Nigerian president dies, paving way for heated succession battle
35 replies, posted
[url]http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64468820100506[/url]
[release][img]http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100505&t=2&i=102634054&w=460&r=2010-05-05T235327Z_01_BTRE6441R5R00_RTROPTP_0_TANZANIA[/img]
[B](Reuters) - Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua died late on Wednesday aged 58 after a long battle with kidney and heart ailments, paving the way for the most hotly contested succession since the country's return to democracy a decade ago.[/b]
Acting President Goodluck Jonathan -- who has been running Africa's most populous nation for months during Yar'Adua's illness -- is expected to be sworn in as head of state and appoint a new deputy, according to the constitution.
The pair will then complete the unexpired presidential term in the oil-producing nation of more than 140 million people until elections due by April 2011.
The presidency announced seven days of national mourning and said Yar'Adua would be buried in his northern home state of Katsina at 2 pm (1300 GMT) on Thursday.
"The nation is in shock. The nation is mourning. The Acting President has declared seven days of mourning and during this period the Nigerian flag will fly at half mast," presidency spokesman Ima Niboro told reporters.
Information Minister Dora Akunyili told Reuters Yar'Adua had died at around 2000 GMT in the presidential villa.
U.S. President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Yar'Adua's family and remembered his "profound personal decency and integrity."
Yar'Adua had been absent from the political scene since November, when he left for medical treatment for a heart condition in Saudi Arabia. He returned to Nigeria in February but remained too sick to govern.
Jonathan assumed executive powers in February and has since consolidated his hold on power, appointing a new cabinet and his own team of advisers. But Yar'Adua's death raises the stakes in the run-up to the next elections.
It is unclear if Jonathan, who is from the southern Niger Delta, will run for president because of an unwritten agreement in the ruling party that power rotates between north and south. The next four-year term is due to go to Yar'Adua's Muslim north.
"The paramount issue will be who the new vice president will be. It'll probably be a northerner (who) will be front runner for the presidency in 2011," said Kayode Akindele, a director at Lagos-based consultancy Greengate Strategic Partners.
A presidential aide told Reuters there was no rush to swear in Jonathan as head of state because, as Acting President, he is already commander-in-chief.
MIXED LEGACY
Sworn-in pledging respect for the rule of law, Yar'Adua was initially seen by many Nigerians as a breath of fresh air after eight years of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, an overbearing ex-military ruler with a penchant for disregarding court orders and legal detail.
He was Nigeria's first university-educated leader and won victory in April 2007 polls which, though marred by intimidation and ballot-stuffing, marked the first transfer of power from one civilian president to another since independence in 1960.
But the optimism quickly faded.
Yar'Adua earned the nickname "Baba Go-Slow," a reference to the local term for Nigeria's crippling traffic jams, for what critics said was slow progress on everything from economic reforms to restoring the shambolic energy sector.
His biggest achievement was in the restive Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
Militant attacks rumbled on during the early part of his tenure, but his offer of amnesty last year led thousands of gunmen to lay down their weapons and has brought more than six months of relative peace in the region.
The main militant group in the region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said it was saddened by Yar'Adua's death.
"MEND considers the late president a genuine peacemaker whose initiatives, humility and respect began to bring confidence to the peace process," the group said in an email to Reuters. "His death may leave a vacuum that may not be filled."[/release]
Let's hope they stay stable. Nigeria has a lot of oil.
[editline]10:30PM[/editline]
OH FUCK ME.
Can a mod change the title?
Um....your title...yeah......
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8's original title;21766342]Niggerian president dies, paving way for heated succession battle[/QUOTE]
Saving for the future to laugh at.
nice typo
You spelt it wrong, it's Nigerian.
Really convenient typo, indeed.
I laughed uncontrollably at the typo
Oh god, not the president of Niggeria!
I got an email about this today from Dr. Kraskavumar Uyar'Arau P.h.D.
Apparently, with only my credit card number, I can become the next King's personal advisor. A worthy investment. Im going for it.
I use to pronounce it Niggeria until I was corrected by a teacher
And his lawyer wants to leave his entire estate to you. Just give him your bank number and PIN...
Edit:
Shit, ninja'd.
TH89 will not be happy about this
Now the prince can take his rightful place on the throne!
Now where is that million he promised me....
Lol.
OP, you misspelled the title deliberately didn't you?
You cheeky bastard, I bet you did. :v:
Holy shit the niggerians president dies! Black people all over the world should have a silent minute ^^
Anyway how much oil do nigeria have? on a 1 to 10 invasion rating by america? :o
*Oh yeah "President Goodluck Jonathan" is a pretty nice name :D just let him keep the seat.
This facepunch fuckup is second only to the $999.95 goldmember
[img]http://www.facepunch.com/image.php?u=266095&dateline=1272509802[/img]
Be very quiet he's hunting "insert ban word" here.
Fucking lol'd at the title when I saw it.
I can't stop laughing at "Niggerian“, this is most likely to be one of the funniest typo I have yet to seen.
[QUOTE=PrismatexV8;21766306]Niggerian president dies, paving way for heated succession battle [/QUOTE]
Freud would be proud.
i'm still waiting for those douchebags to transfer that 6 million dollars to my bank account
Germany needs to get in africa and start to kill some genocidal assholes. People will never stereotype every german as a nazi again.
OP is a racist.
[QUOTE=CPPNOOB;21769641]OP is a racist.[/QUOTE]
That statement combined with your avatar is getting you informative ratings.
It took me a full 60 seconds to get over "Niggerian" and realize that this is actually pretty bad news.
Oh dear.
Gold.
Also, news section is more appropriate, no?
[QUOTE=cccritical;21780727]Oh dear.
Gold.
Also, news section is more appropriate, no?[/QUOTE]
Post a thread in News Node and get back to me.
Thread title is legend material
You've made a Nigerian sad. :(
I hope whoever does become the new president sends me back the 1million pounds I gave him to borrow.
Cuz he sent me an email saying so.
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