www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, JUNE 2003
Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryNigeria electionsVoters recently elected Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo to a second term, giving him a two-to-one margin over his nearest
rival, Muhammadu Buhari. Both Obasanjo and Buhari are former military dictators,
but Obasanjo was later elected in a multi-party vote in 1999. Buhari faced two obstacles as a national candidate.
First, he has backed attempts by many of the states in the predominantly-Muslim
North to impose Islamic Shari'a law, which has included public whippings or even
sentences to death by stoning for "adultery." Second, older voters
remembered Buhari's actions as military ruler from 1983 to 1985, when he ordered
soldiers to carry out corporal punishments of civilians on the streets. During this year's election, international observers
reported instances of violence and vote-rigging, especially in the oil-rich
Southeast. While this may have boosted Obasanjo's margin of victory, few claimed
that Buhari could have won, even in a more honest vote. Corruption and authoritarianism, as well as ethnic and religious violence, which marked Obasanjo's first term, are likely to continue. In addition, while Obasanjo has promised to stop any executions for "adultery," his commitment to secular law is of a limited nature. He has allowed women like Amina Lawal, sentenced to death by stoning, to go through lengthy trials and appeals before northern judges and has not intervened as brutal public whippings have been carried out under Shari'a law. |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
