Vol 56 No 8 | NIGERIA Mending fences 17th April 2015 Militant fighters ponder their options after Jonathan loses power and a showdown over oil theft looks likely It has been a bad month for the Niger Delta in both personal and political terms. The death of activist lawyer Oronto Douglas on 9 April, after a...
Vol 56 No 8 | NIGERIA INEC and high-tech 17th April 2015 The new technology helped combat fraud but old-fashioned politics determined the outcome The accolades heaped on Attahiru Jega and his team at the Independent National Electoral Commission for organising the country's most credible elections to date make much of the...
Vol 56 No 7 | NIGERIA A moment of truth for the General 3rd April 2015 Returning to power after 30 years, Muhammadu Buhari has been elected President heading a coalition bent on reform One of the first acts of President-elect Muhammadu Buhari's new government will be to establish a clear regime of accountability and transparency in managing the country's oil and... READ FOR FREE
Vol 56 No 7 | NIGERIA The rigging in Rivers 3rd April 2015 Lekia Nkirine didn't stand a chance. He was shot in the chest at close range at six in the morning on election day when 50 thugs attacked the...
Vol 56 No 7 | NIGERIA Votes, damned lies and opinion polls 27th March 2015 Maximising the turnout and countering rigging could be the key to making a success of tomorrow’s elections Anyone following the opinion polls for a guide to the outcome of tomorrow's presidential and parliamentary elections will be disappointed. Yet they have played an important role in...
Vol 56 No 5 | NIGERIA On the waterfront 6th March 2015 When gunmen opened fire on an opposition rally in the First Lady’s home town, they were sending a clear message Election campaigning for the opposition All Progressives Congress in the Niger Delta, the home base of President Goodluck Jonathan, was always going to be fraught. However, even the...
Vol 56 No 5 | NIGERIA Welcome back, General 6th March 2015 Addressing a packed auditorium at Chatham House in London on 26 February, General Muhammadu Buhari may have mused about his last big encounter with the British establishment. Thirty...
Vol 56 No 4 | NIGERIA Democracy delayed 19th February 2015 Even a six-week postponement of the elections looks unlikely to slow the momentum of opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari Such is the febrile mood in national politics that President Goodluck Jonathan felt compelled to tell delegations from the European Union and the Economic Community of West African... READ FOR FREE
Vol 56 No 4 | NIGERIA Policing the vote 19th February 2015 There is another way to influence election results, without tampering with the actual vote: to encourage or discourage turnout by using the security organisations. Opposition parties claim that...
Vol 56 No 3 | NIGERIA Lots of gunboats, little diplomacy 6th February 2015 High political tensions and a flood of weaponry into the Niger Delta presage trouble in this month’s elections The risk of violent clashes in the Niger Delta is increasing as the political contest heats up ahead of the presidential and governorship elections, scheduled for 14 and...