Also available
Nigeria Country Profile
50 years of struggle begin to bear fruit
Nobody could have predicted that on 1 October, 1960 – when Nigeria declared independence – that half a century later the country would finally have a stable democracy, be taking the first steps towards weaning itself off its ruinous oil habit and be firmly on course towards becoming a global economic giant.
The journey hasn’t been easy. There has been a civil war, military coups, religious conflict, huge levels of corruption and a sustained insurgency that has yet to be resolved. But, as the last fireworks fade from the sky and the country returns to the daily grind, Nigerians can look to the future with confidence, remembering the words of one of their most famous sons, Chinua Achebe: ‘The damage done in one year can sometimes take ten or twenty years to repair.’ It looks like those repairs are finally starting to be made.
Proving that it is now a mature democracy, 2010 has seen Nigeria make the peaceful transition from Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration to that of former vice-president Goodluck Jonathan. After Yar’Adua’s life-threatening heart condition saw him make a withdrawal from public life in 2009, Jonathan was appointed by the Senate in February 2010 to serve as acting president, avoiding a potentially dangerous power vacuum.
Despite predictions that he would make a recovery, Yar’Adua sadly died in May this year. President Jonathan assumed office on 6 May 2010 and paid tribute to his predecessor, saying: ‘Nigeria has lost the jewel on its crown and even the heavens mourn with our nation tonight.’ Barack Obama and Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka also marked Yar’Adua’s passing.
President Jonathan has inherited a stable economy, with an oil sector slowly recovering after years of violence and increasingly vibrant agriculture and tourism sectors. Recent months have already seen him act quickly and decisively to remove the taint of corruption from Nigeria’s government, as well as appointing a cabinet with a combination of energy and experience.
