Nigeria's president is troubled by his predecessor
Olusegun Obasanjo's reputation as a financially prudent president is being undermined by a series of investigations. This presents his successor with a dilemma.
A year after coming to power, Umaru Yar'Adua is finding it increasingly difficult to fulfil his campaign pledge of tackling Nigeria's endemic corruption. While the Nigerian president made an encouraging start, initiating various investigations and annulling a number of suspect deals, he faces a dilemma: the more investigations that take place, the greater the evidence of misappropriation under the previous administration, headed by Olusegun Obasanjo. Mr Obasanjo's reputation for leading a financially prudent administration is thus being gradually unravelled. Given that President Yar?Adua was hand-picked by his predecessor, and that Olusegun Obasanjo is widely perceived to be his mentor, this is something of an embarrassment to the head of state, and many Nigerians are now watching to see how he responds to the mounting evidence of mismanagement and corruption during the Obasanjo era. ...
Read More...
[Source: The Economist: News analysis
