Nigeria Faces Growing Hurdles
By Douglas Farah
Nigeria seems to be constantly on the brink of implosion. The recent elections, badly marred by fraud and a distinct lack of transparency, moved the nation on step closer to a conflict that would have direct security implications for the United States, as well as opportunity for Islamist terrorists and other non-state actors seeking to destabilize the region.
The most vocal and militant of the armed groups now waging a campaign of kidnapping and mayhem in the oil rich Niger Delta, has announced plans to step up its actions to pressure the government-elect of Umaru Yar'Adua, successor to president Obasanjo and of the same People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Yar'Adua has chosen Goodluck Jonathan, a state governor from the delta, as his vice president and the new government is due to be inaugurated on May 29. But that does not sit well with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), who view him as another crooked politician.
The almost-daily kidnappings of foreign oil workers (though most are let go in a matter of days) and destruction of the oil pipelines and the ensuing ecological damage, are among the most visible challenges to the new government.
There is also the growing militancy of the Taliban in Nigeria, in the north, the Saudi-funded mosque-building and _wahhabi_ outreach efforts, and the spread southward of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (former GSPC). My full blog is here.