May 18, 2006 / Editorial

That's as it should be. The move to rewrite Nigeria's Constitution to allow Mr. Obasanjo to join the club of African strongmen who never know when to call it quits was a disaster in the making. Nigeria is already contending with plenty of disasters.

Mr. Obasanjo has played a crucial role as a regional African leader. During his seven years in power, he helped broker a peace deal between the Sudanese government and the main rebel group in Darfur. He helped end Liberia's civil war by taking in Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president and warlord. He refused to accept a coup in Togo, and was instrumental in making sure that the African Union did not destroy its credibility by installing Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, as its leader despite the continuing carnage in Darfur.

Mr. Obasanjo has set an example of regional leadership. The disappointing President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa would do well to follow it.

But. Mr. Obasanjo's own country, Nigeria, is in a state of crisis, and he is partly to blame. Trying to change the Constitution to allow himself to run for a third four-year term has only inflamed political tensions among Nigeria's polarized ethnic groups, particularly among the Muslims in the north and the Christians in the south. Many politicians in the predominantly Muslim north want the top job to go to someone from their region after eight years of rule by Mr. Obasanjo, a Christian from the south. That's a matter for the people of Nigeria to decide, but they should make their choice in a vote that is not weighted toward a two-term incumbent.

The last thing Africa needs is a civil war in Nigeria, its most populous country. An out-of-control Nigeria would undermine already fragile nearby nations like Liberia, Togo, Ivory Coast and Congo.

But a Nigeria that actually has a peaceful and lawful transfer of power? Now that would be one for the books, and a shining example for the rest of the continent.

Robot  Villager

# 1 ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 18.05.2006 18:20

Auspicious  Villager

# 2 And the NY Times speaketh..again, of Obasanjo's achievements... How come, for goodness sake, this man traded all that goodwill for such an unpopular and expired idea of sitting tight in power? What happened to him? Anybody knows? O ma se o! {Pity!} Posted by Auspicious| 18.05.2006 18:53

Sam Kargbo  JJC

# 3 Good intensions but the religious element in the geopolitical agitations is way off the point.Political calcualtions and projections hardly add up to a Muslim/Christian divide in Nigeria. Sam Kargbo Posted by Sam Kargbo| 18.05.2006 19:43

igwe  Villager

# 4 The NYT's interest in Nigeria is becoming rather overwhelming, and...well, suspect! May be it's time to ask them who thier candidate for the presidency is. They'll probably tell us that it's the person who's purported to be responsible for the so-called "economic miracle" in Nig. Get what I mean? Their own stooge, that is. It's high time we told them that Nigerians have suffered so much in the past 8 years that we now need a radical change. Posted by igwe| 18.05.2006 20:08

Abraxas  Villager

# 5 Hi, folks! It is in fact rather ironic, if not completely weird to observe that the government, or the people, or the press of the US of A would express so much “micro-interest” in nurturing and establishing a genuine stable democracy in Nigeria (of all African countries), given the undisguised disinterest, veering on benign contempt, that US President George W. Bush (II) has shown towards Africa so far. However, thanks a zillion to the crude oil and natural gas reserves of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, complemented by the nightmare in Iraq in particular, and the Middle East in general, there is no doubt anymore that George W. Bush (II) is NOW very interested in Nigeria. Thanks also to the misadventures of General Olusegun Aremu (Baba 3rd Term) Mathew Okikiolakan Obasanjo in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, over the past seven years. Definitely, the Law of Unintended Consequences is actively at play in Nigeria, right now! Muchas gracias. Adios. Posted by Abraxas| 18.05.2006 22:00

edoji  Villager

# 6 Nigerians have done their own thing! The west - The UK House of Lords, and now the New York Times- should stop paternalising us! We quite know and understand the reason for their overbearing interest. ... Elsdaniel Posted by edoji| 19.05.2006 18:58