CIAO DATE: 09/2008
February 2008
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Because of the significance of Nigeria to the entire African continent, and because of growing concern that the United States had paid insufficient attention to the signs of growing tensions and instability within Nigeria on the lead-up to the 2007 national elections, a consortium of primarily Washington-based institutions (the Wilson Center, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Africa Program at John Hopkins’ School for Advanced and International Studies, and the Council on Foreign Relations) organized a series of programs designed to engage both Nigerian and American policymakers in an examination of “The Pending Nigerian Elections: A Step Toward Democratic Consolidation or Descent into Chaos?” Three of these programs were held prior to the elections, and focused on “Nigeria’s Political Outlook: The 2007 Elections and Beyond,” “The Niger Delta: Prospects for Elections and the Future Reform Agenda,” and “Nigeria: On the Eve of National Elections.” This paper reports on the fourth program, “A Post- Elections Assessment,” which was hosted by the Wilson Center.
As the panelists who participated in the post-election assessment made clear, the deeply flawed elections of 2007 only deepened Nigeria’s political crisis, calling into question not only the very legitimacy of the newly elected government, but also the future of opposition parties and of political diversity in Nigeria.Yet, even the most critical analysts voiced some degree of optimism that the combination of a still credible independent judiciary and a vibrant civil society could enable Nigeria to halt its downward spiral. And, as of this writing, it is probably fair to say that the newly elected President, notwithstanding the substantial cloud under which he assumed office, has surprised many observers by his adroit handling of Nigeria’s ongoing political crisis.
The verdict is still out on Nigeria’s ability to right itself, and to return to its democratic path. This “Post-Election Assessment,” involving a number of distinguished American and Nigerian analysts, yielded a very rich conversation about the varied issues that must be addressed if Nigerian political legitimacy is to be restored, and if future electoral processes are to be credible in the eyes of both Nigerians and the international community.
Resource link: Assessing the Nigeria Elections: Can Democracy Emerge from a Badly Flawed Process? [PDF] - 2.3M