3rd term will ruin Nigeria,
New York Times warns Obasanjo
By Sun News Publishing
Monday,
March 27 2006
 |
Obasanjo
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
|
Tinkering with the constitution to get a third term in office
is foolhardy, and may cause another civil war in Nigeria,
the highly respected New York Times, stated in an editorial
published on Sunday.
The hard-hitting editorial, titled ‘In Nigeria, Things
Fall Apart,’ was published as President Olusegun Obasanjo
gets set to visit the United States later this week, with
the newspaper asking President George Bush to tell his guest
that “changing his country’s constitution so that
he can remain in office is foolhardy.”
The New York Times observes that Nigeria is deteriorating
fast, saying Obasanjo is partly to blame for enflaming political
tensions among the polarized ethnic groups, by trying to change
the constitution to allow himself run for a third four-year
term.
The newspaper says the last thing Africa needs is for its
most populous country – Nigeria – to be pushed
into a civil war, warning that an out-of-control Nigeria “would
undermine its already fragile neighbors.”
Noting that Obasanjo has helped in the past to bring stability
to a volatile region, the New York Times says two terms in
power is enough, “and it is incumbent on President Bush
to tell Mr Obasanjo that changing his country’s constitution
so that he can remain in office is foolhardy. Another four
years is not worth a Nigerian civil war.”
Below is full text of the editorial:
In Nigeria, Things Fall Apart
When President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria visits Washington
this week, he will probably be lauded for his crucial role
as a regional African leader. During his seven years in power,
Mr Obasanjo helped end Liberia’s civil war by taking
in the strongman Charles Taylor and refused to accept a coup
in Togo. He was instrumental in making sure that the African
Union did not destroy its international credibility by installing
Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, as its head
despite the continuing carnage in Darfur. President Thabo
Mbeki of South Africa, the continent’s other big player,
could learn a lot from Mr Obasanjo about how to use his country’s
economic and military strength to promote peace and stability
around the region.
Unfortunately, while Mr Obasanjo deserves credit for good
deeds outside of Nigeria, his own country is deteriorating
fast and he is partly to blame. For one thing, by trying to
change Nigeria’s Constitution to allow himself to run
for a third four-year term as president, Mr Obasanjo is further
enflaming political tensions among Nigeria’s polarized
ethnic groups, particularly the Muslims in the North and Christians
in the South.
Nigeria lost more than 100 people in tit-for tat sectarian
rioting over Danish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed. In
the North, Muslims attacked and killed Christians. In the
South, Christian mobs wielding machetes and knives set upon
their Muslim neighbours in retaliation. And in the Niger River
Delta, militants seeking more local control over oil money
have attacked pipelines and even captured oil workers.
Fueling some of this is the perception, right or wrong, that
Mr Obasanjo’s much vaunted anti-corruption campaign
concentrates only on critics of his government. Certainly,
bad things continue to happen to foes of the Obasanjo government.
Three months ago, the wife of a prominent northern politician
was found stabbed to death in her home. Nothing was taken
from the house, leading many to conclude that her killing
was a warning to her husband, Abubakar Rimi, a crucial member
of a coalition of powerful northerners opposed to any extension
of Mr Obasanjo’s rule. And last week, police arrested
Mr Rimi and other opposition leaders for trying to hold a
peaceful rally.
The last thing Africa needs is its most populous country –
Nigeria has between 120 million and 150 million people –
in a civil war. An out-of-control Nigeria would undermine
its already fragile neighbors, like Liberia, Togo, Ivory Coast
and the Congo.
In his two terms, Mr Obasanjo has helped bring stability to
a volatile region. But two terms is enough, and it is incumbent
on President Bush to tell Mr Obasanjo that changing his country’s
Constitution so that he can remain in office is foolhardy.
Another four years is not worth a Nigerian civil war.
|
