The past three weeks of Nigeria’s EndSARS protests have me listening again to late Nigerian Afrobeat star and political activist Fela Kuti’s “Sorrow Tears & Blood.”

Nigeria has been a proudly democratic country for 21 years, but its law enforcement and military retain many of the worst habits of a previous era. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is an elite, corrupt force involved in everything from citizen harassment and unlawful arrests to kidnappings and extra-judicial killings. Young Nigerians, particularly anyone with signs of wealth but no obvious links to power, are regularly targeted and “arrested,” and their only hope of release is paying an extortionate amount of cash.

The Oct. 20 shooting of unarmed, peaceful protestors in Lagos was a turning point, and a lot rests on where things go from here. As with the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, for these young Nigerians the protests have become about more than police brutality. They are about fixing a country’s weak governance and lack of accountability. They are about restoring hope.

With campaigning well under way for general elections on 16 February, these are the men – and they invariably are men – who pull the strings behind the scenes.

They are political sponsors, who use money and influence to win support for their preferred candidates.

Their “godsons”, it is believed, are not always selected for their political acumen, but rather on their ability to repay and enrich their godfather.

These arrangements have spawned the term “godfatherism”.

One of the biggest exports coming out of Nigeria right now is music, with Afrobeats stars such as Davido and Wizkid making it big on the international stage.

Nigerian music is permeating playlists across the world, and its stars have a huge fan base.
Last month, Davido performed in front of thousands at the Wireless Music Festival in London and is due to embark on a US tour later this month.

And Wizkid made history last year by being the first Nigerian solo act to have a sold-out show at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall.

More than fifty lawmakers and a state governor quit Buhari’s ruling All Progressives Congress this week, with the vast majority switching allegiances to the People’s Democratic Party. While both parties have struggled with internal divisions, the mass defections are breathing new life into the PDP, which ruled Africa’s most-populous nation from the end of military rule in 1999 until former President Goodluck Jonathan was ousted by Buhari in the 2015 election.

The goal now for the PDP, which gained a majority in the senate just before the end of the summer session, is to unite behind a candidate who’ll take on Buhari, a 75-year-old former military ruler, in elections scheduled for February.

Foreigners wonder why Nigerian government officials do not opt for simpler language.Are they intentionally trying to confuse the public or to conceal information?

Well, these press releases are simply following an age-old Nigerian tradition of verbal ornamentation.

For us, important information has always been best conveyed with grandiloquence.

Here are five articles from the Economist’s Special Report on Nigeria. All students read “Opportunity Knocks”, then read the one article assigned to you.

• Opportunity knocks
• Miracle in Abuja
• After oil
• The only thing that works
• Keep it calm
• Can he do it?

Read  these six  articles (12 pages)…..

• Democratic Transition in Nigeria
• Bloomberg Editorial
• Opinion: Democracy is taking root in Nigeria
• Nigeria’s Democratic Revolution
• Miracle in Abuja

…and respond to these questions.

Sahara Reporters does a great job of rounding up major news stories from Nigeria (and West Africa where relevant to Nigeria).

On a visit to Germany, he said: “I don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room.”

Mr Buhari was standing next to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who seemed to glare at him.

In Nigeria, it has always been hard to ignore the heavily politicised and radical overtones that suffuse popular dance music. After suffering a terrible civil war that killed three million people in three years, and a police state giving way to a military dictatorship, working-class and middle-class Nigerians were not just worn out after the 1970 coup but also bitterly angry that they were seeing no benefits whatsoever from the discovery of huge oilfields or their country’s membership of Opec. The gulf between the rich and poor could not have been wider. And it was in this atmosphere that the charismatic and rich-voiced Arakatula released the low-slung, agitated prop disco banger Wake Up Africa in 1979.

 

Here is a list of all (?) of the officially recognized parastatal organizations in Nigeria. Recall that a parastatal is an agency or a company that is, to some degree, government owned and/or directed. The parastatal possesses political clout and is nominally separate from the government, but its activities serve the state, either directly or indirectly.

1. Carefully clean house. Buhari’s reform agenda probably faces its greatest threat from corrupt, old-school politicians within his own All Progressives Congress (APC) party. Buhari should neutralize some of the APC’s shadiest figures, who could emerge as “veto players,” as described in Carl LeVan’s recent book. Admittedly, housecleaning carries political risks for Buhari…

2. Pare down the parastatals. Buhari has an opportunity to realize immediate savings by eliminating or merging some of Nigeria’s more than 500 federal parastatals and boards. Parastatals are government-operated companies or commercial agencies. Pundits allege that past presidents used parastatal appointments to cultivate national political allies and provincial cronies.

3. Tame the white elephants. Buhari’s apparent determination to revive two “white elephant” economic sectors — domestic oil refineries and steel mills — worry industry experts. Nigeria is replete with these kinds of investment projects where state-owned enterprises are funded for long periods even if they incur huge losses. For decades, Nigerian leaders have thrown good money after bad at these projects because, as Robinson and Torvik argue, white elephant projects yield short-term political gains…

4. Rein in subnational debt. As Buhari tries to put Nigeria’s public finances back in order, the balance sheets of the country’s 36 states are sinking deeper into the red. In a decentralized federal system like Nigeria’s, state budgets typically affect the lives of ordinary citizens more than federal spending does. Since taking office, Buhari has already bailed out 27 cash-strapped states to the tune of $2.1 billion. States’ borrowing trends are risky and need to be addressed, according to a recent report by the African Development Bank.

5. Legislate for the long run. Nigeria will need to feel the “Buhari Effect” (the sense, evident in a recent New York Times article, that there is a new sheriff in town) long after the president’s tenure is over. The best way for him to protect his legacy is to partner with the National Assembly to enact legislation enshrining key reforms. With few other politicians like him on the horizon, Buhari should put his legacy in writing.

Full text from WaPo

PBS NewsHour’s unprecedented look inside Africa’s richest and most populous country. The four part “Nigeria: Pain and Promise” series with Special Correspondent Nick Schifrin explores the country’s ongoing battle with Boko Haram, economic promise, corruption and treatment of gay Nigerians.

Part One: The Halliburton Case and Corruption in Nigeria

Here are all six parts on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO-fQg20AYAf7A37MQcI8VB9b7sEkQ3j1

This British documentary is decidedly anti-Buhari. Up to you to sift through the propaganda and separate fact from flub…

Nigeria’s Ogoniland still looks as devastated by oil pollution as when the junta executed my father 20 years ago. But the carbon economy seems to be reaching a tipping point at last

Ken Saro-Wiwa joined the government to fight for reform. Now, as he leaves, he reflects on how young Nigerians are transforming the nation

“Nigeria’s constitution is configured to give the president more powers than any equivalent political office. Despite attempts to strike a balance between the legislature, judiciary and executive, the office of the president is primus inter pares. Part monarchy, part deity, head of state, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, dictator, godfather, Big Man – Nigeria’s chief executive can be anything he cares to be if he exercises the considerable powers vested in his office.”

“Like much of Africa, Nigeria has a particularly pronounced youth bulge – 70% of the 180 million people are under 30 and no African government will survive unless it learns to engage with the changing values, needs and expectations of this demographic. Armed with new technologies and connected to communities and networks far beyond their local constituencies, Africa’s youth are finding new, exciting avenues for self-expression through music, fashion, film, television and even gaming culture.”

Boko Haram, the militant group that has tortured Nigeria and its neighbors for years, was responsible for 6,664 deaths last year, more than any other terrorist group in the world, including the Islamic State, which killed 6,073 people in 2014, according to a report released Wednesday tracking terrorist attacks globally.

….Mr. Buhari, who took office in May, ran on a platform of eliminating Boko Haram, which he has pledged to do by the end of December, as well as cutting back on corruption that has dogged the nation.

This week, Mr. Buhari accused the previous administration’s national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, of pocketing more than $2 billion that had been allocated for warplanes, helicopters and other military gear to fight Boko Haram. Mr. Dasuki has denied the allegations.

Source: New York Times

Americanah author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie offers this starling op-ed on a challenge in Nigerian life that seems to get Lights Out in Nigeria

“I cannot help but wonder how many medical catastrophes have occurred in public hospitals because of “no light,” how much agricultural produce has gone to waste, how many students forced to study in stuffy, hot air have failed exams, how many small businesses have foundered. What greatness have we lost, what brilliance stillborn? I wonder, too, how differently our national character might have been shaped, had we been a nation with children who took light for granted, instead of a nation whose toddlers learn to squeal with pleasure at the infrequent lighting of a bulb.”