Abuja - History

Abuja, the capital of Nigeria was constructed in 1980s after they made the decision to move the capital from Lagos. The capital was finally moved to Abuja in 1991.

Below you can see a brief history of the city and the country

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Current Political Situation - Key Indicators
 

In the hope of restoring the country back to civilian rule, the AFRC created two new political parties: the National Republican Convention (NRC) led by Bashir Tofa from northern Nigeria and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) led by Chief Kashimawo Olawale Moshood Abiola, from the southwest, both, wealthy businessmen. The imposition provoked wide spread criticism. The SDP, led by the late Chief Moshood Abiola, obtained majority votes in the June 12 1993 presidential elections. Nevertheless, Nigerian’s hopes for a return to civilian rule were dashed when the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida annulled the results of the national elections after votes were counted. Repression escalated to unprecedented levels, culminating in the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues in November 1995. Military ruler General Sani Abacha- who took over power in 1993 from Babangida after his resignation- peddled another complex "transition" programme which generated internal protest. This was repeatedly quashed and the international community paid sporadic attention.

Despite the repression, human rights and environmental groups, trade unionists, educators, and others inside Nigeria continued to resist authoritarian rule. Among some of these groups are the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Campaign for Democracy (CD) and the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). International opposition was also supported by a large and well-educated group of Nigerians living abroad, including countries like the USA, South Africa and Canada and international organisations like the United Nations (UN), Oraganisation of African Unity (OAU)- now African Union (AU)- the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth. These organisations imposed limited sanctions on Nigeria, including a ban on arms sales and visa restrictions on Nigerian officials. There had also been increased international support for Nigerian organisations working for democracy and human rights.

Nigeria played and continues to play a leading role in African and more especially, West African affairs. It remains a prominent member of the ECOWAS and the AU. The Nigerian government has contributed a significant number of troops to ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), especially in the Liberian civil war in the early to mid 1990 and spearheaded the African military intervention that restored Sierra Leone to civilian rule in March 1998.

Nigeria had strained relations in mid-1993 with the United Kingdom as well as other European nations and the USA owing to its reluctance to embrace democratic governance and its bad human rights record. The same was with the Republic of South Africa but apparently had very good relations with its West African neighbour, Ghana. This was mainly a result of Nigeria’s assistance to Ghana in terms its of supply of crude oil.

The Bakassi peninsula (a region of strategic significance) located between Nigeria and Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea has strained relations between the two countries resulting in the loss of lives in both countries. Despite legal and diplomatic efforts at the resolution of the border conflict, some tension still exists between the countries over its ownership.

Abacha’s death in June 1998 was seen as a blessing in disguise as the country under a transitional government of Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar handed over power to a democratically elected government under the leadership of former head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo. Since then, the country has embarked on a series of reforms geared towards the consolidation of democracy and for that matter, good governance.
The most urgent issue in Nigeria currently is the issue of democracy, understood not only as an end to military rule but also as the establishment of responsive and responsible political institutions which promote a government that is accountable, prevent corruption, respect human and civil rights, and ensure popular sovereignty. The issue of corruption, nevertheless, still remains one of the most difficult problems under the current government of Obasanjo.

For most Nigerians however, the pressing problems of everyday survival remain the highest immediate priority. Since the oil boom of the 1970s, Nigeria's economy has been in crisis despite continued expansion in oil production.  The SAP has not helped the Nigerian economy much and the political instability since the early 1990s has severely impeded the ability of successive governments to implement economic policies. Without the establishment of an accountable government, the chances of addressing other pressing problems-like the deterioration of living conditions and the collapse of once outstanding educational institutions-are very minimal.

Nigeria is also well endowed with abundant human as well as natural resources to address its problems. Many of its outstanding leaders have been kept in prison or in exile. The solution for addressing its problems and thus consolidate democratic governance in the federal republic lies in having a government that works on the principles of good governance and is most especially, accountable to the Nigerian people. Good governance in Nigeria is thus essential to its stability and growth and that of the economies of West African countries in the Sub-region.

With increasing societal violence as Nigeria prepares for the 2003 elections, there are concerns of the state’s ability to hang together as a single entity. While the Olusegun Obasanjo administration can be criticised for not delivering the promised economic goods, the military has been cut down to size and there are attempts at re-professionalising the army. All in all, while the Nigerian situation gives grounds for concern,  the pessimistic judgements that the state may collapse is not that obvious.
Historical info thank to ISS (Institute for Security Studies)
 

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