NIGERIA

Reports on Ethnic Relations  /  Rapports sur les relations éthniques

The following section is consisted of part, full or summaries of articles from diverses sources (newspapers, newsletters, etc...).
La section suivante est constituée d'exraits, de la totalité ou de résumés d'articles provenant d'origines diverses (journaux,bulletins, etc..).

01 / 30 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "Focus on the dominance of retired generals in politics"

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

Prior to elections in 1999 that ended more than 15 years of military rule in Nigeria, soldiers had steered the ship of state in Africa's most populous country for all but 10 years since its 1960 independence from Britain.

When Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military ruler, won the elections four years ago, many analysts justified his victory on the grounds that someone with a military background was needed to keep adventurous soldiers in check while Nigeria made the transition to sustainable democracy.

Now, with Obasanjo seeking a second four-year term the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP)'s candidate at presidential elections on 19 April, two of his leading opponents are retired generals.

General Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the main opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), was the man who toppled the elected government of Shehu Shagari in December 1983. He ruled for 20 months before he was in turn overthrown by his then army chief, General Ibrahim Babangida.

The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Ike Nwachukwu, another retired general, was a foreign minister in the Babangida regime.

Retired soldiers are not only making their presence felt in presidential politics. Several others had won elections in 1999 either as senators or representatives in the national legislature. The ANPP's Mohammed Lawal, a former navy chief, was elected governor of Kwara State in central Nigeria. Dozens more are now seeking election as governors, senators, state legislators or local council chairmen.

"There are two ways to look at the development," Ike Onyekwere, a political analyst, told IRIN. "It's either that these former soldiers who had been military rulers have become converts to democracy and want to be active participants, or that having tasted power they have become addicted to it and now want it by other means."

At a recent public lecture, Wole Soyinka, a Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate, described the trend as a bad omen for Nigeria. What he saw emerging was a process whereby former military rulers, "usurpers of our national will", were now using the means and clientele built up during their years in power to continue imposing their will on the populace.

"The military elements are changing their studded boots for shuffling shoes," Soyinka said. "They have accumulated so much wealth in office that they can afford to bankroll political parties with tentacles in every locality."

He singled out for particular criticism former military ruler Babangida, who annulled elections in 1993 that had been adjudged free and fair by local and international observers and plunged Nigeria into its worst political crisis since civil war in the late 1960s. Babangida has admitted nursing presidential ambitions, but wants to await an auspicious moment. He is reputed to be the main backer and financier of at least four leading political parties.

In 1999, Babangida had provided substantial support for Obasanjo that made his eventual victory possible. His imprints and those of his close friend General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Obasanjo's predecessor, are very visible in the current government.

Retired General Mohammed Aliyu Gusau, who was Babangida's national security adviser during his eight years in power, is performing the same function for Obasanjo. General Abdullahi Mohammed, who was Abubakar's national security adviser, is now the chief of staff at the presidency.

With such a constellation of retired generals at the forefront of Nigeria's democratic dispensation, local newspapers have dubbed the coming elections "the battle of the generals". Some analysts fear that military tactics may even be unleashed in a desperate attempt by various factions and interest groups to win power, and fear what the consequences might be for Nigeria's fragile unity.

Buhari, who appears to be the main challenger to Obasanjo, has promised to give the president "the fight of his life" in the polls. With his recent antecedents, there is a likelihood that his candidacy may further serve to polarise Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines.

A Muslim Hausa-Fulani from the north, Buhari was reported by local newspapers to have supported the adoption of the strict Islamic or Shari'ah legal code by several northern states in the heat of religious riots that rocked the city of Kaduna in early 2000.

In his bid to have a second term in office, Obasanjo has secured the support of his Yoruba home region in the southwest. The southwest had felt cheated by the annulment of the 1993 vote, which businessman Moshood Abiola, a Yoruba, had been poised to win. That victory, scuttled by a military then dominated by Hausa-speaking Muslims, heightened tension between Yorubas and northerners, resulting in periodic outburts of ethnic violence.

The southeast, dominated by the Ibo ethnic group, has produced presidential candidates with military backgrounds in the form of the NDP's Nwachukwu and Emeka Ojukwu, who as a colonel in the Nigerian army declared the secessionist Republic of Biafra in 1967.

Both men have pitched their campaign on the need to end the perceived marginalisation of Ibos since they lost the civil war more than 30 years ago. Ojukwu opened his campaign as candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance last week by urging his supporters in the Ibo heartland of Aba to "be good Ibos before being good Nigerians".

Nigerian analyst Bade Adejare sees a danger that these military elements may be uncompromising in their attitude to politics and may further polarise the country of 250 ethnic groups and 120 million people. With Nigeria's unity shaken by ethnic and religious violence in the last three and half years that has claimed thousands of lives, Adejare doubts it has the capacity to withstand further violence without risking disintegration.

"That certainly will not be the shelter from the storm which the presence of the generals in politics was supposed to provide Nigerian democracy," he told IRIN.

HUMAN RIGHT WATCH

The article: "Nigeria: Political Violence Increasing Before Elections"

The Nigerian government is doing far too little to prevent a wave of political violence in the pre-election period, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.

In April and early May, Nigeria is planning to hold elections for national and state office, hoping for the first successful civilian-to-civilian transfer of power since independence in 1960.

Some Nigerian officials have publicly condemned the rising political violence. The fifteen-page briefing paper, "Nigeria at the Crossroads: Human Rights Concerns in the Pre-Election Period,” documents how politicians across Nigeria have used violence as a tool to acquire or retain political support, wealth and influence. It is based in part on research conducted by Human Rights Watch in Nigeria in December 2002.

"A successful transfer of power means more than just keeping the country from falling apart,” said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa division at Human Rights Watch. "It means that voters must be protected from intimidation and violence aimed at silencing their voices. It means that candidates must be able to stand for office without fear of bloodshed.”

Many politicians have taken advantage of rampant poverty and unemployment to recruit young men, who intimidate and even kill their opponents or opponents' supporters. For example, in Kwara state, supporters of the governor and the leading gubernatorial candidate have been in conflict, leading to the killing of a state party chairman in August 2002 and the bombing of a newspaper office in November 2002.

Some of the worst violence took place during the primaries of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), particularly in the oil-producing state of Bayelsa, in the south. Politically-motivated killings and other attacks have occurred in many other areas, including the southeast and the southwest. In central and northern states, some politicians have used religion and ethnicity to galvanize political support or opposition, stirring up sentiments that could spark further communal violence in Nigeria, as evidenced by the so-called Miss World riots in Kaduna in November 2002.

Most of the cases of political violence remain unresolved. Although the police have made some arrests, prosecutions are rare. "Impunity is encouraging ruthless politicians to believe they can continue using violence to silence their opponents,” said Takirambudde.

The Human Rights Watch briefing paper also documents the status of preparations for elections, and makes recommendations to the Nigerian government and the international community on how to help prevent political violence and ensure that the elections are free of human rights abuses.

"People in Nigeria have proven they are eager to vote and participate,” said Takirambudde. "But many may still be left out, either because of the bungling of preparations by the electoral commission, or because of outright intimidation and fraud by candidates.”

While the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) recognition of twenty-four new political parties in December 2002 was a welcome development, INEC's January 17, 2003, announcement of very substantial "processing fees" for each fielded candidate has presented a new obstacle to the less established parties. In addition, despite widespread complaints of violent intimidation and fraud in the first voter registration exercise in September 2002, INEC has not fully explained when and exactly how eligible voters can appeal their exclusion from the voters' register. A short voter registration period from January 21-23, which took place only in centralized locations, seemed unlikely to resolve all of these cases, and the logistics of a period of claims and objections planned for February remain unclear. The timing of local elections, originally scheduled for April 2002, also has yet to be finalized.

Human Rights Watch urged foreign governments and international organizations to mobilize observer delegations at least several weeks in advance of elections to monitor conduct in the pre-election period when violence is likely to be most intense, and to continue to support Nigerian groups who will undertake the bulk of the monitoring work.

"Nigeria has emerged as a leader in international fora like the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), which is trying to emphasize the importance of good governance and respect for human rights,” said Takirambudde. "But to maintain its credibility there, Nigeria needs to prove it is willing and able to deal with human rights violations at home, including political violence.” >>>>> Briefing Paper

01 / 24 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "24 parties sue electoral body over election fees"

A coalition of 24 Nigerian political parties on Thursday filed a suit in an Abuja court challenging the decision of the country's electoral commission to impose fees on contestants in coming general elections.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced it would charge as "processing fees" amounts ranging from 500,000 naira (US $4,000) for presidential candidates to 25,000 naira ($200) for those seeking local government councillorships.

Gani Fawehinmi, leading human rights lawyer and presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, filed the suit on behalf of the parties challenging the INEC condition as nconstitutional.

The aggrieved parties, most of whom were registered late last year to contest April-May general elections after they won a drawn out legal battle at the Supreme Court, accuse INEC of placing more obstacles in their way by imposing the fees.

The Supreme Court had ruled that guidelines used by INEC to exclude the parties from registration were unconstitutional.

But the electoral body has defended its decision to charge fees as within its constitutional powers. INEC secretary, Hakeem Buba, told reporters the body wanted to overcome financial constraints that could impede its efforts to ensure a smooth election.

Six other parties, including the ruling People's Democratic Party and the two other parties that contested 1999 elections that ended more than 15 years of military rule in Nigeria, have not complained against the fees.[ENDS]

The Article: "Women protesters disrupt work at navy base"

Hundreds of women protesters in Nigeria's southern Niger Delta have blocked access and disrupted construction of a new naval facility planned by the government to protect oil operations in the troubled region, residents said Friday.

They said the women from the ethnic Ijaw community of Beniboye, including teenagers and grandmothers, began blocking the waterways leading to the proposed naval base on mouth of the Forcados river, near the Atlantic coast since last week.

Navy vessels carrying construction materials were prevented from reaching the site.

"The women are not happy the government wants to build a base there when they lack basic amenities," Johnson Ekpebide, a member of the community, told IRIN.

Oil transnational, Royal/Dutch Shell, which produces about half of Nigeria's oil, has one of its two main oil export terminals near the proposed naval base.

Captain Titus Awoyemi, the commanding officer for the naval base in the nearby oil town of Warri, told reporters he had received a request from some members of the community demanding a six million naira (US $47,244)compensation to allow work to continue.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, has in the last decade seen an upsurge of protests by communities in the southern oil region, pressing for more access to the oil wealth produced on their land.

Armed militants frequently disrupt oil operations, kidnapping and taking both foreign and Nigerian workers of oil companies hostage for ransome.

President Olusegun Obasanjo, since his election in 1999, has moved to boost military presence in the region to protect oil installations from the disruptive activities of the militants.

In July 2002 hundreds of women besieged the Escravos oil export terminal of US transational, ChevronTexaco for 10 days, to back demands for jobs and amenities for their nearby communities. Since then women have increasingly taken a frontline role in the oil region protests.

01 / 22 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "Make-up voters' registration starts nationwide"

Supplementary registration of eligible voters for this year's general elections started nationwide in Nigeria on Tuesday, to a mixed response by the public.

The exercise organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is scheduled to last three days and is aimed at people who were unable to register during the main exercise in September last year.

INEC officials said an enthusiastic response was recorded in some states, including Lagos, the country's biggest city, and southeastern Enugu State. But in some other states, such as Rivers and Bayelsa in the southern oil region, turnout was poor.

"It's not unusual to get a mixed response on the first day of such an exercise," a senior INEC official told IRIN. "Things are bound to improve in the remaining days."

Officials said extra steps had been taken to prevent the malpractices that marred the last exercise. The registration then was dogged by persistent scarcity of materials, with INEC admitting some of its agents colluded with some unscrupulous politicians to divert large quantities of voter cards.

The chairman of INEC, Abel Guobadia, confirmed early this week that more than two million registrations had been invalidated due mostly to double registration.

Fears are rife that a rigged ballot in the first elections in Nigeria since 1999 elections that ended more than a decade and a half of military rule, might trigger the sort of violence that had in the past provided pretexts for military intervention.

01 / 21 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "Obasanjo's nomination challenged"

President Olusegun Obasanjo's main challenger for Nigeria's ruling party presidential ticket on Monday filed a suit in court to invalidate the incumbent President's nomination.

Alex Ekwueme, a former civilian vice president, in his court papers said Obasanjo's election at the 5 January People's Democratic Party (PDP) primaries was in violation of party regulations. He is also alleging that ballot papers were numbered by party officials who intimidated voting delegates that those who voted against Obasanjo would be detected.

"Obasanjo was not validly elected at the presidential primary of the PDP...in that he failed to comply with the electoral guidelines," Ekwueme said in his court papers.

Obasanjo had scored more than 75 percent of the votes cast by more than 3,000 delegates against the 17 percent of Ekwueme, his closest rival. Two other contestants scored less than two percent each.

But Ekwueme wants the court to stop the PDP from presenting Obasanjo as its candidate in the 19 April presidential elections and to declare him as the duly elected nominee instead.

The court action coincided with the verdict of Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of human rights groups and civil society organisations that monitored the primaries, said that the nomination process of PDP and the main opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) were marred by bribery and intimidation.

"Although from the outward observation of the voting process of the parties the elections appear transparent, free and fair, there was widespread bribery of delegates with sacks stuffed with money to influence their votes," said the TMG report published on Monday.

"Undue pressure, including subtle threats and intimidation were employed by agents of the government to compel delegates to vote in favour of the preferred aspirants," it added.

While Obasanjo emerged the PDP candidate, another retired general and former military ruler like himself, Muhammadu Buhari, emerged the candidate of ANPP with the backing of several state governors in the party 's northern stronghold.

General elections scheduled to be held between April and May will be the first since the 1999 vote that brought Obasanjo to office and ended more than 15 years of military rule.

The elections are considered a crucial test for Nigeria's young democracy, coming after a three and half year period when Africa's most populous country of 120 million has been wracked by ethnic and religious violence that claimed thousands of lives.

01 / 06 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "Obasanjo wins party nomination for second term"

Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday was declared the ruling party's candidate for April elections after he scored an overwhelming victory to beat off the challenge of three rivals.

Obasanjo scored 2,642 votes, more than 75 percent of total votes cast by delegates, leaving his closest rival Alex Ekwueme, a former vice president, trailing with 611 votes – just over 17 percent. The other contestants, Abubakar Rimi, a former state governor, and ex-party chairman, Barnabas Gemade, scored a paltry 159 votes and 17 votes respectively.

But Obasanjo was magnanimous in victory, praising the other contestants for the ticket of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) for giving a good fight. He also used the opportunity to present his Vice President Atiku Abubakar as his running mate for presidential election set for 19 April.

"The success of the primaries has confirmed the resilience of the democratic principles in PDP,” Obasanjo said. "The victory we have here today is not victory for the Obasanjo and Atiku ticket. It's not defeat for anybody, it's victory for the PDP.”

But his rivals condemned the electoral process that gave him victory as flawed.

"I tell you frankly that from my experience in the last few weeks, everything appears to have been organised to make this convention a charade,” Ekwueme, the president's main challenger, said.

"I can't in my conscience accept a voting system that is not in accordance with the regulations of our party. A good loser has to be a good loser when the game is played according to the rules, but not otherwise,” he added.

Ekwueme alleged that delegates were intimidated by the government through "carrot-and-stick” tactics to vote for the incumbent. He said unknown to other contestants the party leadership had given serial numbers to ballots given to delegates in such a way to detect how they voted, subverting the principle of secrecy of votes.

The other contestants spoke in similar vein, with Rimi predicting that many disaffected party members will be leaving the PDP for other political parties.

The PDP convention has started of Friday, with actual voting beginning on Sunday evening and continuing overnight.

With the conclusion of the convention the party becomes the first of 30 political parties vying in this year's elections to announce its presidential nominee.

The polls will be the first since Obasanjo's election in 1999 ended more than 15 years of military rule. The vote is also considered crucial for Africa's most populous country of 120 million being another attempt to organise a first successful civilian transition of power in the country's history.

Previous attempts in 1966 and 1983 had been accompanied by widespread electoral violence resulting in military intervention.

Fears of violence have also been heightened by Nigeria's worst cycle of ethnic and religious violence in the past three years, which have claimed thousands of lives.

01 / 03 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "Opposition party picks former military ruler as candidate"

Nigeria's main opposition All Nigeria People's Party on Wednesday declared a former military ruler, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, its presidential candidate for coming elections after his rivals withdrew from the contest in protest.

Five presidential aspirants, all from the mainly Christian southern Nigeria, withdrew from the race just before ballots were cast after midnight, accusing the ANPP leadership of manipulating the process to ensu re the emergence of Buhari.

Buhari is a Muslim from the north, the stronghold of the party where it won nine state governorships in 1999 elections that ended a decade and half of military rule.

The party's electoral officer and governor of Kwara State, Mohammed Lawal, said Buhari scored 4,328 delegate votes. More than 6,000 delegates were expected to cast their votes but the rest abstained after the candidates they supported withdrew from the race.

Chuba Okadigbo, a former senate president impeached in 2000 over corruption charges, was chosen as his running mate in 19 April polls for which incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo has already been nominated by the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Okadigbo, who was until two months ago in the PDP, is a Chrisitian from southeastern Nigeria.

"The PDP government has failed, it has failed its supporters, it has failed Nigerians, it has failed the international community," Buhari said in his acceptance speech, urging voters to reject Obasanjo.

Buhari, who drew widespread media criticisms for speaking two years ago in favour of strict Islamic law introduced by states in the overwhelmingly Muslim states of the north, used the opportunity to reassure non-Muslims.

"If given the mandate I will serve faithfully and without discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, tribe or any other primordial consideration," he added.

Buhari in December 1983 came to power as military ruler after he toppled the elected governemnt of Shehu Shagari. He was in turn overthrown 20 months later by General Ibrahim Babangida to continue what was to become 15 years of army rule that ended with the election of Obasanjo in 1999. [ENDS]

01 / 02 / 2003 

IRIN

The article: "Obasanjo says sorry for Benue killings"

President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday apologised for a military action he ordered against some communities in Benue State in Nigeria's central region in which more than 200 civilians were killed.

Obasanjo was in the Benue capital, Makurdi, to attend a reconciliation forum organised by the state's branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria. He was accompanied to the event by the state governor, George Akume.

The president had ordered soldiers after local militiamen who killed 19 soldiers out of troops sent to quell violent clashes between Tivs and their Jukun neighbours on the border between Benue and Taraba states. The soldiers carried out reprisal attacks against several Tiv villages located around where the soldiers were killed, killing at least 200 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Obasanjo at the time said the soldiers acted in self-defence and refused to condemn the killings.

"There is no doubt that we need to seek forgiveness from ourselves," he said at the reconciliation forum. "For me, I should say to you sorry, it should never have happened."

The apologies come four days before Obasanjo competes for the presidential ticket of the ruling People's Democratic Party in the capital Abuja. If Obasanjo beats four other contenders for nomination, he will have a chance to run for a second and final term in presidential elections due on 19 April.

Thousands of people have been killed in Nigeria in ethnic and religious conflicts since Obasanjo's election in 1999 ended 15 years of brutal military rule. Opponents accuse Obasanjo of mismanaging Nigeria's conflicts. But he has blamed them on the rot caused by decades of military rule, saying he needs more time to solve them.