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A Special International Report
Prepared by
The Washington Times
Advertising Department - Published on September 30, 1999
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Sponsors (1) Federal Ministry of Finance
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This time is different
Shafi celebrated Major General Mohamadu Buhari’s coup back in 1983, believing Buhari had come to stop the embezzlement of the nation's funds. But a change of heart came after long frustration. “The military have robbed us for so long without achievement,” he said. “Never again will the military come back! We don’t want to see them again.”
Nigeria is not alone. Between the late 1980s and early 1990s the wave of democratic change swept not only the African continent but a great swath of the developing world, including the former Communist states of Eastern Europe. Regime after regime was toppled: Argentina, Chile, Ghana – under the weight of an increasingly politicized civil society, pressures from the international community and unsustainable economic practices of authoritarian military regimes. And now Nigeria, once authoritarian, has found herself swept up by the tide and drifting toward an entrenched and irreversible democratization.
Like many other African countries, Nigeria’s road to democracy has been fraught with false starts and obstacles that have left the population leery of premature jubilation. But on Friday May 28, with the night skies of the capital Abuja alight with fireworks in celebration of General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s relinquishment of power, the excitement was palpable. They were the first fireworks after 15 years of military rule, and they signaled a fresh attempt at a transition to a civilian government.
Mohammed Ismail, sitting in his mud hut among a handful of family members, said he flinched when he heard the fireworks’ blast. “I turned to my brother and for an instant I knew he was thinking the same thing: the military men have come back.” He said he was relieved when he saw the colors lighting up the sky, but at the same time conceded the hand-over has not taken from him the decades of insecurity and mistrust.
But for many Nigerians, the latest transition has an enduring quality. Confidence in President Olusegun Obasanjo and his elected civilian government has slowly seeped into even the most skeptical hearts. Today, some two months into the new regime, even Mohammed’s suspicion is relenting. “There’s a difference,” he admitted. “Things cannot be okay now, but we have seen a difference, little by little.”
Obasanjo’s is the first civilian government in more than 15 years of uninterrupted military rule. A former military ruler himself from 1976 to 1979, he handed over power to the last democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari, who was ousted in the 1983 coup led by Buhari.
Ten years later the apparent winner of the June 12, 1993 election, Chief Moshood Abiola, was charged with treason by General Sani Abacha after declaring himself president. He was thrown into prison. His detention dashed the nation’s hopes that the military’s long-awaited return to barracks had finally come.
After some four years of mostly solitary confinement, Abiola died of an alleged heart attack on July 8, 1998 while meeting with a U.S. delegation led by Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice. Abacha had died suddenly a month earlier, prompting the takeover by Abubakar.
Some political observers have voiced concerns that high expectations of democracy could surpass the administration’s ability to provide the people with desperately needed basic services – power, water and telecommunications. The fear is that with expectations exceeding reality, the administration could lose popular support and the nascent democracy could find itself fending off yet another military takeover.
But the anxiety appears to be largely unfounded. Obasanjo is an old hand, with experience as both a former head of state and a military leader. And though his last tenure as head of state was unelected, the president has proven himself to be in touch with popular demands and steadfast in his determination to ensure an enduring democracy.
In his inauguration speech he prepared Nigerians for the difficult times ahead and asked for both their patience and support. Departing head of state Abubakar responded in kind. “Lots of things were damaged in the last 10 to 15 years. You can’t fix broken things immediately. The president said, give him one year. So we give him time to fix what is broken.
This is not to say, however, that Abubakar’s expectations have disappeared.. “We have a big country with a lot of raw materials. Now we need jobs. There are no lazy men here.”
But above all, he says he is just trying to be patient. “We are still expecting so many things from the man.”
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Table of Contents (1) It's a new dawn over Nigeria |
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Nigerians are enjoying their new democracy the way people enjoy a new home. Just ask anyone – Shafi Ndaya, a cab driver in the streets of Abuja is overjoyed. “I so love it,” he said.