Outside the Beltway

NIGERIAN ELECTION

· Tuesday, April 22, 2003 · 2 comments

I am SHOCKED! SHOCKED! that Olusegun Obasanjo has won reelection in Nigeria amidst charges of–get this–corruption.

Those who had high hopes for Jeffersonian democracy in that citadel of freedom can take comfort in this:

The United States ambassador, Howard F. Jeter, said on Monday that it was too early to deliver a verdict on the conduct of the elections, even with the reports of irregularities.

“This is not an excuse for some of the things that happened,” he said. “There is a recognition of Nigeria’s past. That past is not a good one in terms of democratic practice. This is a huge country. We have to exercise some patience.”

No mention of whether he’s any relation to Hans Blix.

FILED UNDER: Africa, Democracy, Political Theory, , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. PoliBlogger says:
    Tuesday, 22 April 2003 at 19:31

    My main problem with Obasanjo is that every time I see his name I think about the SNL Bush-Gore debate 2 sketch where Bush/Will Ferrell is pronouncing all the African leaders’ names.

  2. James Joyner says:
    Tuesday, 22 April 2003 at 19:32

    Yep:) In fact, I was just looking for a link to that when I got your comment:)

    —

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