April 22, 2007 ABUJA (Reuters/By Barry Moody) -International and local monitors rejected Nigeria’s election as a failure on Sunday in scathing verdicts on the first handover from one civilian president to another. The opposition and foreign observers called the vote, marred by rigging, a shortage of millions of voting papers and violence in which 16 people were killed, the worst in Nigeria, plagued by years of military ursine independencence from Britain in 1960.
As early results showed the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)heading for victory, the main opposition party said it wouldnot acceptt the election and called for President Olusegun Obasanjo to beimpeached.
The chaotic poll dashed hopes it would boost democracy in the WestAfrican giant, scarred by lengthy periods of military rule andcorruption that have left much of the population still cursed bypoverty despite the country’s huge oil wealth.
“The system failed the Nigerian people and suffers from a lack ofcredibility…the Nigerian people were failed by their leaders,” saidPierre Richard Prosper of the International Republican Institute,which monitored the vote.
The IRI, a U.S.-based pro-democracy group, said both Saturday’spresidential election and regional polls a week ago fell belowinternational standards. The biggest local monitoring group, whichhad 10,000 observers across Africa’s most populous nation, saidvoting was either delayed for hours or did not occur at all in manyareas. “We are going to call for a rerun of elections. You cannot usethe result from half of the country to announce a new president,”said Innocent Chukwuma, chairman of the Transition MonitoringGroup.
IMPEACHMENT CALL
Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, the leading oppositioncandidate, told Reuters in an interview: “We will not accept it.Clearly there was no election in more than half of the states.” Hesaid he would ask the National Assembly to impeach Obasanjo.
Rivers, the first state to publish its results, showed a landslidefor Umaru Yar’Adua of the PDP, Obasanjo’s chosen successor as hestands down after allies failed to secure a change to theconstitution to allow a third term.
Senate leader Ken Nnamani, the third most senior state officialand a member of the PDP, said Nigeria had abdicated its role as anexample to the rest of Africa.
“There will be a legacy of hatred. People will hate the newadministration and they will have a crisis of legitimacy,” he toldReuters by telephone.
But the government said criticism was part of a coup plot andaccused Nnamani of being involved. “These people have no shame,” heresponded, saying he had no interest in a coup.
The electoral commission acknowledged late arrival of materials insome parts of Nigeria but said this would not invalidate the result.”The poll we had yesterday was free and fair. Nobody was molested,”commission chief Maurice Iwu said.
The government alleged coup plotters were trying to discredit thepoll and fan protests, after failing to blow up electoralheadquarters on Saturday with a petrol tanker.
The opposition said it might bring its supporters out on thestreets if the PDP claimed victory.
“This is the worst election ever in Nigeria … They have noalternative than to cancel the election altogether,” said outgoingVice-President Atiku Abubakar, arch-enemy of Obasanjo.
The president tried every possible maneuver to exclude Abubakar,who stood for the opposition.
(Official INEC) results are expected on Monday April 23, 2007
INECheadquarters in Abuja targetted by petrol tanker…. Again, violenceand delays threaten Nigeria 2nd poll forPresident, Senators.Special to USAfricaonline.com,CLASSmagazine, USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston andTheBlack Business Journal .
Nigerians voted April 21, the second of two elections amidstviolence, logistical problems and allegations of “allocated votes”.At the time of this report, voting was closing in many pollingcenters. A major havoc failed to occur some hours before pollingstations opened, when unknown attackers with with a fully loadedpetrol tanker was used to try blow up the national electoralcommission’s headquarters in Nigeria’s capital Abuja. The truck hit atelephone pole outside INEC but failed to the building and did notexlpode. During voting, some armed thugs abducted an electionsofficer in Ondo state, carted away voting materials and scared manyaway from voting. Earlier in the evening of Friday (April 20)militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta attacked stormed theoffice of Gov. Goodluck Jonathan, Obasanjo’s pick as the ruling PDPparty’s vice-presidential ticket; two persons were killed. Forreport,click here
USAfrica VIEWPOINT: PresidentObasanjo, Nigeria is dying in yourhands. Another Open Letter toNigeria’s President by Prof.Niyi Osundare:
INSIGHT:Why America should halt thegenocide in the Sudan. By Chido Nwangwu,Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com. Certain facts and thecontinuing, bigoted impudence of Islamic Sudan offer clarity to whythe U.S should aggressively halt the genocide and gory events inAfrica’s largest country. The Sudan has almost 918,000 square milesin size and a war-weary population of 30million. Even as I call for ared line to be drawn against the rag-tag army ofArab-taliban-fascists in Africa and the assorted troops ofreligio-criminal rapists who have since four decades set upon thesouthern Christian, indigenous African Sudanese, I agree with Gen.Powell that “America will be a friend to all Africans who seek peace;but we cannot make peace among Africans.” He is right. Africans mustrespect and love each other. Continuedhere….
USAfrica VIEWPOINT: Nigeria’sflawed 2007 elections and avoiding a tragedy.Nigerians not ready to be governed once again by those they did notgive the consent had began to protest and to call for new elections.Clickhere for an exclusive commentary for USAfricaonline.com by our NewYork columnist Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo. He is the author of a newbook, Children of a retired God.
USAfrica INSIGHT: PresidentialSuccession and National Stability following 2007Nigeria. By andlarge then, Nigeria’s 2007 presidential election is, to my mind,first a search for a strong leader who has both the experience andproven capacity to take charge of Nigeria and permanently put to restthe fears and schisms that constantly threaten the survival of thenation. Put simply, the priority issue that ought to inform thesearch for and choice of the next president is national security andstability in their fullest meaning. By Dr. Chidi Amuta, ExecutiveEditor of USAfrica. Clickhere for full commentary.
OBASANJO’S FAILED 3RD TERM POWER-PLAY IS GOOD NEWS TO NIGERIANS,ABROAD AND HOME….USAfricaonline.com and its correspondents in Nigeriaand across the major cities of the U.S are reporting an increasingtally of anti-3rd term phone calls and e-mails from our readers. By amargin of almost 7-2, USAfricaonline.com data show that anoverwhelming majority of the politically active citizenry are happythat Nigeria’s Senate halted retiredGen. Olusegun Obasanjo’s stealthy, unpopular, behind-the-scenes-winkand nod power plays to secure an “unrequested” 3rd term as presidentof Nigeria (a total of 12 consecutive years).
Many Nigerians still feel disappointed that a man (Obasanjo)who had gained so much from Nigeria would cling so tightly to power,even against the popular will of the people, moreso with age, energyand fresh ideas for a new era not on his side.
Also, USAfricaonline.com review of Nigeria’s recent history show thatPresident Obasanjo seems to be moving rapidly into the zone ofill-repute of his former military colleagues who, like him, refusedto leave office when it was time to go. Gen. yakubu Gowon in 1975;Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1993; Gen. Sani Abacha in1995, 1996, 1997,1998. More baffling many Nigerians we interviewed recall is thelessons of the excesses of the late Gen. Abach who jailed Obasanjowhile the former schemed to remain in power. For the specialreport by USAfrica multimedia networks’ Publisher Chido Nwangwu,click on 3rdterm.
DEMOCRACYWATCH: What Bush Should TellObasanjo…. By ChidoNwangwu (Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com)
VIEWPOINT: Obasanjo,Go! Just go! Prof. Wole Soyinka
DEBATE: HowBlack intellectuals let Africa down, and westernstereoptypes complicate therest.By Cedrick Ngalande at the USC, LosAngeles
Why Chinua Achebe, the Eagle onthe Iroko, is Africa’s writer of the century. By ChidoNwangwu(First written on March 1, 2002, for USAfrica, updated forProf. Achebe’s 74th Birthday tribute on November 16, 2004, andpublished in CLASS magazinesame month): Africa’s most acclaimed and fluent writer of theEnglish Language, the most translated writer of Black heritage in theworld, broadcaster extraordinaire, social conscience of millions,cultural 
custodianand elevator, chronicler and essayist, goodwill ambassador and man ofprogressive rock-ribbed principles, the Eagleon the Iroko, Ugo n’abo Professor ChinuaAchebe, has recently been selected by adistinguished jury of scholars and critics (from 13 countries ofAfrican life and literature) as the writer of the Best book (ThingsFall Apart, 1958) written in the twentieth century regarding Africa.Reasonably, Achebe’s message has been neither dimmed nor dulled bytime and clime. He’s our pathfinder, the intellectual godfather ofmillions of Africans and lovers of the fine
art of good writing. Achebe’s cultural contexts are, at once,pan-African, globalist and local; hence, his literarycontextualizations soar beyond the confines of Umuofia and any Igboor Nigerian setting of his creative imagination or historical recall.
His globalist underpinnings and outlook are truly reflective ofthe true essence of his Igbo world-view, his Igbo upbringing anddisposition. Igbos and Jews share (with a few other other cultures)this pan-global disposition to issues of art, life, commerce,juridical pursuits, and quest to be republicanist in terms of thevitality of the individual/self. In Achebe’s works, the centrality ofChi (God) attains an additional clarity in the Igbo cosmology… itis a world which prefers a quasi-capitalistic business attitude whiletaking due cognizance of the usefulness of the whole, the community.I’ve studied, lived and tried to better understand, essentially, therigor and towering moral certainties which Achebe have employed inmost of his works and his world. I know, among other reasons, becauseI share the same ancestry with him. Permit me to attempt a briefsentence, with that Achebean simplicty and clarity. Here,folks, what the world has known since 1958: Achebe is good! Eagle onthe Iroko, may your Lineage endure! There has never been one likeyou!
Ugo n’abo, chukwu gozie gi oo!. ChidoNwangwu, recipient of the Journalism Excellence award (1997), isFounder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com (first African-ownedU.S.-based professional newspaper to be published on the internet),USAfrica The Newspaper,CLASS magazine and TheBlack Business Journal. He has served as an adviser to theMayor of Houston on international business (Africa) and appears as ananalyst on CNN, VOA, NPR, CBS News, NBC and ABC news affiliates.
This USAfricaonline.com commentary is copyrighted. Archivingon any other web site or newspaper is unauthorized except with aWritten Approval by USAfricaonline.comFounder. CLASSis the social events, heritage excellence and style magazine forAfricans in north America, described by The New York Times as themagazine for affluent Africansin America. It is published byprofessional journalists and leading mulitmedia leaders andpioneers.
InvestigatingMarcRich and his deals with Nigeria’sOil
Through an elaborate network of carrots and sticks anda willing army of Nigeria’s soldiers and some civilians,controversial global dealer and billionaire Marc Rich, literally andpractically, made deals and steals; yes, laughed his way to the banksfrom crude oil contracts, unpaid millions in oil royalties and falsedeclarations of quantities of crude lifted and exported from Nigeriafor almost 25 years. Worse, he lifted Nigeria’soil and shipped same to then embargoed apartheid regime in SouthAfrica. Read Chido Nwangwu’s NEWS INVESTIGATION REPORT forPetroGasWorks.com
| Nelson Mandela, Tribute to the world’s political superstar and Lion of Africa
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s burden mounts with murder charges, trials Why Bush should focus on dangers facing Nigeria’s return to democracy and Obasanjo’s slipperyslide
The Economics of Elections in Nigeria
Rtd. Gen. Babangida trip as emissary for Nigeria’s Obasanjo to Sudan raises curiosity, questions about what next in power play? 110 minutes with Hakeem Olajuwon Nigerian stabbed to death in his bathroom in Houston. Since 1958, Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” set a standard of artistic excellence, and more. By Douglas Killam Why Chinua Achebe, the Eagle on the Iroko, is Africa’s writer of the century. By Chido Nwangwu(First written on March 1, 2002, for USAfrica, updated for Prof. Achebe’s 74th Birthday tribute on November 16, 2004, and published in CLASS magazine same month): Africa’s most acclaimed and fluent writer of the English Language, the most translated writer of Black heritage in the world, broadcaster extraordinaire, social conscience of millions, cultural custodian and elevator, chronicler and essayist, goodwill ambassador and man of progressive rock-ribbed principles, the Eagle on the Iroko, Ugo n’abo Professor Chinua Achebe, has recently been selected by a distinguished jury of scholars and critics (from 13 countries of African life and literature) as the writer of the Best book (Things Fall Apart, 1958) written in the twentieth century regarding Africa. Reasonably, Achebe’s message has been neither dimmed nor dulled by time and clime. He’s our pathfinder, the intellectual godfather of millions of Africans and lovers of the fine His globalist underpinnings and outlook are truly reflective of the true essence of his Igbo world-view, his Igbo upbringing and disposition. Igbos and Jews share (with a few other other cultures) this pan-global disposition to issues of art, life, commerce, juridical pursuits, and quest to be republicanist in terms of the vitality of the individual/self. In Achebe’s works, the centrality of Chi (God) attains an additional clarity in the Igbo cosmology… it is a world which prefers a quasi-capitalistic business attitude while taking due cognizance of the usefulness of the whole, the community. I’ve studied, lived and tried to better understand, essentially, the rigor and towering moral certainties which Achebe have employed in most of his works and his world. I know, among other reasons, because I share the same ancestry with him. Permit me to attempt a brief sentence, with that Achebean simplicty and clarity. Here, folks, what the world has known since 1958: Achebe is good! Eagle on the Iroko, may your Lineage endure! There has never been one like you! This USAfricaonline.com commentary is copyrighted. Archiving on any other web site or newspaper is unauthorized except with a Written Approval by USAfricaonline.com Founder.
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DEBATE: How Black intellectuals let Africa down, and western stereoptypes complicate the rest. By Cedrick Ngalande at the USC, Los Angeles
22 million Africans HIV-infected, ill with AIDS while African leaders ignore disaster-in-waiting In a special report a few hours after the history-making nomination, USAfricaonline.com Founder and Publisher Chido Nwangwu places Powell within the trajectory of history and into his unfolding clout and relevance in an essay titled ‘Why Colin Powell brings gravitas, credibility and star power to Bush presidency.’ Powell named Secretary State by G.W. Bush; bipartisan commendations follow.
These views were stated during an interview CNN’s anchor Bernard Shaw and senior analyst Jeff Greenfield had with Mr. Nwangwu on Saturday November 18, 2000 during a special edition of ‘Inside Politics 2000.’ Johnnie Cochran will soon learn that defending Abacha’s loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson’s case. By Chido Nwangwu Should Africa debates begin and end at The New York Times and The Washington Post? No Cheryl Mills’ first class defense of Clinton and her detractors’ game It’s wrong to stereotype Nigerians as Drug Dealers Private initiative, free market forces, and more democratization are Keys to prosperity in Africa
Steve Jobs extends digital magic CLASS is the social events, heritage excellence and style magazine for Africans in north America, described by The New York Times as the magazine for affluent Africans in America. It is published by professional journalists and leading mulitmedia leaders and pioneers.
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he said that “Africa will not be an area of priority” in his presidency has 
