahi, a civil servant here. “We are a developing country, so there is a kind of moderation between the ideas of the West and traditional Islamic values. We try to weigh it so there is no contradiction.”

Girls in Kano, Nigeria, attend a hybrid school that combines Islamic

education with secular subjects like math and reading

New programs have sprung up to encourage parents to send their daughters to hybrid public elementary schools that offer traditional Islamic education along with math and reading. In many of these classes girls outnumber boys

Girls in Kano distributed textbooks to their classmates

The United States Agency for International Development is so impressed with the potential of these programs that one-third of the schools it supports across Nigeria are integrated Islamic and secular schools, according to officials at the agency.

A sign in Kano reminds visitors that religious law is in place throughout the state and that they should "take heed."

Since 1999 and the end of military rule communal violence has risen, as the state no longer is able to suppress the public as it pleases and as the struggle for control over the state has returned to the populace. Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, it is estimated that such conflicts have taken over 12,000 lives and left three quarters of a million displaced, This violence frequently has economic motives, with its origins in conflicts over access to state funds, oil revenues, jobs or other resources. Moreover, it is frequently asserted that political elites capitalize on these conflicts as a way to build their base of support, even to the point of inciting conflict through words and actions (such as paying supporters to attack rival groups).

Reports of clashes in one part of Nigeria can lead to reprisals elsewhere

These conflicts also have a religious component. In recent years there has been a deepening fissure between Muslims, who are concentrated in the north, with Christians and animists in the south. The catalyst for this conflict has been the role of Sharia, or Islamic law. Under British rule Islamic law was preserved in the north and continued to serve an important, if limited, role. This practice was continued under independent Nigeria, but by the 1970s Islamic groups began to press the Babangida regime to allow for the expansion of Sharia’s use in the north as well as its use in higher courts, where it had no authority.

The body of a Muslim victim of the violence lay Thursday outside a ruined mosque as a member of a local gang looked inside. Attacks on Muslims in the south of Nigeria followed attacks on Christians in the north.

While the repression of the Abacha regime froze much of this activism, it quickly revived with the onset of civilian rule. Muslim leaders and publics saw the expansion of Sharia as a way to overcome the corruption of the military era and a way to reassert their rights in a democratic system. Some political leaders also clearly saw the issue in a more cynical light as a way to garner public support. Shortly after the 1999 elections a number of northern states made Sharia the primary law, extending it to criminal and other matters. This legal system included a severe provision for adultery and apostasy (leaving the faith): death by stoning. The imposition of Sharia touched off some of the worst violence under civilian rule; in one incident in 2000, clashes between Christians and Muslims in the city of Kaduna left two thousand dead. This tension over Sharia also grabbed international attention when two women were sentenced to be stoned for adultery. Although eventually overturned by higher courts, the seeming incompatibility between secular national law and an expansive regional use of Sharia remains a serious and potentially destabilizing issue

After the ruling Ms Ibrahim thanked those who had helped her BBC Nov 2004

Women passed a destroyed house in Jos, Nigeria, on Monday. Life began to return to normal after

election-related violence.

Counting the Bodies in the Aftermath of Clashes in Nigeria

Muslim’s rioted in 2002 over the plans to hold the “Miss World” contest, which they see as offensive to their values, in Nigeria.

WP: Feb 2006 Ifeanyi Eze uses a piece of charred wood to write on the wall of a mosque in Onitsha: "Mohammed is a man but Jesus is from above."

A mosque in Onitsha was destroyed by Christian rioters. NYT Feb 24 2006

The state government has subsidized motorized rickshaws to transport women, who had been barred from riding motorcycle taxis at one point

Garba Shehu, a former Muslim from Dutse who converted to evangelical Christianity, walks through a church that was burned and vandalized during a spate of religious violence in September 2006. "We thank God we don't see the same tensions as before," he said.

                                                             

                                    

Children searched a local trash dump in Kano. After eight years of rule by the PDP party, many Nigerians are disillusioned and disappointed that services have not improved.

Militants from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta patrolling the delta. Photographs by Michael Kamber

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/02/junger200702

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta ("MEND") is a militant indigenous people's movement dedicated to armed struggle against the exploitation and oppression of the people of Niger Delta and the degradation of the natural environment by foreign multinational corporations involved in the extraction of oil in the Niger Delta and the Federal Government of Nigeria. MEND has been linked to attacks on foreign owned petroleum companies in Nigeria.

                                                                                                   

FREE: American hostage Macon Hawkins was released by MEND militants last week. March 7 2006

New militia is potent force in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region A well-organized rebel group has emerged to shut off more than one-fifth of Nigeria's oil output. By Daniel Balint Kurti | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor WARRI, NIGERIA - Gunmen dressed in black balaclavas and camouflage flak jackets approach in a boat. As it draws alongside, their voices can be heard singing. The chorus fades and they introduce themselves. "We are the security men of the Niger delta," says one of the men in the blue speedboat bristling with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. "Nobody is going to hurt you. We are everywhere in the Niger delta."The singing militiamen are part of the newly organized Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and are the latest expression of local resentment in a region of the country where tens of millions of dollars worth of oil are extracted each day, but most people live on only several hundred dollars each year.The MEND organization, whose leadership remains a matter of speculation, appears to be better organized, trained, and equipped than any other group to emerge so far from this restive, swampy region

The Economist has described the organization as one that "portrays itself as political organisation that wants a greater share of Nigeria’s oil revenues to go to the impoverished region that sits atop the oil. In fact, it is more of an umbrella organisation for several armed groups, which it sometimes pays in cash or guns to launch attacks."

5 Die in Violence Over Nigeria's Census LAGOS, Nigeria, March 20 (Reuters) — Five people were killed and dozens injured in southwestern Nigeria in weekend clashes linked to this week's national census, the police said Monday.The census is the first attempt in 15 years by Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, to conduct a head count. Estimates of Nigeria's population range from 120 million to 150 million, and the government says it needs more precise data.Organizers have excluded ethnicity and religion from the census questionnaire to avoid the rigging and fighting by rival interest groups that discredited previous censuses.

The census dictates who really holds power

However, some communities are hoping to use the census to record their claims to land or property. In southwestern Ondo State, fighting broke out between the Ijaw and Ikale communities over ownership of the village of Taribo."Five people were killed in the clashes," a police spokesman said by telephone from Akure, the capital of Ondo State. "We recovered their bodies from the bush."The violence in Ondo was one of several incidents before the census, which starts on Tuesday and runs until Saturday.Census organizers have to deal with the logistical challenges of a vast, chaotic, impoverished country with few decent roads, as well as rival regions, religious communities and ethnic groups eager to assert their numerical superiority.

The last census was carried out 14 years ago BBC March 21,2006

Olusegun Obasanjo (Former General): regime change in 1999

• the officer who accepted the surrender of Biafran forces in the 1967-70 civil war

• First became president of Nigeria in 1976, stepping in when then president Gen. Murtala Muhammad was assassinated. In 1979, Obasanjo voluntarily stepped down after the election of President Shehu Shagari .

• A vocal opponent of Sani Abacha's military dictatorship in the early 1990s, Obasanjo was jailed in 1995 and released after Abacha's death in 1998.

• He became leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and was elected president in 1999, ending 16 years of military rule.

• Reelected in 2003 (62% of vote) : the third democratically elected executive to govern Nigeria and the only president to have been reelected to that office for a second term.

• . Obasanjo was born in Abeokuta in 1937.

• He is a Christian of Yoruba descent

In an effort to assure that the president serves with a national mandate, Nigeria’s constitution requires that the winning presidential candidate obtain both the highest number of overall votes and at least 25 percent of the ballots cast in at least two-thirds of the states. This became an issue of contention in the 1979 election when the Supreme Court was called upon to determine what constituted two-thirds of Nigeria’s then only 19 states (now there are 36). Ultimately the court ruled that Shagari’s victory in 12 states—not the 13 demanded by the opposition—sufficed and Shagari was named president. The constitution holds that if no candidate succeeds in reaching the two-thirds threshold in the first round, a second round of voting takes place a week later pitting top candidates against each other.

ElectionsAs in the United States, Nigerians directly elect their president and separately elect members of both chambers of their legislature, the National Assembly.

But unlike the United States, presidents, senators, and representatives all serve four year terms and all three elections are held simultaneously.

All 360 seats in the House of Representatives are contested in single member voting districts divided roughly equally by population

The 109 members of the Senate are elected from Nigeria’s 36 states, with each state comprising a 3-seat multi-member constituency district. The federal district or “capital territory” of Abuja also elects one senator in a single seat constituency for the 109th seat. Although the Senate’s multi-member districts with their smaller threshold for victory would seem to afford smaller parties a better chance of electing candidates than the winner-take-all system used in the House, in fact only three parties are represented in the Senate, while four additional smaller parties have managed to win either one or two seats in the House. The success of these smaller parties reflects the geographic concentration of ethnic groups willing to vote in blocs large enough to obtain a plurality of votes, such as the Kanuri minority of Northeastern Nigeria.

Nigerian Constitutions– 1914 (First-written), 1999 (Last- written)–Since Independence, Nigeria has been governed by six

different constitutions (and four others during the colonial era). -The problem for Nigerian political leaders has not been coming up with rules of good governance, but rather abiding by them:

–Realities of politics and government in Nigeria are NOT always reflected in the constitution and formal structure of the government.

–The person in the executive office, military or civilian, has created the regime as much as the law.

http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

In an effort to assure that the president serves with a national mandate, Nigeria’s constitution requires that the winning presidential candidate obtain both the highest number of overall votes and at least 25 percent of the ballots cast in at least two-thirds of the states.

The Nigerian constitution also stipulates that the "federal character" must be reflected in every government appointment. This means that the relative strengths of every ethnic and religious group must be taken into consideration in determining appointments in the civil service, the armed forces and political institutions.

http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

“Federal Character” Principle: 14. (1) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based

on the principles of democracy and social justice. . . . (3) The composition of the Government of the Federation or

any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.

The Executive Branch of Nigeria• Nearly thirty years of military rule is a major hint that the

Nigerian government is VERY CENTRALIZED• Each military regime was different, but most ruled via a

“council” of mainly military men (i.e. the GOWON and BABANGIDA regimes operated by consensus)

• The longer each regime lasted the smaller, and more authoritative the councils became

• The EXCEPTION to this rule was the harsh dictatorial rule of Sani Abacha

• Military councils usually were advised by a cabinet which was partially civilian in nature (experts in their fields)

The Executive Branch of Nigeria• The First Republic (1963-1979) was modeled after the

British Parliamentary system. Thus the Chief Executive was a Prime Minister. Many blamed the conflicts in this time on the absence of one strong chief executive, and thus the Second and later republics substituted a popularly elected president for the prime minister of the first republics.

The Executive Branch• Popularly elected (like the US he chooses and runs with a VP);• Head of state and government (he and his ministers may not

simultaneously serve in the National Assembly);• Commander-in-chief of the armed forces;• Serves a four year FIXED term ( maximum of two terms);• Performs ceremonial duties of leadership;• Veto (subject to 2/3 override) • Oversees the daily administration of gov’t• Coordinates/ oversees armed forces;• Appoints gov’t ministers (confirmed by

Senate);• The President and his ministers make up a

Federal Executive Committee (assure that enacted laws are properly implemented)

L-R: President Jonathan, Senate President David Mark and House of Reps Speaker, Dimeji Bankole.

Nigeria:   Senate Approves N18,000 National Minimum Wage (news)

Vanguard23 February 2011

The Senate has approved the N18,000 new national minimum wage for workers proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua may veto the 2008 Appropriation Bill when it is passed into law by the National Assembly, THISDAY has learnt. The President is said to be "very worried" about the "spending spree" built into the budget by the federal lawmarkers which has the potential to cause inflation and erode the economic gains of the past few years.

Although the President has the power to veto a bill, the National Assembly can override the veto with two-thirds vote. Yesterday, barely 24 hours after the Senate and House passed the 2008 Appropriation Bill with varying final figures, the Senate announced an 11-member committee to harmonise the differences between it and the House over the bill. The bill was presented to a joint sitting of the National Assembly by President Yar'Adua on November 7, 2007. Two days ago, the Senate approved N2.898 trillion as 2008 budget while the House jacked the budget up to N2.944 trillion, representing about N46 billion more than the Senate figure.

The harmonisation committee is expected to have equal number of representatives from the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Yar'Adua May Veto BudgetThis Day (Lagos)14 February 2008 By Sufuyan Ojeifo, Abuja

The Legislature- Will it be an en an effective check on the Executive branch?

• The National Assembly is bicameral (Senate & House of Representatives);• The Upper House is the Senate has 109 members ( three per 36 states/equal

representation, and one from the Federal Capital Territory, ABUJA • The National Assembly (formerly the House of Representatives) has 360

members from single member districts, elected by plurality • Both houses serve four year terms, and are popularly elected;• The House and Senate must agree before any bill is passed as law, which in turn

must receive the President's assent. Should the President delay or refuse assent (veto) the bill, the Assembly may pass the law by two-thirds of both chambers and overrule the veto and the President's consent will not be required.

• Either House can originate legislation; but bills do not become laws until they are passed by both houses, and assent to the president

In spite of a more than two-thirds majority control of the Assembly by the ruling PDP)the PDP government led by Olusegun Obasanjo and the Assembly have been known more for their disagreements than for their cooperation. President Obasanjo has been accused of interference in the Assembly's affairs while the Assembly's PDP members have actively supported two impeachment attempts by opposition legislators. The Senate also refused to amendmend the Constitution to allow double O to go 3 in a row.

While the Assembly has made strong and often popular efforts to assert its authority and independence against the executive, they are still viewed generally in a negative light by the media and a majority of population. NOT divided government now: 2003 election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.7%, ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 8.8%, other 9.3%; seats by party - PDP 223, ANPP 96, AD 34, other 6; note - one seat is vacant 2007: http://africanelections.tripod.com/ng.html#2007_National_Assembly_Election

Exec Leg relations

Women in Politics 

Country 

Rank *

Lower or Single House 

Upper House or Senate

Elections Seats Women % W Elections Seats Women % W

 United States 

 71

 

11 2008  

 435

 74

 17.0 %

 11 2008

 100

 17

 17%

 United Kingdom

 

 60

 05 2005

 646

 127

 19.7%

 N/A

 721

 126

 17.5%

 Russia

 

 82

 12 2007

 447

 63

 14%

 N/A

 178

 8

 4.7%

 China

 

 52

 03 2008

 2987

 637

 21.3%

 ---

 ---

 ---

 ---

 Iran

 

 129

 03 2008

 286

 8

 2.8%

 ---

 ---

 ---

 ---

 Mexico

 

 43

 07 2006

 500

 116

 23.2%

 07 2006

 128

 23

 18%

 Nigeria

 

 116

 04 2007

 360

 25

 7%

 04 2007

 109

 9

 8.3%

The Judiciary• Interpret the laws;• Supreme Court is at the apex;• Court of Appeals and a Federal High Court;• The Capital of Abuja has a High Court, Sharia Court of

Appeal, and Customary Court of Appeal• Also state courts (federal system) which deal with most

criminal law• Legal system based on English common law, Islamic law

(in 12 northern states), and traditional law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

December 14, 2008Legal Victory Can’t Erase Nigerian Leader’s Troubles By WILL CONNORSLAGOS, Nigeria — The last legal challenge to the legitimacy of President Umaru Yar’Adua was quashed by the Supreme Court last week, but he and Nigeria are far from out of the woods.Although Mr. Yar’Adua, a former governor from a remote northern state, finally has a firm mandate to take charge of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous and oil-rich country, he has accomplished so little in the 19 months since his flawed election that few believe that he can.In its 4-to-3 decision on Friday in his favor, the Supreme Court did little to inspire confidence in the president or in the circumstances that brought him to power. While dismissing the suit brought by opposition leaders to overturn the April 2007 elections, the court conceded that widespread voting irregularities had occurred and severely chastised the national electoral commission for incompetence. .

President Umaru Yar’Adua of Nigeria, left, and Atiku Abubakar, a rival who unsuccessfully

challenged his election in court. Feb 26 2008

An appeals court has ruled Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo did not have the power to sack his vice-president for joining an opposition party.

The court in the capital, Abuja, ruled Atiku Abubakar should remain in his post despite his defection to the Action Congress for presidential polls.

In December, President Obasanjo's spokesman announced Mr Abubakar had "technically resigned" as a result.

He also asked the ruling People's Democratic Party to find a replacement.

"The president has no power under the constitution... to declare the office of the vice-president vacant," Justice Umaru Abdullahi said in his ruling.

Nigerian VP 'cannot be removed‘ BBC Feb 20 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6378625.stm

Mr Abubakar's spokesman Garba Shehu immediately hailed the verdict, describing it as "a huge relief and a demonstration of the fact that the judiciary works in Nigeria".

"The president should go and bury his head in shame. He has lost all the cases he instituted against the vice-president."

The ruling is to be challenged in Nigeria's Supreme Court.

It is the latest twist in a long-running political struggle between the two men, after Mr Abubakar blocked the president's attempt to stand for a third term in the forthcoming presidential election in April.

Nigeria court upholds Yar'Adua electoral victory Tue Feb 26, 9:03 AM ET

A Nigerian court Tuesday upheld the April 2007 election of Umaru Yar'Adua as Nigeria's president, dismissing two petitions requesting a re-run on grounds of electoral fraud."Since the two consolidated petitions have failed, Umaru Yar'Adua and Goodluck Jonathan remain validly elected as president and vice president of Nigeria," presiding judge James Ogebe ruled.Opposition candidates Atiku Abubakar and Muhammadu Buhari, who both lost to Yar'Adua in last year's poll, said the election was rigged and should be annulled.

Federalism• At independence, Nigeria had three states • The number of states grew to 19 in 1976, to 30 by 1991,

and since 1996, there have been 36 states plus the Federal Capital territory.

• In 2003, President Obasanjo promised considering adding more– By adding states the government helps to defuse ethnic-based

political conflict– The cost for increased numbers of governments has steadily

increased – Competition for oil money is fierce amongst the states. What we

call Pork Barrel politics in the USA is called “CHOP-CHOP” politics in Nigeria

“Chop Chop” PoliticsChop (as defined by the Babawilly Dictionary)

1. Food 2. Income 3. Bribe 4. Embezzle money (e.g Dat Oga chop belle-full bifor e

retire).

“Chop-chop politics” refers to the basic log-rolling idea. If I help you get your “chop,” you’ll help me get my “chop.”

(Wedding, p. 159)

The Nigerian States (36)• Each of the 36 states is headed by a popularly elected

governor who serves a four year term;• Each state has a unicameral State House of Assembly

(comprised of popularly elected representatives from the local government areas);

• The number of House of Assembly members in each state is comprised of three times the number of seats that it has in the House of Representatives

• There area total of 774 local government areas across Nigeria

Centralization: • national government control of the lion’s share of oil revenues has provided the

patrimonial glue that keeps the local regions dependent on the center. Put simply, the central government controls the purse strings, and the Nigerian purse depends almost completely on oil revenues. Not surprisingly, as oil revenues have expanded, so has the public sector at all levels and the levels of corruption associated with this patronage. At the same time, it has led to increased disputes over the percentage of these oil revenues—known as the “derivation formula”—that that should accrue back to the oil-producing localities.

Relation b/w State and Federal gov’ts; Oil revenues help the __________ gov’t

Sharia was very popular in the north when introduced

Twelve northern Nigerian states have introduced Sharia since the year 2000. The move initially heightened tensions between Muslims and Christians and led to clashes which left thousands dead.

Many amputations sentences have not been carried out

SHARIA LAW

Safiya Husseini, acquitted after death sentence for adultery

Evid of Centralization or Decentralization?

The authorities in the northern Nigerian state of Kano have imposed a ban on Muslim men and women travelling together on public transport.

        You have no excuse to carry a woman who is neither your wife nor your mother on a motorcycle        

Ibrahim KalielMuslim cleric

Elections in __________ (year)

2011 Gubernatorial election results

In an effort to assure that the president serves with a national mandate, Nigeria’s constitution requires that the winning presidential candidate obtain both the highest number of overall votes and at least 25 percent of the ballots cast in at least two-thirds of the states. This became an issue of contention in the 1979 election when the Supreme Court was called upon to determine what constituted two-thirds of Nigeria’s then only 19 states (now there are 36). Ultimately the court ruled that Shagari’s victory in 12 states—not the 13 demanded by the opposition—sufficed and Shagari was named president. The constitution holds that if no candidate succeeds in reaching the two-thirds threshold in the first round, a second round of voting takes place a week later pitting top candidates against each other.

ElectionsAs in the United States, Nigerians directly elect their president and separately elect members of both chambers of their legislature, the National Assembly.

But unlike the United States, presidents, senators, and representatives all serve four year terms and all three elections are held simultaneously.

All 360 seats in the House of Representatives are contested in single member voting districts divided roughly equally by population; wta

The 109 members of the Senate are elected from Nigeria’s 36 states, with each state comprising a 3-seat multi-member constituency district. The federal district or “capital territory” of Abuja also elects one senator in a single seat constituency for the 109th seat. Although the Senate’s multi-member districts with their smaller threshold for victory would seem to afford smaller parties a better chance of electing candidates than the winner-take-all system used in the House, in fact only three parties are represented in the Senate, while four additional smaller parties have managed to win either one or two seats in the House. The success of these smaller parties reflects the geographic concentration of ethnic groups willing to vote in blocs large enough to obtain a plurality of votes, such as the Kanuri minority of Northeastern Nigeria.

Unions have existed in Nigeria for almost a century

Civil Society

Neither the British colonial government nor the series of military authoritarian regimes has been able to squelch Nigeria’s rich tradition of activism and dissent. Even Abacha’s oppressive dictatorship in the 1990s could not fully muzzle what one foreign observer referred to as Nigerian citizens’ “defiant spunk.”

The Nigerian Media• When compared to other like countries, it is well

developed and independent, a touch of Britain perhaps? About 80 national and local papers are available in English, but literacy is a major concern

• BBC: Nigeria's media scene is one of the most vibrant in Africa. State-run radio and TV services reach virtually all parts of the country and operate at a federal and regional level. All 36 states run their own radio stations, and most of them operate TV services

General Abacha acted out of the norm when he closed newspapers and magazines in 1994.

• Most of the media is ethnic based, and the more outspoken sources generally are found in the south.

• A lot of the media is also government run, but the private broadcasters are some of the most competitive in Africa and radio news is very popular (Wedding, pp. 156-15

5 Die in Violence Over Nigeria's Census LAGOS, Nigeria, March 20 (Reuters) — Five people were killed and dozens injured in southwestern Nigeria in weekend clashes linked to this week's national census, the police said Monday.The census is the first attempt in 15 years by Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, to conduct a head count. Estimates of Nigeria's population range from 120 million to 150 million, and the government says it needs more precise data.Organizers have excluded ethnicity and religion from the census questionnaire to avoid the rigging and fighting by rival interest groups that discredited previous censuses.

The census dictates who really holds power

However, some communities are hoping to use the census to record their claims to land or property. In southwestern Ondo State, fighting broke out between the Ijaw and Ikale communities over ownership of the village of Taribo."Five people were killed in the clashes," a police spokesman said by telephone from Akure, the capital of Ondo State. "We recovered their bodies from the bush."The violence in Ondo was one of several incidents before the census, which starts on Tuesday and runs until Saturday.Census organizers have to deal with the logistical challenges of a vast, chaotic, impoverished country with few decent roads, as well as rival regions, religious communities and ethnic groups eager to assert their numerical superiority.

The last census was carried out 14 years ago BBC March 21,2006

Social Movements

Members of Movement for the Emancipation for the Niger Delta.Photo: George Osodi/AP

Initially as spokesperson, and then as President, of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Saro-Wiwa led a nonviolent campaign against environmental damage associated with the operations of multinational oil companies, especially Shell.He was executed by the Nigerian Military in 1995, his death provoking international outrage

Nigeria’s Economy

Almost of all of Nigeria's current production of about 2.6/mbpd comes from the onshore Niger Delta region shown here.

OIL

A Rentier StateA state that derives a substantial portion of its revenue on a regular basis from

payments by foreign concerns in the form of rents: a subsystem of rentier economy, which is an economy heavily supported by state expenditure, while the state itself continually receives rents from abroad.

Bonny, site of one of Shell's

main oil facilities in Nigeria.

the capital-intensive oil sector provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues

A major oil exporter to the USNigeria, meanwhile, is the fifth-biggest supplier of US oil imports - and Africa's largest oil exporter. In 10 years, by some estimates, the US will get a fourth of its oil from Africa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/africa_fighting_for_nigeria0s_oil/html/1.stm

Fighting for Nigeria’s Oil: click on the link to see pictures

As in other less developed countries, in the years following independence the country opted for a system of import substitution, creating tariff barriers and parastatal industries with the objective of rapidly industrializing the country. This ambitious program was made possible by oil sales, which during the 1970s benefited from high prices. These programs suffered from corruption, but just as importantly, the Nigerian state directed resources toward industries for political reasons, without a clear understanding of whether such investments would be profitable. For example, eight billion dollars was spent in the attempt to create a domestic steel industry that in the end barely produced any steel The decline in oil prices in the 1980s and subsequent economic crisis and deep foreign debt led Nigeria to initiate a policy of structural adjustment that moved the country away from import substitution, though the economy remained highly regulated and closed to trade.

These two-hundred foot tall pillars of flaming natural gas have been burning constantly since the 1970s.

From the CIA FACTBOOK:

Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.

Corruption crack down May 2005: BBC Former police chief Tafa Balogun appeared in court in handcuffs

In the last year the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003 the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management..

Economy from the CIA fact book continued

National Economic and Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). NEEDS has tackled several important areas. First, it has increased the transparency of its finances. This includes auditing the accounts of various levels of government to oversee how money is being spent and making these findings available to the public. Second, the government has begun to pursue actively corruption within the state and improve the rule of law, creating, for example, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to pursue theft and money laundering (and seizing over a half billion dollars in the process).[i] NEEDS is also focusing on the poor infrastructure of the country, seeking to boost electricity production, improve transportation, increase telecommunications, and expand access to sanitation and clean drinking water. The goal, then, is to both reform the both reform the state while expanding the provision of basic social expenditures across Nigeria

GDP growth rate: 6/1% 2007 est CIA world factbookGDP ppp $2,200

As of April 2006, Nigeria became the first African country to fully pay off its debt (estimated $30 billion) owed to the Paris Club.

The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world's richest countries, which provides financial services such as debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors. Debtors are often recommended by the International Monetary Fund after alternative solutions have failed. The permanent member-nations of the club are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

DEBT

A trash dump in Lagos, Nigeria. By some estimates, misrule has cost the national treasury $400 billion in theft and waste

A man washed soot from his face Tuesday in Lagos, Nigeria, after a gas pipeline ruptured by thieves exploded. At least 260 people were killed in the blast, which spewed fire and black smoke. It was the latest oil-industry disaster in Nigeria, Africa’s largest petroleum

producer. Dec 27, 2006

Gas Line Explodes in Nigeria, Killing at Least 260

DANGEROUS BUSINESS A Shell Oil pipeline caught fire in southern Nigeria last summer after an attack by gunmen.

One Reason Gas Is Emptying Your Wallet: Nigeria

In Ijegun, a suburb of Lagos, people tried to stop the spread of an oil-fed fire on Thursday.

100 Feared Dead in Nigerian Pipeline Fire

May 16, 2008 LAGOS, Nigeria — More than 100 people were feared dead on Thursday after a construction vehicle struck an oil pipeline on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, setting off an oil-fed inferno that spread to surrounding homes and a school.

Oil company employees are suspected of selling their skills to oil bunkerers

Moreover, human capital is underdeveloped—Nigeria ranked 151 out of 177 countries in the United Nations Development Index in 2004—and non-energy-related infrastructure is inadequate

Coloured world map indicating Human Development Index

██ 0.950 and over ██ 0.900–0.949 ██ 0.850–0.899 ██ 0.800–0.849 ██ 0.750–0.799 ██ 0.700–0.749

██ 0.650–0.699 ██ 0.600–0.649 ██ 0.550–0.599 ██ 0.500–0.549 ██ 0.450–0.499 ██ 0.400–0.449

██ 0.350–0.399 ██ 0.300–0.349 ██ under 0.300 ██ N/A

The Human Development Index (HDI) provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

Nigeria ranked 154 out of 177 countries, in the 2008 Human Development Index, missing the bottom by 23 places

2009 it ranks 158

Go to: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_NGA.html

Corruption is a problem: Corruption Perceptions Index 2008

To see the list: http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2008/cpi2008/cpi_2008_table

Nigeria’s Elite v. The Masses• The Elite are Politically

Active; Urban; Educated; English speaking; and involved in a money economy. They seek a representative government, honesty, and civil liberties.• BUT the masses-urban and rural- are subjects and not politically

active except during some campaigns. They are more likely involved in some kind of patron-client network. They are not well educated (half the population is illiterate), do not speak English (except as a Creole or pidgin), and most are involved in subsistence economy even when they earn money.

• Prebendalism: patronage but with money not jobs

Sadly, the most prominent form of governance in independent Nigeria has been patrimonialism, in which the personal rule of an authoritarian leader has been shored up by the economic privileges he bestowed upon a coterie of loyal followers. Not surprisingly, the divisiveness, corruption, and illegitimacy of this patrimonialism has meant the bullets of military coups, not the ballots of electoral democracy, have far more frequently determined Nigerian regime shifts and changes in government.

Each of these shifts has shared at least two things in common. All have come to power promising improved governance and each has largely failed to deliver on this promise. Whether military or civilian, authoritarian or democratic, no regime to date has worked particularly well in Nigeria. On a brighter note, the current Fourth Republic—ushered in with the transition to civilian democracy in 1999—has successfully sponsored three elections, kept the military in its barracks, and survived longer than any of its democratic predecessors. Perhaps most important, the Nigerians seem very willing to keep trying. As one observer notes, “Although they have badly botched it up when they achieve democratic rule, Nigerians refuse to settle for anything less

Nigeria seesaws between civilian and military governments