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..).

09 / 25 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Focus on the problems of voter registration"

At a time of growing apprehension about the successful conduct of general elections due in Nigeria early next year, a voter registration exercise from 12 to 22 September was expected to be a reassuring first step, indicating that all would go well.

What will be Nigeria's first general elections since President Olusegun Obasanjo came to power through the polls in 1999 takes on increased significance because no civilian government has conducted elections resulting in a successful transfer of power to a new civilian government in Nigeria's 42 years of nationhood.

Rather than dousing fears, however, the conduct of the voter registration exercise appears to have added to a growing sense of dread among Nigerians as the polls draw nearer.

Despite a massive turn-out of people across the vast country, the first major hitch reported was the widespread scarcity of registration materials. From all over Nigeria came reports that intending voters spent hours at registration centres without getting their names on the register.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which was in charge of the exercise, was the first to suggest that something untoward was going on. According to the electoral body, its estimate of eligible voters (aged 18 years and above), based on figures provided by the national population agency, was 59 million out of a total population of over 120 million.

"We rounded up at 60 million and even printed 70 million cards, 10 million more," said Abel Guobadia, INEC chairman.

Six days into the 12-day exercise, 66 million registration forms had been sent into the field, INEC said, suggesting that the continuing scarcity of materials was due to "widespread hoarding of forms by lower-level officials, possibly in collusion with other unscrupulous persons for purposes other than those for which they are meant".

Another reason proffered by INEC for the situation was that there was a mass of cases of "double, multiple and under-age registration" in many parts of the country.

The electoral body also admitted it had been inefficient in monitoring the availability and use of materials.

On 21 September, which was originally supposed to be the last day of the exercise, chaotic scenes developed in many registration centres across Nigeria, where intending voters, desperate to put their names on the register, outnumbered the number of registration forms available.

In the capital Abuja, a security operative who had jumped the queue shot and wounded four people as an angry mob gathered around him. Throughout Nigeria there were reports of electoral officials fleeing from registration centres when crowds became menacing.

Late on that day, INEC broadcast a statement on radio and television that the exercise had been extended by one day. But according to news reports from different parts of the country, electoral officials the next day did not turn up at many registration centres, either out of fear or for lack of materials.

The exercise ended with huge numbers of prospective Nigerian voters still unregistered.

Some of INEC's worst suspicions of malpractices have been borne out by some subsequent events:

In southwestern Oyo State, the police said on Tuesday (24 September) it was investigating a member of the House of Representatives belonging to the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD) party after he was found with hundreds of voter cards.

The Associated Press also published a photograph of an evidently underage boy being registered in the southwestern town of Abeokuta, an AD stronghold.

The AD and the All Nigeria People's Party (the leading opposition party) have, in turn, accused the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) of engaging in malpractices aimed at securing unfair advantage in forthcoming elections.

They said there were many instances where registration centres were moved without notice, or closed before time in PDP strongholds, in order to disenfranchise opposition supporters.

"What is clear from the registration (of voters) exercise is that Nigerian politicians are not ready to play by the rules," Ike Onyekwere, a political analyst told IRIN.

"It is worrying with the coming elections in view, considering that rigging and other electoral malpractices were the bane of previous democratic experiments in this country," he added.

Onyekwere recalled that massive electoral fraud in votes held in 1964 and 1983, and the political turmoil those situations induced by providing the pretext for military elements to remove two different civilian
governments from power.

"With the growing political violence in Nigeria and the desperation among politicians to win by all means, they could push the country over the precipice," he added.

The voter registration exercise also showed that some of the ethnic and religious crises that have rocked the country in recent years are still smouldering, and may still come in the way of a smooth electoral
process.

In parts of central Nigeria, which has been afflicted by bitter ethnic clashes in the last year, voter registration was considered unsafe and did not take place.

These areas included parts of Benue and Taraba states, where violent clashes between the Tiv and Jukun communities in 2001 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.

Also affected were parts of Plateau and Bauchi states, where Christian and Muslim communities have engaged in bloody feuds - inflamed by the introduction of strict Islamic or Shari'ah law in predominantly Muslim areas of northern Nigeria.

In the volatile Niger Delta oil region of the south, ethnic Ijaw militants are still holding onto oil facilities they seized during the voter registration exercise.

They said the seizure and closure of oil pumping stations belonging to oil giants Royal/Dutch Shell and ChevronTexaco was to protest what they considered to be cheating in the delineation of electoral wards for the recent registration exercise.

Despite all these problems, INEC is still confident of getting the voter registration and the subsequent elections right.

For instance, it has announced that, from 26 September, Nigerians have one month to review the voters' list to spot errors and cases of fraud for necessary amendments.

According to the commission, its unprecedented computerisation of the voting register will allow it to spot and invalidate all cases of multiple registration by voters.

In addition, eligible voters who have not been registered will have another opportunity to do so in another round of registration early next year, according to INEC.

However, it did not make any comment on the fact that such voters will not be able to vote in local elections due to take place by December.

09 / 24 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Ijaw militants seize oil facilities"

Militants from ethnic Ijaw communities in the west of Nigeria's Niger Delta oil region said on Tuesday they had shut down a number of oil facilities in protest at what they consider to have
been cheating in the delineation of wards for the recent voter registration exercise.

The group, which identified itself as the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC), said the oil facilities affected by their action belonged to oil giants Royal/Dutch Shell and ChevronTexaco.

The facilities, located at Odidi, Egwa, Jones Creek, Batan and Abiteye, were said to have a combined production capacity of over 350,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

FNDIC alleged that ethnic rivals of the Ijaws, the Itsekiris, were favoured over them in the allocation of wards and registration centres in the area around the oil town of Warri, despite having a smaller population.

"The Itsekiris were given 147 registration units while Ijaws had 40," Dan Ekpebiga, spokesman for FNDIC, told IRIN.

"We protested to the government and other appropriate authorities, and there was so response, so we decided to take action to remind the government that so many resources are being taken from our area," he added.

Ekpebiga said the number of wards allocated to Ijaws in the Warri area had also been progressively reduced from 10 to four, and that the Ijaws believe these administrative measures reflect a framework through which they will be denied access to resources and amenities.

Shell officials confirmed that a number of its facilities had been shut down and evacuated after they were invaded by militants.

"What we have tried to explain to them - so far without success - is that their grievances are political, have nothing to do with us, and should be directed at the government," a company spokesman told IRIN.

ChevronTexaco officials were not available for comment.

Between 1997 and 1999 hundreds of people died in clashes between Ijaws and Itsekiris around the town of Warri in disputes over the site of a local government headquarters.

The trouble started after the headquarters of the Warri South local government was relocated from an Ijaw area to an Itsekiri one under the late Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha.

The violence died down after 1999, when the elected civilian governor of Delta State, James Ibori, returned the local government headquarters to an Ijaw area.

09 / 23 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Voter registration ends amid complaints"

The registration of voters for next year's general elections ended on Sunday with huge numbers of people saying they were left out, despite a one-day extension of the exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Chaotic scenes built up on Saturday in many centres across the country where there was an inadequate supply of registration materials for the number of intending voters.

In response, INEC announced the release of 2.7 million extra registration form. It had initially released materials to cover an estimated 60 million eligible voters.

Late on Saturday evening, when the registration exercise was due to draw to a close, the commission broadcast a statement on radio and television announcing its extension to Sunday.

However, many officials did not show up at registration centres on Sunday and large numbers of potential voters remained unregistered.

"We don't believe there is shortage of materials," INEC chairman Abel Guobadia said on state television on Sunday night.

"We have used figures from the National Population Commission, which gave the population of eligible voters as 59 million. We rounded up at 60 million and even printed 70 million cards, 10 million more," he added.

Guobadia said his commission was baffled by complaints of the non-availability of registration forms, lending credence to allegations that unscrupulous politicians had connived with lower ranking electoral officials to divert registration materials.

Some observers reported that, in many centres, officials either appeared to sign up too many people too quickly or were registering under-aged people.

Officials of the electoral body warned that irregular registrations would be invalidated when it gets down to processing the data for Nigeria's first computerised electoral register.

Guobadia said those who were unable to register this time around would have another opportunity to do so early next year, before the general elections, which would be the first since the polls that ended more than 15 years of military rule ended in Africa's most populous country in 1999.

However, people not registered in the current exercise will not be able to vote in municipal elections due to be held before the end of this year.

Those polls, to elect new local governments for Nigeria's 120 million people, were due to have been held in April but were deferred in the absence of an up-to-date voting register.

09 / 19 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Anambra State critics at risk, says HRW"

Several critics of the government of Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria have received death threats following the assassination of lawyer Barnabas Igwe and his wife on 1
September, the US-based Human Rights Watch reported on Thursday.

"There is strong, credible evidence that Igwe and his wife were targeted for political reasons ­because of public criticism of the Anambra State government's performance," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Africa Division of HRW.

"Their deaths highlight the risks faced by other critics of the government," he added.

Igwe and close colleagues who denounced abuses by the state government had received direct threats from senior officials, both face to face and through telephone calls on personal mobile phones, according to Human Rights Watch.

"The threats were linked to criticism of the government's failure to pay salaries of workers for several months," the rights organisation stated.

"The lawyers had given the government a 21-day ultimatum to pay [the salaries] or resign; they had made these calls in public statements, widely broadcast through the media. State officials had previously made repeated attempts to silence them," it added.

Calling for an independent probe into the incident, HRW said Igwe and his wife were killed by a group of assailants who attacked them with machetes and shot them several times, then ran them over with their vehicle.

"We were alarmed to hear that people close to the victims have been receiving death threats ever since, including the very day after the killings, when at least one person was told that he would be next," Takirambudde said. "We are extremely worried for their safety."

Human Rights Watch said that while Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra
State had denied any involvement in the killings and announced that he would establish a panel of inquiry, only "an independent investigation can reveal the truth and identify the real perpetrators."

In May this year, HRW and the Lagos-based Centre for Law Enforcement Education documented several cases of politically motivated killings, arrests and torture by "the Bakassi Boys", a vigilante group allegedly used by the Anambra State government to intimidate its opponents.

09 / 17 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Complaints trail voter registration exercise"

Five days into a long overdue voter registration exercise, a shortage of materials and allegations of fraud and malpractice were among the complaints that have been reported from various parts of Nigeria.

In many registration centres in the country's biggest city and commercial capital, Lagos, intending voters were turned away because of a shortage of registration materials. Local newspapers on Tuesday reported similar complaints from different parts of the country.

However, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the shortages were deliberately induced by the electoral body "to avoid politicians hoarding the registration materials".

Its spokesman, Olusegun Adeogun, said additional materials would only be released to registration officials where requisitions had been verified and found to be genuine.

There were also media reports that politicians in some parts of the country had started buying voters' cards, and that under-age people were being registered by officials who were not adhering strictly to the stipulated rules.

On Monday, the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD) accused the ruling People's Democratic Party of indulging in malpractices aimed at securing unfair advantage in the elections scheduled for next year.

The party said in a statement that there were cases where registration centres had been moved without notice, and others where they were closed before the official time. Such irregularities "can mar the entire exercise and defeat its very purpose," it added.

The registration exercise, due to run to 21 September, is intended to pave the way for local elections that were to have been held in April but were deferred for lack of an up-to-date voting register.

It is an important step towards general elections scheduled to take place early next year - the first since the election of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 ended more than 15 years of military rule in Africa's most populous country.

09 / 16 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Cameroon-Nigeria: Bakassi tension behind plans for refugee centre"

Nigeria plans to set up a refugee centre in the southeastern city of Calabar in expectation that the border dispute with Cameroon might trigger a refugee crisis, a senior official in charge of refugees said on Saturday.

Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Professor Ignatius Gabriel, told reporters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, that an estimated four million Nigerians were living and working in Cameroon.

Many of these might want to return to Nigeria if the imminent ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the dispute between both countries over ownership of the Bakassi Peninsula had any unpleasant results, he added.

"We anticipate that, very soon, we might be faced with having to repatriate Nigerians living in Cameroon after the world court judgement," Gabriel said.

He said the Federal Commission for Refugees was already working with a presidential task force for the return of about 26,000 Nigerian herdsmen and their families who fled to Cameroon late last year and early this year, to escape ethnic clashes in Nigeria's northeast region.

Nigeria shares a border more than 1,000 km long with Cameroon, its eastern neighbour. A dispute erupted between both countries in December 1993 over ownership of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula, which juts into the Atlantic Ocean on their southern frontiers.

Cameroon filed a complaint with the ICJ in 1994, seeking a resolution not only of the Bakassi dispute but also of counter claims in the Lake Chad area in the north.

Both countries subsequently presented their arguments and hearings were concluded early this year. A ruling is expected before the end of the year.

09 / 13 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Plateau urges calm after church blast"

The Plateau State government in central Nigeria on Thursday urged residents of the state capital, Jos, to remain calm after a bomb attack on a church gave rise to tension in the city.

The explosion at the Church of Christ in Nigeria, in the Laranto suburb to the north of the city, on Wednesday caused slight damage but no injuries were reported.

However, there was a surge of tension in the city in which more than 1,000 people died exactly a year before in sectarian violence involving Christians and Muslims.

Since the September 2001 violence, clashes have occurred on a smaller scale between adherents of both faiths in different parts of Plateau State, claiming numerous lives.

"The state government wishes to reassure all citizens to remain calm [sic] and go about their normal businesses as this isolated incident is being tackled by the relevant security agencies," Ezekiel Gomos, secretary to the state government said on Thursday.

Those threatening the peace of the state would be dealt with decisively, he added.

Security agencies in Plateau State, including the police and military, have been put on alert. Police bomb experts and detectives have launched an investigation into the bombing.

Abraham Yiljap, spokesman for the Church of Christ in Nigeria, said the huge explosion on Wednesday morning shook buildings in the surrounding area and covered the church premises with thick, dark smoke.

The article: "Border issues around Lake Chad cause concern"

The governor of the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno has said there are conflicting border claims with Chad and Cameroon in the Lake Chad area, and that Nigeria is losing control of some island villages there.

Governor Mala Kachalla, who made a presentation on Wednesday to the presidential committee on national security in the city of Yola, said the Lake Chad region was also plagued by an influx of armed rebels and large-scale trafficking in illicit arms and children.

"There is no clear cut demarcation between Borno and neighbouring countries along the Lake Chad Basin and the Barkin-Kirawa axis," Kachalla said.

This situation compounded rival territorial claims and made immigration control difficult, he added.

There was now an urgent need to establish checkpoints and aerial surveillance in the border areas to deal with security problems in the region, according to Kachalla.

The Sambisa Games Reserve deserved special attention, having been been identified as a hideout for Chadian rebels blamed for widespread banditry in northeastern Nigeria, he said.

Security agencies in Nigeria have blamed remnants of rebel armies involved in insurrections in Chad and Niger, the country's northern neighbours, for unusually violent robberies and banditry reported in most parts of the northeast.

Disputes between Nigeria and its eastern neighbour, Cameroon, over the Lake Chad area are among the issues the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague is expected to address in a ruling later this year.

Cameroon filed a complaint with the ICJ in 1994 after a dispute with Nigeria over the ownership of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula in the Gulf of Guinea.

09 / 12 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Obasanjo denies flouting the constitution"

President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday defended himself against allegations that he has breached the Nigerian constitution in 17 different respects, for which he faces the threat of impeachment.

"All I have done, I have done in the best interest of our great country. I have not deliberately violated the law or the constitution," Obasanjo said in a written response to a 10-member committee of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which is mediating an impasse between him and the legislature.

The president, in a statement released to reporters, rebutted all 17 charges against him by the House of Representatives, point by point.

On 13 August, the lower chamber of parliament had issued Obasanjo a two-week ultimatum to resign or face impeachment proceedings. It accused him of accumulated breaches of the Nigerian constitution since he took office in 1999.

The upper chamber of parliament, the Senate, backed the House of Representatives in its action.

However, following the intervention of the leadership of the ruling PDP, which has an overwhelming majority in parliament, the House of Representatives last week listed 17 alleged breaches of the constitution and demanded that the president address them within 10 days through the party committee.

The chairman of the House Committee on Information, Farouk Lawan, told reporters on Wednesday that 200 of the 360 members of the lower chamber had already signed up to issue the president an impeachment notice.

The latest face-off between the executive and legislative arms of government marks a critical turn in persistent squabbles since Obasanjo's victory in 1999 elections, which ended more than 15 years of military rule in Africa's most populous country.

The recent events have worsened what has been a chaotic and violent build-up to the general elections scheduled for next year, raising widespread fears that things might spin out control or provide a pretext for military intervention.

09 / 23 / 2002 

Inter Press Service (ISP)

The article: "Nigeria/Cameroon: Agree to settle dispute through negotiations"

Nigeria and Cameroon have agreed to settle their long-running dispute over the ownership of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula, a 1,000-square-kilometre string of islands located in the Atlantic Ocean, through negotiations.

In an unpublicised trip to Paris by President Olusegun Obasanjo last week, the Nigerian leader met with his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya at a parley initiated, and attended, by Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General and French President Jacques Chirac.

The meeting came a month ahead of the Oct 19 verdict to be delivered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, The Netherlands, to which the two countries had referred the border dispute for adjudication.

Analysts say the meeting has brightened chances to a quick resolution of the conflict.

Fighting between Nigeria and Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula first flared in 1994, and both countries now have a large military presence on the island. The two countries have clashed several times over the peninsula since 1994, when Cameroon asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule on sovereignty.

A UN statement, made available to IPS this week, says a number of strategies, including a possible withdrawal of troops from the troubled region, have been drawn up.

President Obasanjo and his Cameroonian counterpart Biya have resolved to respect the ruling of the International Court of Justice, according to the UN statement.

‘'Both leaders also agreed on the need for confidence-building measures, including the eventual demilitarisation of the Peninsula, with the possibility of international observers to monitor the withdrawal of all troops,'' according to the statement.

They also agreed to ‘'an early visit to Nigeria by President Paul Biya; and the avoidance of inflammatory statements or declarations on the Bakassi issue by either side''.

A joint ministerial commission, comprising Nigerian and Cameroonian officials, will meet in Abuja, the administrative capital of Nigeria, at the end of the month (September).

''This is a good development because Nigeria and Cameroon are not just neighbours but there are thousands of Cameroonians in Nigeria, while we have as many Nigerians in Cameroon. In a situation where our common border is too porous, nobody can keep the inflow and outflow of people in check,'' says Bola Akinterinwa.

Akinterinwa, a researcher at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos, says: ''The meeting between the two leaders is desirable for two reasons; first, we cannot be talking of regional integration and African unity and, at the same time, talking about division. If we are talking of regional integration, there is no need for countries to quarrel.

''Secondly, the Lake Chad Basin Commission to which Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger belong, provides for political dialogue in settling disputes among member states,'' he says.

Akinterinwa is also happy that France is involved in the move to settle the conflict between Nigeria and Cameroon.

''We must praise Chirac and Annan for bringing the Obasanjo and Biya together. Their meeting in France is good because France never wanted war between the two neighbours because of her economic interests, especially in Nigeria. Nigeria plays host to more French investments than any Francophone (French speaking) country in Africa. French investments in the whole of Francophone West Africa are not up to French investments in Nigeria and for France to accept a war between Cameroon and Nigeria is also to accept the destruction of her investments in both countries,'' he says, without elaboration.

Tension mounted late June when Ngole Ngole, Cameroon's Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency, said his country had the might and the will to prosecute a war with Nigeria over the Bakassi Peninsula.

''As far as we know, we are serious. We have the might and the will and the 16 million people of Cameroon are behind the government to defend the territorial integrity of our country. Therefore, it is not a joking matter,'' Ngole was quoted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as saying in June.

Responding to Ngole's interview, Olu Agunloye, Nigeria's Minister of State for Defence, warned that ‘'Nigeria will not fold its arms and watch its territorial integrity rubbish by a belligerent neighbour.''

''It will be foolhardy and thoughtless for any West African country to think it can take on Nigeria at this point in time. But we will ensure that hostilities will not lead to full-blown war, but if it does, Nigeria will be fully prepared to handle any threat scenario that will arise,'' he told journalists in Abuja.

The people living on the Peninsula, he said, are Nigerians and that the government of Nigeria had been administering them since independence from Britain in 1960.

''Nigeria will therefore, not tolerate any act that will put the lives of the persons on the land in jeopardy. Anybody who dares this country, does so at his own risk,'' Agunloye warned.

Nigeria and Cameroon will, however, not be bound by the Oct 19 verdict, as ICJ does not have the instrument to enforce its ruling, says Akinterinwa.

''The two countries are supposed to abide by the ruling but there is the issue of unseen circumstances. The residents of the area can say they want to belong to one side if the boundary is demarcated by the ICJ, and if the country they wish to go with does not agree with them, they can ask for self-determination and autonomy,'' he says.

09 / 12 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Voter registration starts nationwide"

The registration of eligible voters started on Thursday throughout Nigeria, ahead of upcoming general elections, with officials warning that people who engage in electoral malpractices will be prosecuted.

A schedule released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria outlined that the exercise is due to be held for nine hours each day over the next 10 days in 120,000 centres nationwide.

At least 60 million voters aged 18 years and above (in an estimated population of 120 million) are expected to be registered during that period.

"Heavy penalties involving both fines and imprisonment await those who indulge in multiple registration," warned Abel Guobadia, chairman of INEC. "It follows that such people will not only be disenfranchised but will also be criminally prosecuted."

Tight security has been put in place at registration centres in an attempt to minimise problems with the exercise. All six registered political parties are expected to have observers in attendance to ensure transparency in the compilation of voter lists.

INEC said it would provide Nigerians with a computerised voters register for the first time in the country's history, in a bid to eliminate tampering and ensure free and fair elections.

Voter registration was to have been completed in time for local elections at the end of April, but was delayed after INEC complained that it had not received the funding required from the Nigerian government. The polls were then rescheduled to 10 August, and later deferred indefinitely.

Further delays resulted from legal wrangling between INEC and new parties denied registration, and therefore the right to contest the elections. However, the last obstacle to voter registration was overcome on Wednesday when a High Court overruled the objection of five unregistered parties.

The five had last month obtained an Appeal Court ruling that found INEC's reasons for not registering them to be unconstitutional.

INEC filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, and the High Court decided on Wednesday that it could not interfere in the matter of the registration because it was already before the Supreme Court.

The delays and confusion surrounding the electoral process have cast doubts over the first general elections scheduled since Obasanjo's victory at the polls ended more than 15 years of military rule in Nigeria in 1999.

09 / 11 / 2002 

PANAFRICAN NEWS AGENCY (PANA)

The article: "Anyaoku cautions against plan to impeach Obasanjo"

Former Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku, has expressed a serious concern at the potential implications of the current face-off between the Nigerian Presidency and the Legislature.

The lingering crisis has culminated in a threat by the National Assembly (Parliament) to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo for alleged misrule.

Anyaoku, a former Nigerian Foreign Minister, said in a statement in Lagos Tuesday that while the impeachment of a President "is a wise and justifiable constitutional provision," it should be a device of last resort.

"(It) cannot be justified when the population of a country have only six months before national elections to determine who will govern them," he said, in an apparent reference to the scheduled 2003 general elections in Nigeria.

He said from the reported actions of many political leaders, "it is already becoming clear that the proposed impeachment process is evoking the primordial instincts of ethnicity within our diverse population".

"We can only ignore the potential consequences of such a development at a great peril to the continued peace and corporate existence of our country," Anyaoku warned.

The highly-respected diplomat, who is serving the Obasanjo government in an advisory capacity, urged the intervention of "compatriots" before matters degenerated further.

"I urge the Legislature and the Executive to pull the country back from the brink. It should be possible for them through dialogue to address the issues in contention.

"For my part, I shall do all I can to promote such an intervention," he added.

09 / 6 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Cameroon-Nigeria: Obasanjo, Biya to abide by ICJ border decision"

The leaders of Nigeria and Cameroon said on Thursday they would abide by a decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on a border dispute between the two countries, and would restore friendly relations.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya, discussed their border dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula (to which both countries lay claim) with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the French capital, Paris, according to a statement issued by the United Nations.

Both presidents agreed to respect and implement the pending ICJ decision, and to establish implementation mechanisms, with UN support. They also said they would resume ministerial-level meetings of the bilateral Joint Commission on 30 September in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the statement said.

Obasanjo and Biya also agreed on the need for confidence-building measures, including the eventual demilitarisation of Bakassi Peninsula, with the possibility of international observers to monitor the withdrawal of all troops.

President Biya is expected to visit Nigeria at an early date, after both leaders recognised that the Bakassi situation 'must be seen' in the wider context of the overall relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon.

The Nigerian and Cameroonian leaders also discussed other issues of interest, such as possibilities for economic cooperation, including joint ventures in the water and electricity sectors, according to the UN statement.

In 1994, Cameroon asked the ICJ to rule on a dispute "relating essentially to the question of sovereignty over the Bakassi peninsula, saying it was in part under military occupation by Nigeria, and to determine the maritime boundary between the countries.

Later that year, Yaonde extended the case to a further dispute relating to "the question of sovereignty over a part of the territory of Cameroon in the area of Lake Chad", which it claimed Nigeria was also occupying.

The article: "Focus on moves to impeach President Obasanjo"

Persistent wrangling between the executive and legislative arms of government in Nigeria took a critical turn when the House of Representatives last month gave President Olusegun Obasanjo a fortnight to resign or face impeachment.

The two weeks have since passed, with Obasanjo defying the motion of the lower chamber of parliament, ridiculing it as "a joke taken too far".

Rather than easing, however, the crisis continues. Indeed, Obasanjo's political troubles appeared to deepen when the Senate threw its weight behind the House of Representatives' impeachment threat, on 27 August.

Different committees of both houses are now liaising to articulate the basis for charges of breaches of the constitution, incompetence and abetting corruption against Obasanjo, and to prepare for an impeachment process.

The charges revolve around allegations that Obasanjo failed to implement budgets passed in the past three years according to the appropriation law, but also address military operations he ordered in which hundreds of people were killed at Odi in the southern oil region in 1999 and at Zaki Biam in central Nigeria in 2001.

All of these developments underline the depth of bitter squabbles that riddle the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Despite commanding an overwhelming majority in both chambers of parliament, PDP legislators are up in arms against an executive they accuse of dictatorial tendencies and not carrying them along in the business of governance.

More worrying for Africa's most populous country of 120 million - which ended more than 15 years of unbroken military rule in 1999 - are fears that the rising political tension might spin out of control; the latest troubles have only aggravated what has been a chaotic and violent build-up to general elections due early next year.

Besides, with more than 250 ethnic groups and a measure of religious tension (largely between a mainly Muslim north and a south populated mostly by Christians and adherents of traditional religions), political differences in Nigeria easily degenerate into ethno-religious violence.

In the past, similar instability has provided the pretext under which various military groups have seized power. Out of Nigeria's four decades as an independent nation, military elements have held power for 29 years.

Already opinion on the crisis facing Obasanjo has divided along the major ethnic fault lines: many northern, Hausa-speaking Muslims, who had shown great electoral support for him, believe he has failed to live up to expectations and want to see his back; yet in the southwest, where he fared badly in elections having been perceived as a northern stooge, the impeachment threat is now seen as an affront to his whole Yoruba tribe.

The Oodua People's Congress (OPC) militia group, which purports to defend the interests of the Yoruba, has declared that southwest Nigeria will move to secede if Obasanjo is removed from office.

"We believe from the statement of the House of Representatives that this is a carefully planned move to finally rubbish the Yoruba as a people," Fredrick Fasehun, medical doctor and OPC president, said in a statement.

Governors of the six southwestern states, who belong to the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD), have also weighed in on the side of the president. Governor Segun Osoba of Obasanjo's home state, Ogun, described the impeachment move as an attempt to bring the military back to power.

In the southeast, dominated by the Igbo people, one of the three biggest ethnic groups in the country, responses have ranged from the indifferent to pointedly anti-Obasanjo feelings.

According to Elliot Uko of the Igbo Youth Movement, the president deserves to be removed from office because of his "dictatorial tendencies and abysmal performance" in office.

In the adjoining Niger Delta, Obasanjo's perceived failure to redeem electoral promises made to the oil region and his inclination to concentrate oil revenues in the coffers of the federal government, have not enamoured either him to the ethnic minorities of the area.

Perhaps most ominous for the country, though, are alleged attempts to draw the military into the fray. Obasanjo's supporters maintain that some legislators are involved in a plot with elements in the military to destabilise the polity and get soldiers to overthrow the government.

And while pledging loyalty to the president, Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ibrahim Ogohi has acknowledged that some unnamed people were taking advantage of the crisis "to incite the members of the armed forces against the constitutionally elected government".

Legislators opposed to Obasanjo responded by saying that the government was merely priming public opinion for repressive measures, including slapping treason charges on them, and have vowed to resist any military intervention.

But whatever the jockeying for position, all parties involved have to deal with the feasibility of the impeachment threat based on the allegations against Obasanjo: if the legislature finds the allegations grave enough, it is expected to pass a motion to investigate by a two-thirds majority.

This would pass matters into the hands of the Chief Justice, who is required by the constitution to set up an independent panel to investigate such allegations over a three-month period.

Where the panel considers the allegations proven, the legislature only has to adopt the report by a two-thirds majority to effect the removal of a president.

"It is at this point that the genie would be let out of the bottle in the Nigerian context," Ike Onyekwere, a political analyst, told IRIN.

"The understanding in 1999 was that it was the turn of the south to produce a president. If Obasanjo should go and his deputy, (Atiku Abubakar) a Muslim northerner, steps in, there is bound to be trouble."

After northerners' dominance of power in Nigeria for more than 35 years, through both military and civilian rulers, few people in the south would countenance another northerner at the helm - especially in the context of impeachment proceedings against a southerner, Onyekwere said. "It is bound to cause upheavals," he added

For this reason alone, not many analysts believe the legislators can go all the way and remove Obasanjo from office. Besides, procedural delays expected in the impeachment process suggest that it is unlikely to be completed before the next general elections are held.

"I believe the impeachment threat has already achieved most of what it was meant to do, which was primarily to rattle President Obasanjo and curb his evident executive excesses," Salisu Maina, a political science lecturer, told IRIN.

"Another thing is that, since he is seeking re-election, the threat is bound to damage him politically and weaken his chances of securing his party's nomination," he added.

09 / 5 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "House gives reasons for Obasanjo impeachment threat"

Nigeria s House of Representatives on Thursday released a list of 17 charges that it said formed the basis for moves to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Most of the charges of breach of the constitution, released at a news conference by Farouk Lawan, chairman of the House Committee on Information, revolve around claims of non-implementation of budgets in the past three years, as contained in the appropriation laws.

The House of Representatives said it would also be taking Obasanjo to task over internal military operations he authorised at Odi, in the southern oil region, in 1999, and Zaki Biam, in central Nigeria, in 2001, during which hundreds of civilians were killed by rampaging troops.

Obasanjo had failed to obtain the consent of the legislature before ordering such military operations, as is required under the constitution, the House said.

Members of the House representing the ruling People s Democratic Party (PDP), which has a comfortable majority in both chambers of parliament, said they have forwarded details of the alleged breaches of the constitution to the party leadership, and that impeachment proceedings would begin if a response was not received within 10 days.

The House of Representatives had, on 13 August, passed a motion asking Obasanjo to resign within 14 days or face impeachment.

After the ultimatum expired, the PDP-controlled Senate gave its backing to the lower house of parliament, further deepening a crisis that has divided the ruling party and raised fears about the survival of democracy in Nigeria.

Minister of Information Jerry Gana told reporters on Thursday that Obasanjo had indicated his readiness to give "a full and comprehensive response to the charges".

09 / 3 / 2002 

IRIN

The article: "Late appeal against stoning sentence"

Family members of a man sentenced to death by stoning after a rape conviction in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa have initiated a late appeal to stop his execution.

Mohammed Ado Baranda was sentenced to death under Shari'ah or Islamic law in May after he was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl. He failed to challenge the sentence by the time the 30-day mandatory appeal period passed.

Haruna Hashim of the Shari ah Court of Appeal in the Jigawa State capital, Dutse, told reporters that relatives of 54-year-old Baranda had filed an appeal on Friday, in which it was claimed he suffered from mental illness. The case was being reconsidered, Hashim added.

Last week a senior aide to the governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Turaki, said the government did not intend to interfere with execution of the court's sentence.

The case had attracted less local and international condemnation than that of the 30-year-old mother, Amina Lawal, whose death sentence for adultery (after she had a baby out of wedlock) was upheld by a Shari'ah appeal court in Katsina State two weeks ago.

However, the prospect of Baranda being buried up to the neck and stoned to death in public has drawn the attention of local and international human rights groups. They have condemned his trial as unfair since he had no legal representation.

At least five people, including three men and two women, are facing sentences of death by stoning in northern Nigeria, where a dozen states have adopted the strict Islamic legal code since late 1999. The latest convicts are two lovers sentenced by a Shari ah court in Niger State last week.

Lawal was the second woman to receive the sentence of death by stoning, following Safiya Husseini Tunga-Tudu, who was acquitted by an appeal court in March.

Another man, Yunusa Chiyawa, was sentenced to death by stoning in Bauchi State in June for eloping and having sex with the wife of a friend. The woman was acquitted after the presiding judge accepted her claims that Chiyawa had put a spell on her.

The only death sentence carried out under Shari'ah law so far was the hanging in Katsina State in January of a man, Sani Rodi, who was convicted of killing a woman and her two children.

08 / 31 / 2002 

THE GUARDIAN (Nigeria)

The article: "Reps give Obasanjo two weeks to resign"

The floor of the House of Representatives was a theatre of political intrigues yesterday as members passed a resolution advising President Olusegun Obasanjo to resign within two weeks or be impeached.

The Guardian had reported earlier that the House, which reconvened in an emergency was billed to debate a motion to ask for Obasanjo's resignation.

The motion came on the heels of yet another request by the President for supplementary appropriation.

Moving the motion against the President, the leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the House, Mohammed Kumalia accused the executive of worsening the nation's economic problems through alleged non-implementation of the appropriation Acts.

To him, the Nigerian public had been forced to resign to fate, having waited in vain for three years to enjoy democracy dividend.

According to Kumalia, Nigerians voted for good governance but what was being offered now showed that the President was not prepared to deliver on his promise.

He identified non-payment of salaries and an alleged grounding of activities in states, due to non-release of funds by the federal executive, as other offences of the President.

Kumaila also said the nation's labour had been unnecessarily harassed and muzzled by the Obasanjo government.

Worse still, the ANPP legislator, added, the Judiciary which is a crucial arm of government had been so starved of funds that salaries for that arm of government had not been paid for seven months.

Kumalia said the National Assembly was owing staff salaries of about N10 billion.

To him, the only arm of government that is operating in the country now, is the executive.

The ANPP legislator also accused the executive of not disclosing the nation's revenue profile, particularly from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to the National Assembly.

The administration's panacea for the poor national economic performance, privatisation, is another area where the legislator faulted the executive.

He alleged that the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), for instance, is being packaged for sale to the sons of Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi and Obasanjo.

He argued that Obasanjo had worsened the plight of the Niger Delta people through the onshore/offshore dichotomy, recently pronounced upon by the Supreme Court.

Rather than fight corruption, as the President had often pledged, Kumalia added Obasanjo has indeed encouraged the menace in various ways. He cited the Accountant General of the Federation, Kayode Naiyeju, whom he accused of involvement in an alleged mismanagement of the Education Tax Fund (ETF), rather than being sanctioned.

Kumalia further listed the purchase of houses for ministers by the former minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ibrahim Bunu, pointing out that indicted persons were yet to be tried.

His words: "Mr. President has condoned all sorts of corruption, ineptitude and recklessness."

Kumalia then said that the President's alleged disregard for the rule of law should no longer be allowed, stressing: "we have to fight and should not give up".

He therefore moved that the House should advise the President to resign within two weeks.

Seconding the motion, Adams Jagoba said Obasanjo's alleged recklessness is unprecedented, adding that the President has disgraced his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the nation and humanity.

Ohepo Ejiga (Benue) said the decision ought to have been taken much earlier, noting that the action was consistent with the lower chamber's disposition to the President.

Sule Yari Gandi (Sokoto) reminded the legislators that history was beckoning on them and added that "Nigeria is now the Almajiri of Africa".

But Gbenga Onigbogi (Osun) pleaded with the members to first seek opinions of Nigerians and thereby carry them along in the course.

The major motion was amended by Ahmed Lawan (Yobe) who added that should the President fail to resign within two weeks, the House would enter an impeachment process.

Obioma Iheanacho pointed out that a majority of Nigerians were behind the House's resolution, emphasising that members were taking the action on behalf of the electorate.

Urging them to cast aside sentiments, Iheanacho said: "The President has shown lack of capacity to run the country. We have passed the stage of defending our own. We in PDP are not happy.

"But now, Nigeria should come first. If we are not ready to address these issues, those in power are ready to scuttle 2003."

Nduka Irabor (Ika) pleaded with the House to see the issue as a sober one, stressing that the duty of the legislature is to nurture democracy and make it resilient. He therefore asked for patience.

But his prayers to amend the motion failed.

Leader of the Alliance for Democracy (AP) Oladipo Olaitan, commended the people behind the motion for their courage. He pointed out that Obasanjo was a wrong choice in the first instance.

The AD leader traced the President's alleged constitutional breaches to year 2000, when he told them that he had spent N10 billion for the Universal Basic Education (UBE) and later sent the bill to the Assembly.

Olaitan also alleged that the President had started holding secret meetings with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The motion was overwhelmingly carried with the amendment.

10 / 19 / 2000 

PANAFRICAN NEWS AGENCY 

The article: "Government Threatens to declare State of Emergency" 

As ethnic violence in Lagos escalates, the Federal Government has banned the perpetrators, ordered  the arrest of its leaders, and  plans to declare a state of emergency, in a bid to restore order. The four day old skirmishes between the militant Yoruba ethnic group, the Odua people’s Congress (OPC), and the Hausa/fulani ethnic group of northern origin, has already claimed several lives and property. Sources from the Pan African News Agency (PANA), said that an attempt by the State Government to normalize the situation aborted. 
PANA sources quote Information Minister, Mr. Gana, as saying that political leaders of Southern origin (an OPC base), were responsible for thwarting  Government efforts to contain the group. 
Reacting to the situation, a Yoruba Leader, Abraham Adeanya, accused the Government of being bias towards the OPC, as could be evidenced by the government’s lukewarm  attitude when similar skirmishes broke out in the North, led by Hausa/Fulanis.  Mr.  Adesanya is quoted by the same PANA source as saying that the  government is bent on using all its might to suppress the Yoruba people. 

CNN.com 

The article: "Nigerian police hunt militia chefs after riots" 
The Nigerian Government has outlawed the Odua People’s Congress(OPC), a Yoruba  militia group, which has been held responsible for perpetrating ethnic violence  in the commercial City of Lagos. According to Reuters News Agency,  the violence has claimed more than 100 lives. 
In response to the atrocities, the Government has ordered the  arrest and prosecution of the ring leaders of the OPC and of any group identified  with ethnic violence. According to the same source, 204 people, alongside two ringleaders, have already been picked up. 
The action of the militia has been directed by the OPC, which is loyal to the Yoruba (south- westerners), against the predominantly Hausa-Fulanis of Northern origin. 

10 / 18 / 2000 

PANAFRICAN NEWS AGENCY 

L'article: "Les affrontements inter-ethniques s'étendent au nord" 
Suite aux affrontements Yoruba-Haoussa dont Lagos a été le théâtre ces derniers jours et, à l'annonce par les médias que les Haoussa en ont le plus souffert, des attaques ont été perpétrées dans les Etats de Jigawa et Kano, situé au nord du pays et essentiellement peuplés de Haoussa/Fulani… 

L'article"La violence s'intensifie à Lagos malgré les efforts de paix" 
L'article indique que dimanche 15 Octobre 2000 dans la soirée, des affrontements dont on ignore encore les causes, ont éclaté entre Yoruba et Haoussa dans les quartiers Ajegunle, Ijora et Apapa de Lagos, la capitale économique.  
Les mesures (soldats, police, couvre-feu…) prises par le Gouverneur de Lagos afin de restituer l'ordre et la paix n'ont pas stoppé les affrontements qui, mercredi, ont pris de l'ampleur et se sont déportés vers d'autres quartiers tels Agege, Abule-Egba et Lagos Island...  
Les conséquences de ces heurts sont multiples: Près de 100 morts (24, de source officielle); déplacement des populations Haoussa des quartiers les plus touchés vers les casernes militaires; perturbation de l'activité économique, etc… 
Un regard sur les événements récents au Nigéria montre que des affrontements comme ceux-ci sont très fréquents depuis le 29 mai 1999, date à laquelle les militaires ont remis le pouvoir aux civils, et revêtent en général, un caractère religieux ou ethnique. 

09 / 15 / 2000 

POST EXPRESS 

The article: "Southern Kaduna: A Story of Neglect" 
This article attempts at situating  the gross injustice and neglect that has characterised the Southern Kaduna as viewed by Simon Reef of the POST EXPRESS  Abuja Bureau who thinks the neglect of the area is hinged more on internal intrigues than external factors. 
Many different ethnic backgrounds sharing similar cultural traits occupy the present day Kaduna State. Kaduna State being in the North Central States, represent the symbol of the long war of attrition that has existed between the Hausa-Fulani hegemony and its northern minorities. 
Reef, the author of the article holds that since the break up of the old Kaduna State, the State presently known as Kaduna is best described as a theatre of blood letting. Amongst others, the Zangon Kataf crisis of 1992 hallmarked the intrigues of the political domination hinged on the unsettled settler - native question. «The incessant troubles that have reaped Kaduna State is a manifest failure of the suffering masses to rise above the manipulation of the evil-inclined political class » states the former military governor of the state, Col. Abubakar Danjuma. Also  the Sharia imbroglio that led to the death of several thousands in February in Kaduna only replay the gory picture of a state that had become no stranger to death; though beyond the issue of religion that was the fulcrum of the riots, prominent Nigerians are beginning to advice relevant authorities to look beyond the issue of religion 
Furthermore,  in explaining the sorry state of the Southern Kaduna people, the role of the subjugated civil service controlled by the Southern Kaduna people has played a prominent part. With the top echelon of the civil service controlled by forces outside the Southern Kaduna axis, the tale of the civil service is one tale fraught with betrayals and internal bickerings. Perhaps, it is in the attempt to find solutions to the haranguing problems of the state that led to the formation of the Southern Kaduna people Union, (SOKAPU), to serve as an arrowhead to the liberation of the economically and politically enslaved people of Southern Kaduna. 
Reef continued that at the dawn of a new millennium, the people ccupying the Southern area of Kaduna State still grapple with the vicious pangs of hunger. More than ever before, a large number of children are turning their backs against schools. A large number, with hard-earned certificates that have become worthless, now roam the streets with no jobs  and a culture of despair and gloom which is setting in the culture of violence is stealthily catching up with the society. 
Again the area known as Southern Kaduna is bereft of so many things. Not only are industries absent, social infrastructure and presence of government is totally lacking and where such exist they, they perform an epileptic scale. With a large number of educated people, the area is best symbolised as enslaving the educated on the alter of political expediency. Also, one factor that has left the people of this area a sorry sight is the manipulation of ethnic sentiments. 
 The sad tale of the Southern Kaduna people only reflects the trauma that have been the banner of the Northern minorities. According to a prominent Southern Kaduna Peoples’ leader «the problem with those said to be representing the interest of the people only turn out their back after acquiring political power. The alleged suspension of the deputy governor and others for anti-union  activities by SOKAPU, cannot be unconnected with the conspiracy of political leaders to continue the culture of slavery.» 
Already, the request for the creation of a State has been on the pipeline. «Since the 1980s, our people have always been crying out for the creation of a State they can call their own. I think the time is ripe for government to take action, taking into cognisance, the violence that have reaped the state.» states Florence D. Aya, representing Kaura Federal Constituency. Thus, until both the political leadership of the Southern kaduna people realises that the destiny of the people rests n its shoulders, the struggle to emancipate the Southern Kaduna from the hands of neo-colonial powers of the emirate system can only continue to be a dream, to be pursued but never attained states a top civil servant who pleaded for anonymity. The viewpoint expressed above only reflects the ethnic distrust engulping the area whose abode is symbolic of total neglect by the relevant authorities. The whole area is still dressed in darkness at night. Even Kafanchan which used to enjoy electricity now suffers from epileptic supply of light. 
Reef concludes that in the struggle to alleviate the pangs of neglect, the consensus of the neglected people of the Southern Kaduna area is that the government carry the people of the area along in all aspects, though considering the sharp division rampaging the area, the culture of neglect may yet persist for long. 

03 / 1-7 / 2000 

ABUJA MIRROR 

The article:"Easterners descend on Hausas: Killed over 200" 
Abdullahi Lere reports that, enraged Igbo youths  attacked the Hausa community (Eastern Nigeria) in retaliation to last week’s Northern carnage: in Aba,Owerri, Uyo, Umuahia and Calabar, over 2000 Muslims were killed, and   their property burnt. The  most affected were Hausa traders. 
Over 100 roasted corpses could be seen  littered along the Port Harcourt road, some of which were dumped into the bush. The most important target was the Central Mosque where Moslem faithfuls gather to worship. 
By Tuesday, stalls and shops belonging to Moslems could still be seen under smoke. In Umuahia, the angry mob made up mostly of Igbo youths, went after fleeing Moslems. They raised road blocks and sorted Moslems from vehicles  and slaughtered them. 
In Calabar over 300 Moslems lost their lives in the same violence, and in Uyo more than 400 Moslems were rendered homeless. At Suya Spot on Eku Street and Oron Roads, property belonging to Moslems was destroyed. Looting was also reported at Ubi Street, a busy Moslem commercial centre, and the victims all ran into police safety. 
In an attempt to quell the riots, the Abia State Governor, Chief Kahi Orji. K, imposed a curfew and appealed for calm. To ensure the respect for this call, he ordered a 24 hour Police patrol. Nevertheless, in some towns, like Kubwa, and Nyanya in Abuja, trouble still loomed in the horizon. Frightened at this state of affairs, some people rushed to school to pick up their children while others ran into the barracks for safety. 

01 / 29 / 2000 

THE ECONOMIST Vol. 354, Number  8155 

Page 53: "Nigeria - Buck passing" 
It is reported that police burst last week into Bola Olarinoye's home in the Bariga district of Logos in search for her son, Kayode reputed to be a member of the Odua peoples (OPC), an ethnic group. 
The government blamed OPC for the recent wave of violence in South West Nigeria. Failing to find Kayode at home, they looted Olorinoye's belongings and destroyed four cars outside her house. Support for the OPC, already high in the neighbourhood went on the rise. 
This group is reported to have been formed in 1995 to campaign for Yoruba people's autonomy in South West Nigeria. President Olusengun Obasanjo (a Yoruba) is said to have ordered the police to crush it. In November, a clash occurred between OPC members and the Hausa traders and 100 people were reported dead. The police chief tortured and his body apparently dumped in the murky waters of Lagos lagoon. 
On January 31th, Mr Obasanjo scolded Bola Tinubu, Governor of Lagos state for not trying to improve on the situation and threatened to impose state of emergency if the situation continued. Mr Tinabu, on his part, said it was outrageous that he should be blamed for the absolute unacceptable security situation in Lagos. He pointed out that responsibility for security lies with the Federal government headed by the President. Mr Diepreye Alameye Seigha, Governor of Bayelsa state, where the army led a punitive mission was not indifferent.  
Mr Tunibu warned Mr Obasanjo against imposing a state of emergency and suggested the students of history will not support his idea mindful of the emergency situation of the 1960s that led to the military corps and civil war in south west of Nigeria. He hinted a hidden  northern political agenda behind the President's agenda over the situation in Lagos. 
Political pundits reported that, Mr Obasanjo had declared himself a contender of 2003 presidential election. although he got little support from his home region in last yeas election. It is also reported that since he came to power, he has eliminated some of his former allies in the north. 
It is reported also that, to build a firm political base, Mr Obasanjo may feel the need to discredit Mr Tinubu who is close to Bola Ige, the minister for power and steel who would also like to run for presidency. Mr Obasanju is reported as playing a political game by blaming others when things go wrong. 

00 / 00 / 2000 

USAFRICAONLINE 
The article: "Federalism and Ethnic Relations in Nigeria: Lessons from Sagamu" 
Ibiuyinka Oluwole Solarin, a political scientist and author of this article,analyses the type of federalism practiced in the  Nigerian political system. It is  a form of political organization based on ethnic and tribal lines. Drawing his inspiration from the  Sagamu  ethnic confrontations, the author uses two schools of thought , as could be demonstrated in the Nigerian political arena, to hammer home his point. 
On the one hand, there are the Centralists who fear decentralization, and  will prefer to preserve the existing order. They probably are afraid of loosing their privileged positions and  therefore perceive restructuring as a step towards the demise of the Federation. 
On the other hand, we have the  “decentralists”, who don’t see the need  for  over concentration of power in the hands of the Central Government so much that it retains 48% of the total revenue which is poorly managed. 
Secondly the creation of many states (36), makes things even worse, for most these States depend on the Central Government for subventions. The 1999 clashes between the Hausa and Yoruba communities in sagamu (Southwestern Nigeria) are a manifestation of the   social -economic and political problems  that afflict Nigeria. 
From the author’s point of view  there is the need for a reassessment of the state of ethnic relations in connection to the theory and practice of federalism in Nigeria .One of the anomalous features  of the 1999 Constitution is that the police and security forces in Nigeria  take security orders directly from the President and not from the Governor. 
Consequently, informed of the  breakdown of order in Sagamu, the Governor, Olusegun Osoba, could not do anything without necessary orders from Abuja. The police therefore found itself in a  dilemma. Secondly, officers of the security and police force in the State are predominantly non-indigenes of the zone, except the DPO .In such a situation  he was helpless.     As a result , a crisis of confidence arose and the Area Commander  had to be replaced  because, his neutrality and impartiality in judgment was in question  during the bloody confrontation. The security forces sent to sagamu acted like  an army of occupation, with problems of discipline arising from  language and cultural differences . this has been the crux of the argument of the advocates of the restructuring of the  Nigerian system. 
In fact the problem since 1975 has been an attempt to  force an authoritarian unitary system, based on a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural entity. This  has led to the over concentration of power and revenue at the  center. 
The observer continues by saying that  the clashes could be attributed to a simple misunderstanding because of traditional practices. He has been shocked by the rate of destruction of property by the Hausa and the ferocity of the Yoruba venom to seek vengeance in the humiliation of the settler population. 
Governor Mohamed Makafarfi alleged that groups of individuals ‘feel sidelined in thew present political dispensation are  behind  the crisis. The author, Dr .Solarin, reserved his comments as to the  ethnic origin of the crisis, accusing the unbalanced structure  and organization of the police force, as a target for anti-democratic forces in the society. He cited the example of a man , who openly called on the Hausas inside the Mosque at Sagamu, to rise up in arms against the Yorubas, and up till moment he still enjoyed full liberty. 

12 / 07 / 1999 

POST EXPRESS 
The article: "Ethnic Clashes" 
Concerning the crisis in the Niger Delta, the DA calls on every nationality to cease all inter ethnic confluence, suspicion and battering, as these discredit their worthy cause and divide and weaken their legitimate fight against the oppressive Nigerian State and the exploitative oil companies. The DA thus calls for a conference of Niger Delta nationalities to resolve such sore issues as territorial rights and claims, relationship with oil companies and inter-ethnic relationships in the Niger Delta. 

04 / 03 / 1999 

POST EXPRESS 
The article: "Administrator Counts Cost of Ethnic Crisis" 
The DELTA State military Administrator, navy Captain Walter Feghabo  at a meeting with traditional rulers in the State to acquaint them with the introduction of a new traditional rulers council and chiefs edict whose aim is to correct anomalies in the traditional institution, said he has spent a greater part of his stay in the state finding solutions to the ethnic crisis rocking the state, and as such much resources and time have been spent on peace efforts. He also highlighted that the new edict would sustain and foster peace in the state and called on the fathers to use their unique position to promote development in the state and that by the new edict, the state government would no longer give approval for the recognition of chieftaincy titles as the power to recognise titles were now rested with the various traditional rulers and chiefs committees in the local government areas. 
He further said that the new law would streamline both the chairmanship of the various traditional rulers and chiefs committees as well as the state council of traditional rulers even as he charged that sanctions would be placed on traditional rulers and chiefs committees that flout the new guidelines. 
As a response, the chairman of council of traditional rulers in the state, appealed to the state government to make available to traditional rulers the new edict to enable them make meaningful contributions to it.