Nigeria

Whatever caused the death of gaoled Northern military politician Shehu Musa Yar'Adua'on 9 December, it has sent a powerful message that Northerners can expect no special favours from...

The personality cult around General Sani Abacha is growing rapidly, ahead of his expected candidacy in next August's presidential elections. A new biography entitled – Sani Abacha –...

No one who has visited the Presidential complex at Aso Rock in recent weeks doubts that General Sani Abacha, encouraged by his wife Maryam and his 'kitchen cabinet',...

Nobody knows whether General Sani Abacha will take off his uniform and try to win an election as his own civilian successor in August 1998. Moreover, he may...

General Sani Abacha's regime may be a pariah for Western and Commonwealth governments but it's determined to win friends in his own region. Not content with being Chairman...

Chairing the Economic Community of West African States has pushed the reclusive General Sani Abacha into the limelight with Nigeria's neighbours. None, perhaps, is more important to Nigeria...

'When I am President', intoned Fela Anikulapo Kuti at the height of his political campaigning, 'all Africa will dance to my music'. His political ambitions were unfulfilled but...

Nigeria's oil industry is beginning to seize up. The state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has received no budget allocations for seven months. Except for a small contribution this...

All the ingredients are there: political uncertainty (about General Sani Abacha's candidacy in next year's elections), economic collapse (fuel shortages and worse poverty than 25 years ago), armed...

First, look at the figures which General Sani Abacha prefers. Inflation was at 70 per cent in late 1995 and is now at 20 per cent. Foreign exchange...

The fighting between Ijaws and Itsekiris in Warri, the oil city of Delta State in South-Western Nigeria, threatens to halt oil production in Nigeria's most lucrative fields. The...

Confusion abounds about General Sani Abacha's political intentions. Following an interview with the Washington Times in which Abacha said his possible candidacy in the 1998 presidential elections would...

Speculation about General Sani Abacha's political ambitions dominates the calculations of aspiring presidential candidates who had wanted to throw their hats in the ring before the 15 March...

The soldiers have blocked Finance Minister Anthony Ani’s bold plans to open up the economy. So is the argument over? Not yet, according to well-placed sources. They say...

There is no grand design to the violence that is wracking the country. Government supporters and oppositionists are pursuing vendettas against each other and a shadowy third force...

General Sani Abacha's 31 December announcement that by stepping up French teaching, Nigeria will in 'a very short time' become bilingual is a shrewd diplomatic move, however unrealistic...