POLITICS-NIGERIA: President Obasanjo Sworn-in for Second Term

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, May 29 2003 (IPS) - President Olusegun Obasanjo took the oath of office for a second term in a ceremony held in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on Thursday.

Chief Justice Muhamed Lawal Uwais, who performed the ceremony, also swore-in President Obasanjo for the first term in office on May 29, 1999.

As Obasanjo took the oath of allegiance, songs of ”Otise o, Baba ti se o, Oun to mba wa leru Baba ti se o” (God has done what we thought could not be done) rent the air.

In his inauguration speech, President Obasanjo thanked all friends of Nigeria especially the 15 African leaders, including President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe for attending the ceremony. He also thanked Deputy Prime Minister of Britain, John Prescott and members of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus for standing by Nigeria.

Opposition political parties, claiming widespread fraud in the April presidential elections, had threatened to disrupt the occasion.

Their claims have been rejected by the government.

”Sceptics, basing their predictions on electoral antecedents, have predicted the worst possible scenario for our elections. But thank God they have been proven wrong,” said Obasanjo.

”The learning process for them has not been easy," he added.

Heavy rains appear to have prevented the protestors from taking to the streets on Thursday.

”God has answered our prayers for a successful and peaceful transition to civilian rule. When we started the elections on Apr. 12, there was heavy rain which prevented thuggery. The Presidential and gobernatorial elections on Apr. 19 also witnessed heavy rains, yet voters turned out in large numbers to cast their votes and there was no trouble,” said Janet Ajibade, a retired nurse.

Ajibade, who is in her early 70s, told IPS: ”Today again, (former military ruler Muhammadu) Buhari has called for mass protest against the inauguration of President Obasanjo for a second term. But strangely, the heavens opened up again. It has been raining here all day and this has prevented any chaos especially in Lagos where some people were planning mass action”.

Nigeria, a politically volatile nation, has had two unsuccessful transitions to civilian rule in 47 years, with the military overthrowing an elected government in both cases. Since independence from Britain in 1960, Nigeria has had 12 heads of government, of which only three were elected.

General Buhari, Presidential candidate of the All Nigerian People’s Party who is leading a coalition of 15 political parties, has called for mass actions against the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for allegedly rigging the April polls.

In his speech, Obasanjo, who largely ignored the opposition, said the activities of his government in the oil and gas sector had dwarfed the last 30 years under military rule. ”Persistent drive to attract foreign investment has increased to those who plan to invest in Nigeria," he said.

The Nigerian leader said his administration will in the next four years embark on vigorous investment on roads, power supply, health, education and agriculture.

”Our determination is to improve power supply and bring output to 10,000 mega watts by the end of our tenure. More resources will be put in hospitals to stop preventable diseases and death and raise the life expectancy of citizens. Agriculture production will continued to be increased to ensure food security,” Obasanjo said.

He said the last four years had seen Nigeria, with a population of 120 million, being accepted by the international community.

”These partners have since welcomed us back into the comity of nations where our honour have been fully restored and we are now fully respected as we discharge our obligations consistent with our foreign policy. We thank those foreign investors who have followed with substantial investment in our future and raised our profile for many others who are yet to come in,” he said.

”While we cultivate new friends and cherish old ones, there is a limit we can depend on outside world with regards to debt relief efforts in the last four years, which yielded little,” he warned.

Nigeria’s external debt is estimated to be more than 30 billion U.S. dollars. On Wednesday, Ghanaian President, John Kuffor gave a lecture in Abuja on ”Democracy and the Prospect for Peace Development and National Integration in Nigeria”.

He said: ”Too many of Africa’s young and bright people have left and are continuing to leave the continent driven away by the frustrating conditions within their countries and the allure of the stability and prosperity of the more advanced countries. It is clear that no amount of appeals will reverse the trend until Africa can guarantee peace, security and opportunity to its citizens”.