Vol 39 No 13 | NIGERIA Revolving doors in Abuja 26th June 1998 Abuja’s hoteliers are among the most obvious beneficiaries of General SaniAbacha’ sdemiseon8June.Sincethen,theinlandcapital’ s hotels and guest houses have been full of would-be advisors, influence- pedlars, contract-seekers and curious...
Vol 39 No 13 | GUINEA BISSAU Mane's men 26th June 1998 An army mutiny has quickly become a security problem for the neighbouring states Demoralised troops, Casamance and cannabis smuggling have all fanned the flames of Guinea Bissau’s army mutiny. It has now engulfed the sub-region in the crisis, drawing Senegal, Guinea...
Vol 39 No 13 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Politics for sale 26th June 1998 Big companies with powerful friends dominate the newly privatised economy Economic reform and party funding make uneasy bedfellows in Abidjan, where President Henri Konan-Bédié’s government is torn between the demands of financial rectitude and pork-barrel politics. As the...
Vol 39 No 12 | NIGERIA A cardiac coup 12th June 1998 Military dissidents may prove the most serious threat to General Abubakar's pledge to hand over to civilians in October As enigmatic in death as in life, General Sani Abacha died suddenly in the early hours of 7 June. He left many Nigerians puzzling over whether it was...
Vol 39 No 12 | CÔTE D'IVOIRE Cotton reel 12th June 1998 The World Bank drive to privatise cotton is causing cross-border problems. Soon Côte d'Ivoire must choose from three bidders for Compagnie Ivoirienne de Développement du Textile. Mali’ s...
Vol 39 No 11 | SIERRA LEONEBRITAIN Private armies, public relations 29th May 1998 Awkward questions are being asked about private security companies' growing power Underlying the political storm in London about the ‘Arms to Sierra Leone’ affair (AC Vol 39 No 10) is a central question about the privatisation of British foreign...
Vol 39 No 11 | SIERRA LEONEBRITAIN Buckingham's gate 29th May 1998 Less well known but critical to Buckingham's African empire are his extensive interests in Namibia, where he's had close connections with influential politicians since the early 1990s and...
Vol 39 No 10 | SIERRA LEONEBRITAIN The Freetown fall-out 15th May 1998 Politicians, civil servants and security men slug it out in a Whitehall row as the desperate plight of Sierra Leone comes a poor second Bafflement and disgust are the main reactions in Freetown to the row that has blown up in Britain about President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah's hiring of London-based security outfit...
Vol 39 No 10 | SIERRA LEONEBRITAIN Lines in the sand 15th May 1998 The Sierra Leone imbroglio casts more light on the web of security companies and mining houses associated with Sandline International and Executive Outcomes. It has focused attention on...
Vol 39 No 9 | NIGERIA Army arguments 1st May 1998 The coup plot trial has brought some military divisions to the surface The death sentences handed down on 28 April to six convicted coup plotters - all from the Yoruba south-west - will do little to settle the unease in...