Goodluck Jonathan—representing the Christian South—has been acting president since Umaru Yar'Adua left to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. On the surface, the replacement led to inaction and a political vacuum, while behind the scenes a tussle was playing out.
Recently, the ill president reportedly returned to Nigeria, but has not been seen in public yet. Critics say that his covert return was a desperate attempt to hold on to power.
On Wednesday evening, Information Minister Dora Akunyili formally announced the dissolution of the Cabinet, adding that there will be “no vacuum in the government as permanent secretaries will take charge.” The names of the new ministers will be forthcoming.
“There are three reasons for the dissolution,” an acting presidency source was reported in Nigerian media as saying on Thursday. “One, it had become glaring that the Cabinet is no longer one. Some ministers are working for their governors and trying to work against the acting president. Two, the budget will soon pass. A strong team is needed to deliver the goods. Three, the acting president needs to assert himself. It’s not good for the country when people think he does not have the liver to take this sort of action.”
This is acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s first major move since he had been granted full presidential powers on Feb. 9 and could pave the way for a prolonged rule.
“I think it is very smart of Goodluck Jonathan to replace those that were allies to ill president Umaru Yar'Adua, as they basically were sabotaging his plans, but it does not completely solve Nigeria’s problems,” said Nick Nwolisa, columnist at the Nigerian World.
Ethnic Tensions
The unfolding political strife within the Nigerian government could be a miniature of the country’s ethnic tensions at large. These tensions have resulted in ruthless killings of ethnic Christians and Muslims over the past months.
Amidst the pouring rain in the early hours of Wednesday, another massacre took place in a small village Byie, south of Jos in central Nigeria. Raiders with machetes entered the village, setting fire to houses, killing 12 ethnic Christians whilst cutting out their tongues. This is the latest episode of bloodshed between Christians and Muslims, and has shocked the international community with its ruthlessness and horror.
“For Nigerians or those familiar with the situation there, this [the violence] doesn’t come as a surprise,” Nwolisa said.
The manner in which the Nigerian army has responded to the violence also raised doubts about their goodwill to protect citizens. Last week when more than 200 people were killed in a massacre in Dogon Nahawa, it took the army more than two hours to respond to the alarm. By then the attackers were gone and there were dead bodies all over the streets.
“Nigeria has a lot of diversity; it is always difficult for people of different cultures and traditions, and beliefs to live together. This is the mistake the colonial master made in most of the African nations,” Nwolisa said. He added, “Religion is just one aspect, though a major one.”
This week Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi made the headlines and angered Nigerian leaders by saying that the only solution for Nigeria is to be divided into a Christian and a Muslim state. In 1967 the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria attempted to split from the rest of Nigeria. The attempt failed and claimed the lives of more than 1 million people.
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