Zimbabwe woe as banks stay shut

Banks in Zimbabwe failed to open on Christmas Day, despite earlier pledges from the central bank governor.

Instead, long lines of Zimbabweans desperate for local currency queued at the few machines dispensing cash.

On top of rampant inflation, mass unemployment and shortages of fuel and basic goods the country is now suffering shortages of bank notes.

The shortage remains despite the introduction of higher-denomination notes last week.

Empty-handed

On Monday the central bank's governor, Gideon Gono, said banks would remain open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day to dispense cash after the new notes failed to cut long bank queues.

But reports from the capital Harare on Tuesday said the banks were closed, leaving customers empty-handed and forcing many to join the lines at cash machines instead.

Just spoke to my mother, it's heart breaking for me to send them money from here in Canada and they're unable to cash it anywhere Tafadzwa, Toronto

"I was hoping to find a shorter queue since it's Christmas, but it seems everyone has come out," Tawanda Moyo told Reuters news agency.

Ms Moyo said she was a teacher trying to get money to buy passage home to the countryside for Christmas.

"After a year in which the struggle to survive got harder, one expected to rest through Christmas, not to be queuing for hours," Ms Moyo added.

State media reported on Monday that the central bank had put another Z$20 trillion (worth about US$667m at the official exchange rate, or US$10m at the black-market rate) into circulation by introducing the new notes, Reuters reported.

Long queues for cash have become a common sight

But only a fraction of the existing cash in circulation is in the formal economy - the majority is in the black economy.

Mr Gono blames the currency shortages on foreign-exchange currency dealers, the so-called "cash barons", and Zimbabweans are being urged to report anyone flouting currency exchange laws.

Zimbabwe has the highest level of inflation in the world at more than 8,000%.

Critics of President Robert Mugabe accuse him of allowing the economy to go to ruin but he has remained defiant, blaming the problems on a Western plot to oust him from power.

What next for Nigeria's corruption crusade?

Umaru Yar'Adua steps into Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's shoes with a burden to prove to his critics that he is the man for the job and not the outgoing leader's puppet, as he is widely seen.

Does Yar'Adua have the clean hands needed to fight corruption?

One of his main challenges - and there are many - is tackling corruption, which is still widespread in the country despite over six years of fighting it.

Although President Obasanjo was often criticised for turning his anti-corruption fight into a political witch-hunt, Nigeria has seen some recent success in trying to minimise corruption.

The country is now 18 places above Haiti on Transparency International's global corruption index after occupying last place for years.

Many analysts wonder whether Mr Yar'Adua, a reclusive and mild-mannered Muslim from the conservative north-western Katsina State would have the political will to take on Nigeria's corrupt but very powerful political class.

But Mr Yar'Adua has promised that there would be no sacred cows in his administration's anti-corruption fight.

"If my son or my father is found to be corrupt, they will not be spared," Mr Yar'Adua, a former Chemistry teacher, told the BBC recently.

"We are determined to intensify the war against corruption, more so because corruption is itself central to the spread of poverty," he said shortly after he was sworn in as president.

But does Mr Yar'Adua possess the political will to challenge the corrupt political system that made him president?

Fat contracts

One man who knows the value of political will in fighting corruption in Nigeria is the leader of Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He is going to be his own man and take even harder decisions than Mr Obasanjo Mohammed Haruna Political analyst

"Whatever we have achieved in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, it is because we had the political support of the central government," EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu told the BBC.

"To fight corruption will require a very strong political will on the part of the leadership. Without it, you can't succeed."

There are many Nigerians who question whether Mr Yar'Adua has that will.

They allege that as governor of Katsina, Mr Yar'Adua awarded fat contracts to a company working as a front for his family and say he is not clean enough to lead an honest campaign against corruption.

Mr Yar'Adua denies the allegations.

But his claims to be an honest politician could be weakened by the controversy surrounding the elections which brought him to power.

Local observers have condemned these as a "charade", while European Union monitors said they were "not credible".

Network

But others who claim to know him well say he will surprise Nigerians.

As well as corruption, the new president must tackle poverty

"He is going to be his own man and take even harder decisions than Mr Obasanjo took," Mohammed Haruna, a public affairs analyst and Mr Yar'Adua's former classmate told the BBC News website.

"Of course, Mr Obasanjo achieved some success with his anti-corruption fight, but the problem was that he picked and chose the people he went after. I don't think Mr Yar'Adua is like that.

HAVE YOUR SAY Let us give Mr Yar'Adua a chance to prove himself Luseni, Florida Send us your comments

"I remember Mr Yar'Adua as an honest and just man while we were in university. If he is still anything like that, then I'd say he'd certainly do better than President Obasanjo."

Others point to Mr Yar'Adua's decision in 2003 to drop his deputy Ahmed Jikamshi, following accusations of graft, as evidence of his zero-tolerance for corruption.

Fighting corruption as the head of Nigeria's central government might not be as easy, as the country boasts a network of very powerful politicians and influential business owners who always want to have a say in the way the country is run.

Lagos pipeline blast kills dozens

t least 40 people have been burned to death after a petrol pipeline exploded in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, officials say.

Local people had been trying to collect fuel from the pipeline, which had been deliberately breached, when something caused the petrol to ignite.

Most of the victims were women and children, who had arrived with fuel containers, witnesses said.

The remains of many of the victims have been buried in mass graves.

"We gathered that about 45 or 50 people were involved - they were burned down. When we got to the site we found out that they had been buried... there are three mass graves of 40 dead already," Philip Daferiogho, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross said.

The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says the fireball scorched an area roughly the size of a football pitch.

Red Cross officials say they are now focusing their efforts on finding and treating injured people who have gone into hiding, scared of being arrested.

Such disasters are not unusual in oil-rich Nigeria.

A year ago, at least 260 people died in one pipeline explosion in Lagos.

Nigeria produces huge amounts of fuel from its vast oil reserves, but it remains out of legal reach to most of the poverty-stricken population.

Pfizer arrests sought in Nigeria

A Nigerian court has issued arrest warrants for three members of staff from drugs company Pfizer over an alleged illegal drugs trial in 1996.

The three are also accused of defying a summons to appear in court last month.

Pfizer is accused of killing 11 children and injuring 181 others when an antibiotic called Trovan was tested on them during a meningitis epidemic.

But Pfizer denies the claims, saying they were victims of the outbreak which killed 12,000 children in six months.

The northern state of Kano is suing Pfizer for $2bn in damages and pressing criminal charges over the test.

But the company, as well as denying any wrongdoing, has challenged the jurisdiction of the Kano state court.

Presiding judge Shehu Atiku said the three accused, all residents in Nigeria, had been served summonses to appear before the court on 6 November.

"But up till this moment none of them has appeared before this court either out of neglect, disrespect or contempt," the judge said before issuing the arrest warrant.

"There is no information on why they have refused to comply with this court's order," he added.

The case has been adjourned until 29 January 2008.

Gamble pays off as Almunia shows his class

t's one thing for an unknown teenager to make his name at Arsenal. But an unheralded goalkeeper in his early 30s? Manuel Almunia is certainly bucking the trend.

The Spaniard enhanced his reputation again on Saturday, saving Robbie Keane's penalty in the North London derby with the scores locked at 1-1 and just 18 minutes to play. Almunia's intervention was the catalyst for a memorable home win as Nicklas Bendtner soared highest to head home the winner.

The Dane, like so many others, arrived at Arsenal with bags of potential but little experience. Almunia, in sharp contrast, looked to have missed the boat when he was plucked from relative obscurity in the summer of 2004. As Celta Vigo's keeper, Almunia was farmed out on loan to Eibar, Recreativo Huelva and Albacete before Wenger took a chance on the then 27-year-old. It looks like the gamble has paid off.

"He came here without a CV but he has made a name for himself, which is not easy at a big club," said Wenger.

"We always knew he was good but we were asking ourselves: 'How can he become the goalkeeper for Arsenal?' He had not played in a big club before and he made a few mistakes but now he looks like he has gained confidence and everyone can see how good he is."

Almunia played second fiddle to Jens Lehmann for three long seasons before grasping his opportunity three games into the current campaign. Wenger believes that the Spaniard is under more pressure than most keepers because the man breathing down his neck has a stack of medals and international caps to his name.

But it's a sign of Almunia's progress that Wenger believes he is good enough to represent his adopted country when the Spaniard qualifies for English citizenship next year.

"Everyone makes mistakes - Reina, van der Sar, everyone," said Wenger. "But he [Almunia] was under more pressure than anyone else in the Premier League because he has been under pressure from an outstanding goalkeeper in Jens Lehmann.

"He has not only a lack of experience but someone behind him who is excellent and that is a tough test. If he has a bad game, he is under pressure to get back to form straight away because he knows who else we have. I don't know about Jens' remarks or not but he has had to deal with it. It's a double-pressure.

"That's the way of things when you are top-level sportsmen: the competition is very strong. It comes from within your camp and also from your opponents.

"I don't know why he hasn't been called up by Spain but all I would say is that England should take advantage of it and call him up."

French on trial for Chad 'kidnap'

Six French nationals accused of trying to kidnap 103 children have gone on trial in the Chad capital, N'Djamena.

The staff from the Zoe's Ark charity held hands as they arrived at court. They say the children were orphans from Darfur who were being taken to France.

Their leader testified the operation had the support of the French and Chadian governments and the UN.

The six, who have gone on hunger strike, could face 20-year hard labour terms if found guilty.

The French government has appealed for leniency.

The court will try to establish whether the children were the beneficiaries of a humanitarian project that went wrong, or the victims of child-trafficking.

'Truth'

The BBC's John James in N'Djamena says the leader of the six, Eric Breteau, looked gaunt but composed in court.

"I dispute the charges I am accused of. I intend to respond point by point," he told the packed courtroom.

Tight security as trial starts

"Nobody ever expressed even the tiniest doubt about the Sudanese origins of the children present at our bases," Mr Breteau told the court, apparently in response to accusations that the children were not really from Darfur.

He said the operation had been kept secret from local authorities in Chad "in order not to put the mission in danger ... and so as not to alert the suspicions of the Sudanese secret service," Mr Breteau said, quoted by the AFP news agency.

"Before the operation was launched... all the French authorities were informed in writing of our action," he added.

The governments of France and Chad have denied any knowledge of the operation.

The accused chatted to each other during breaks in proceedings but otherwise followed closely.

The court was surrounded by anti-riot police, armed with machine-guns.

The courtroom was packed, included many journalists from the French media. Outside, there was a crowd of about 100 people.

The case has sparked protests in oil-producing Chad amid claims the accused might benefit from special treatment because they are Europeans.

"Our clients will tell the truth, that they came here to do good," said Mario Stasi, lawyer for the charity's nurse, Nadia Merimi.

The six were stopped by officials as they went to catch a flight from Chad to France in late October with the children.

Most of the children have been found to have at least one living parent or guardian.

'Fight to the end'

The judge will want to know why, when none of the children was injured, they were bandaged and caked in fake blood ahead of their flight.

One of the accused, Emilie Lelouche, told France Info radio on Thursday: "We're going to fight to the end."

The aid workers have been on a hunger strike since earlier this month, refusing food but drinking water, and have accused the French government of deserting them.

On Thursday, French Junior Foreign Minister Rama Yade said the government had appealed to Chad to treat the accused with a "certain clemency".

French Justice Minister Rachida Dati said this week that if convicted the six might be able to serve their sentences in France because of a bilateral judicial agreement.

Analysts have speculated a diplomatic deal could be struck after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Chadian President Idriss Deby last week in Lisbon during a European and African leaders' summit.

But an unnamed Chad government official told Reuters news agency: "Have you ever seen an African sent back home after committing a crime as serious as the one [allegedly] committed by the members of Zoe's Ark?"

Three Chadians and one Sudanese refugee are also on trial for conspiracy.

In all, 17 Europeans were arrested in the eastern Chadian town of Abeche on 25 October but 11 others - three French journalists, seven Spanish flight crew and a Belgian pilot - have since been repatriated.

Gaddafi visit splits French press

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's first visit to France in 34 years has sharply divided opinion in the French press.

Commentators in the left-of-centre press accuse French President Nicolas Sarkozy of ignoring what they see as Libya's poor human rights record in order to secure contracts for French companies.

However, a writer in a business paper says that Mr Sarkozy's realpolitik will deliver tangible benefits for France, and several other commentators argue that Libya is being rightly rewarded for its recent efforts to co-operate with the international community.

FRANCOIS SERGENT IN LIBERATION

Gaddafi, the jailer of the Bulgarian nurses who were tortured in prison for nine years, is now being rewarded with a long official visit to France. There is nothing forcing France to show such attentiveness and such indignity.

EDITORIAL IN LE MONDE

On the evening of his election Sarkozy announced that France would stand "alongside the oppressed" and was "back" in Europe. He is now giving Gaddafi the opportunity to lord it. He was also the sole EU leader to congratulate Putin on the result of the parliamentary elections in Russia. Mr Sarkozy is not keeping his word.

DIDIER PORQUERY IN LIBERATION

Ah, the soft sound of the fountain pen on the fine contract paper! That will drown out the sound of complaints by political prisoners in Tripoli and the hostile slogans of the odd demonstrator.

GERARD NOEL IN LA LIBERTE DE L'EST

So five days of shame and trouble was the price to pay for a few lucrative contracts. In fact, this is not a very good deal.

PASCAL AUBERT IN LA TRIBUNE

Moral posturing has the drawback of not feeding anyone, other than great minds perhaps... What is important is that when Gaddafi returns to his own country, in a few days, he leaves behind him a reasonable number of billion-euro contracts and orders. As long as it is good for French jobs and companies: Nicolas Sarkozy is not asking for anything else.

PIERRE ROUSSELIN IN LE FIGARO

France is not in the process of prostituting itself before the caricature of a tyrant. A policy has been defined that consists of encouraging countries that mend their ways to continue along the right path. In 2003, Gaddafi abandoned nuclear weapons and terrorism.

JEAN LEVALLIOS IN LA PRESSE DE LA MANCHE

No doubt the Libyan leader's style is still atypical but the impression is that he has understood that his country's role in the international community makes it necessary to accept some rules of good conduct. This is a major development, which needs to be encouraged.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

Kenya's first lady slaps official

A Kenyan broadcaster has lodged an official complaint after video images of the president's wife slapping an official were seized and erased.

Nation TV filmed Lucy Kibaki slapping the official during an independence day celebration at State House in Nairobi.

He had mistakenly introduced Kenya's first lady by the name of the woman widely alleged to be her love rival.

In 2005, Mrs Kibaki was accused of slapping a cameraman in a protest over coverage of her row with a neighbour.

This gaffe comes at a sensitive time as Kenya prepares to elect a new president in two weeks.

Embarrassment

When the official from the president's office mistakenly introduced the first lady by the name of the woman widely believed to be President Mwai Kibaki's second wife, Mrs Kibaki marched up to him and promptly slapped him around the face.

A cameraman tried to sue Mrs Kibaki for assault in 2005

In Kenya it is not unusual for a man to have several wives.

But the president has repeatedly denied that he has another wife, even though it has long been a source of speculation in Kenyan society.

Nation TV, one of the broadcasters covering the event, had its tape seized by security officials.

The slapping incident was promptly erased before the tape was handed back.

The TV station has now made an official complaint to Kenya's Media Council.

It is not the first time that the first lady has been steeped in controversy.

She found herself in the spotlight two years ago when she allegedly slapped a cameraman after storming into a newsroom to protest her treatment by the media.

The cameraman tried to sue for assault, but the case was thrown out of court.

This latest attack will be a source of embarrassment for President Kibaki.

In two weeks time he will fight for a second presidential term in what it likely to be one of the most closely contested political battles ever seen in Kenya.

Best Player Award contenders shortlisted

CAF on Wednesday unveiled the five shortlists for the 2007 Glo-CAF Awards Best Player Award in Lagos. The five are Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Michael Essien (Ghana), and Malian duo, Frederic Kanoute and Mamadou Diarra.

The Technical and Media Committees of CAF conducted the short-listing of the final five.

The Best Player will be decided by votes from coaches of football associations affiliated to CAF, and would be named at the Glo-CAF Awards ceremony slated for Lome, Togo on February 1, 2008.

This is the first time Togo will be hosting the awards ceremony sponsored by Nigerian-based telecommunications outfit, Globacom, after Nigeria and Ghana in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Globacom has sponsored the awards ceremony since 2005.

Ivorian striker, Drogba beat Chelsea teammate Essien and Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o to the ultimate in 2006.

Ethiopia denies Somalia bombing

Ethiopia has denied involvement in an mortar attack that killed at least 17 people in the main market in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, on Thursday.

More gunfire and explosions were heard near Bakara market on Friday morning, but there are no details of casualties.

Ethiopian troops backing the interim Somali government were earlier reported to be behind Thursday's shelling, in which more than 40 people were injured.

Eyewitnesses said the deadly shells landed among shoppers.

Ethiopian government adviser Berekat Simon said the insurgents had been severely weakened, so Ethiopia had no need to target markets.

However, Somali analysts say Ethiopian forces are the only ones in Mogadishu with the capability to fire these kinds of shells in the city.

However, in what is seen as a rare admission of the Somali government's weakness, a senior national security ministry official on Thursday said that 80% of the country is outside government control and not safe.

Sheikh Qasim Ibrahim Nur also warned that Islamist insurgents had regrouped and were poised to launch a major strike.

Traders accused

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan says Bakara market, the biggest in Somalia, is a place where Somalia government and Ethiopian troops have previously clashed with insurgents.

The government has accused businessmen in the market of supporting the insurgents, our correspondent says.

Thursday's attack took place a few hours after heavily armed insurgents engaged in a fire fight with the Ethiopian troops in a northern district of the city.

Ethiopia and government troops have been accused of shelling residential areas on numerous occasions in the past year.

Ethiopia helped the government end the Union of Islamic Courts' (UIC) six-month rule over large parts of southern Somalia, last December.

Tanzania Hajj pilgrims stranded

About 1,000 Muslim pilgrims heading to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj remain stranded at a Tanzanian airport.

Thursday is the last day set by Saudi authorities for millions of Muslim pilgrims to arrive in the country.

A plane left on Wednesday evening with 379 people, after a previous flight was not given a landing slot in Jeddah.

A BBC correspondent says the group, which has spent 10 days at Dar es Salaam airport is not angry and sees the setbacks as a test of faith.

"Anyone who gets angry because of flight delays at this time of year does not know Islam," one Tanzanian pilgrim told the BBC.

Most of the pilgrims are Tanzanian, although several hundred come from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Comoros Islands.

Hospital

The BBC's Vicky Ntetema in Tanzania says the pilgrims were supposed to leave on Monday 3 December on a plane organised by Air Tanzania. However, the hire plane broke down.

On Tuesday, a replacement plane was about to leave with 600 people aboard.

The passengers boarded the plane at 2000 local time but had to disembark at midnight after Saudi air traffic control could not provide a landing slot for the aircraft.

This proved the last straw for three women overcome with heat and emotion who had to be taken to hospital.

The Tanzanian pilgrims have had to rely on local Muslims for food and water during their long wait.

Those from DR Congo and the Comoros have been put up in hotels in Dar es Salaam.

Our correspondent says on Wednesday evening a chartered plane left with 379 of more than 1,300 stranded pilgrims and Air Tanzania is still hoping to get the rest to Jeddah by the deadline.

The journey from Tanzania to Saudi takes about eight hours.

Every year about 2m Muslims converge on Mecca - the holiest place in Islam - for the Hajj.

Every adult Muslim is supposed to undertake the Hajj at least once in their life if they can afford it and are physically able.

Winnie Mandela proposes ANC deal

The ex-wife of ex-South African President Nelson Mandela has suggested a compromise to ease divisions in the leadership of the ruling party.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said current national president and African National Congress (ANC) leader Thabo Mbeki should head the party until elections.

His ANC deputy, ex-Deputy President Jacob Zuma, should become presidential candidate in 2009, she said.

Mr Mbeki and Mr Zuma have fought a bitter campaign for the ANC leadership.

Correspondents say the move is seen as a face-saver for Mr Mbeki, who is currently trailing Mr Zuma in polls.

'Too late'

In a letter to ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe, Madikizela-Mandela said she believed there had been "a near-total breakdown in the historical discipline and focus of the movement", ahead of the 16 - 20 December party conference in Polokwane.

The president could offer Mr Zuma immunity - it's within the president's right Analyst William Mervyn-Gumede

"There has been an unprecedented level of self-indulgence in out-of-turn public utterances, attack and counter-attack and the apparent normalisation of un-comradely behaviour and rhetoric at levels and intensity not before seen in the long history of our movement," she said.

However, South African political analyst William Gumede says while Mrs Madikizela-Mandela is an important power broker, the proposal is unsustainable.

"I think it's come too late," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"Mr Mbeki's group don't want to see Mr Zuma in the presidency, and the other way round; Mrs Madikizela-Mandela's offer is the status quo so it is not a long-term solution."

Mrs Madikizela-Mandela expressed concern at the ANC infighting

The two men publicly fell out in 2005 when Mr Zuma was sacked as deputy president over corruption allegations.

He could potentially still face charges in connection with a multi-million dollar arms deal. If there were a compromise, Mr Zuma would have to be offered some kind of immunity from prosecution and financial settlement in the medium term, Mr Gumede says.

"The president could offer Mr Zuma immunity - it's within the president's right. The problem for Mr Zuma is that Mr Mbeki is president and it is unlikely to happen."

Divisive

Mr Mbeki has already served two terms and cannot lead the country again, but correspondents say if he remains ANC leader he will be in a good position to decide who succeeds him as national leader.

If Mr Zuma wins, he will be favourite to become president in 2009.

He already has the support of five provinces as well as the ANC Women's League and Youth League.

Mr Zuma is backed by those who want the government to do more to alleviate poverty and criticise Mr Mbeki for being too pro-business.

Mr Mbeki has the support of four provincial branches.

The race for leader has widely been considered one of the most divisive in the 95-year history of the ANC.

Nigeria ex-oil governor charged

The former governor of Nigeria's oil-rich Delta State has pleaded not guilty to 103 counts of corruption, money-laundering and abuse of office.

James Ibori is a wealthy and powerful politician and a close associate of Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua.

A BBC correspondent says this is one of the most significant prosecutions since the establishment of the anti-corruption agency four years ago.

Mr Ibori is also under investigation by the Metropolitan police in the UK.

As governor he earned less than 25,000 a year, but somehow amassed more than $35 million in assets which he transferred abroad.

A UK court froze those assets on suspicion that they are the proceeds of crime and provided the Nigerian government can prove rightful ownership, they will be duly repatriated.

Cat and mouse

Mr Ibori lost his immunity from prosecution after stepping down as governor in May but had managed to stay one step ahead of investigators until his arrest.

The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says although other former governors have been on trial no politician this well connected has been prosecuted before.

His trial is being held in Kaduna, a city north of the capital, as anti-corruption officials say Abuja's courts are already too congested with cases.

Our correspondent says it is not clear whether the Nigerian government was informed of Mr Ibori's arrest in advance as the president was on his way out of the country when the arrest was made.

Earlier, law enforcement agents in both the UK and Nigeria had complained that the Nigerian attorney general was deliberately trying to stall their investigations, allegations he denies.

Officially the slogan of Nigeria's new presidency has been upholding the rule of law, so with the arrival of Mr Ibori's case in court, any interference now would be politically embarrassing, our reporter says.

Obasanjo's legacy to Nigeria

Obasanjo's efforts to stand again have been thwarted When President Olusegun Obasanjo leaves office at the end of May, Nigeria would have achieved its first democratic transfer of power from one civilian administration to another - in spite of the reluctance of the outgoing administration. For two years, Nigerians stood up in unusual unity against a bid by Mr Obasanjo to have the nation's constitution amended to extend his tenure by another term of four years - in order, his supporters claimed, to allow him to complete his reform programme. And the people won a significant victory when the Senate threw out the constitutional amendment bill in May last year. That struggle taught Nigerians the important lesson that democracy would survive only if they applied themselves to protecting and nurturing it. Vigilance and distrust of government's motives became the watchword - and in a sense, this would be counted as one of the major legacies of Obasanjo's eight-year tenure. Curbing corruption At the time of his swearing-in in 1999, many Nigerians were cynical about the chances of the government lasting this long. The fear of the military staging a comeback hung thick in the air. The president himself must have sensed it, because his very first action in office was the unexpected but tactical retirement of all military chiefs and their immediate replacement. That action was followed by the retirement of all military officers who had held political appointments in the preceding military regime. Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is Obasanjo's 'anointed' successor The steps were widely applauded and they sent a clear message to the barracks and officers' messes that the military must henceforth subject itself to control by civil government. For the first time since independence in 1960, Nigeria has now had democratic governance for eight uninterrupted years. A hallmark of the Obasanjo presidency has been the emphasis placed on curbing official corruption. From his very first day in office the president promised that it would no longer be "business-as-usual". He set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and installed at its head Nuhu Ribadu, then an assistant commissioner of police. A measure of Mr Ribadu's success in at least instilling a consciousness of the anti-corruption war in the minds of Nigerians is reflected in the popular saying on the streets that "the fear of Ribadu is the beginning of wisdom". But he has done much more. For the first time in the history of Nigeria highly-placed persons in both the public and private sectors are being investigated and brought to justice. The EFCC has prosecuted government ministers. It arrested a sitting head of the Nigeria Police Force, prosecuted him for stealing government funds, recovered the stolen funds from him and got the court to imprison him. But it has also been criticised for indulging in selective investigations, and this complaint became more strident in the build-up to April's presidential and general elections. 'Essential' reforms The commission was accused of being used as an instrument to harass and blackmail opponents of Mr Obasanjo and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Mr Obasanjo's economic reform programme, meanwhile, may have earned him accolades abroad, but it has little support outside government corridors at home. Nigeira's oil-rich deltas are becoming highly dangerous areas The effects of the programme have been worsening unemployment, spiralling prices of food, higher housing rent and the near collapse of the power sector which, in effect, cripples small businesses. The respected Nigerian economist Sam Aluko has said of the president, "his philosophy is that government must withdraw; an economy of withdrawal is an economy of disaster". Former head of state Ernest Shonekan, however, defends the reforms as essential. "Whatever initial pains they might have brought, we must appreciate the fact that economic reforms take time to work their way through and begin to produce results," he says. The most serious legacy of the Obasanjo presidency is to be found in the deteriorating security situation in the Niger Delta - Nigeria's economic powerhouse. The region's oil and gas riches provide about 90% of the country's foreign earnings. But militant youths, actively supported by the indigenes, are turning the entire mangrove creeks into a vast minefield. Kidnappings The armed protests in the region are fast turning into an insurgency. In February, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), an umbrella body of the major militant groups, issued a public statement threatening war. "We will fight a war that has never been fought in Africa and disintegrate Nigeria if we have to do so to get justice," it said. It accused the government of engaging in "a show of absolute disrespect of Ijaw potency and a test of the might of the nuisance value that we can deploy". That "nuisance value" is exacting an increasingly heavy toll on Nigeria's oil industry and on the economy. In the past year, no less than 60 foreign oil workers have been kidnapped. Initially all the kidnappings were carried out on oil installations, but recently foreigners were kidnapped in the centre of the city of Port Harcourt in Rivers State. The government says it lost more than $4bn last year as a result of the insecurity and vandalism of pipelines. Giving details of the 2007 federal budget in January, Finance Minister Nenadi Usman said that Nigeria realised only a marginal increase in oil revenue last year, compared to receipts in 2005 - despite the all-time record price of crude oil in 2006. The recent shortage of petrol in Nigeria is partly attributed to the sabotage of an important installation through which oil is supplied to the country's two major refineries in Warri and Kaduna. The militants have prevented contractors from repairing the facility. President Obasanjo's response to the deteriorating security situation is the establishment of a military Joint Task Force (JTF), which is carrying out Operation Restore Hope in the region. The JTF itself has suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the militants. This legacy of an unstable and highly militarised region is one which President Obasanjo's successor must confront - and early too - for the economic and political stability of Nigeria. E-mail this to a friend Printable version

Profile: President Umaru Yar'Adua

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is the first civilian leader in Nigeria to have taken over from another after winning controversial polls in April.

The former chemistry teacher is also the first Nigerian leader for 40 years to be university educated, but little is known about him - even in his home state.

The reclusive Muslim governor comes from the northern state of Katsina and is not a major political mover or shaker.

But at 56, he boasts a political pedigree that dates back to the 1960s when his father was appointed as a minister in the post-independence administration.

His late elder brother who was an army general served as Olusegun Obasanjo's deputy when the former president was Nigeria's military ruler during the 1970s.

They were both imprisoned together after they were accused of plotting a coup against late military strongman Gen Sani Abacha.

Backing

Mr Yar'Adua's emergence as the ruling People's Democratic Party's candidate in the presidential election in April 2007 rests almost exclusively on the support of Mr Obasanjo.

Nigerian presidency sources say Mr Obasanjo used a mixture of inducements and threats of investigation by the anti-graft agency to persuade 10 influential state governors to withdraw from the race and back Mr Yar'Adua.

Analysts say that by backing Mr Yar'Adua to succeed him, Mr Obasanjo will hope to continue pulling strings now that he has stepped down as president.

Shortly after he won his party's nomination, Mr Yar'Adua paid tribute to former President Obasanjo whom he described as "the father of democracy and good governance in Nigeria".

He pledged to continue with Mr Obasanjo's economic reforms and fight against corruption.

Independence

But analysts say that Mr Obasanjo might have difficulty trying to control Mr Yar'Adua who is said to be quite independent-minded.

"He differed with his own brother on many occasions and criticised him on many issues and so I don't expect him to be easily controlled by Obasanjo," says the BBC's Mansur Liman in Abuja.

Although he is reputed to be prudent in managing funds in Katsina State where he had been governor for the past seven years, critics say contracts have gone to companies with links to his family's vast businesses.

He was among only a few Nigerian governors that publicly declared their assets before he was sworn-in as governor in 1999 and in 2003 - when he won a second term. He is also one of the few serving governors not being investigated for corruption.

As an undergraduate student in Nigeria's Ahmadu Bello University, Mr Yar'Adua was a self-confessed Marxist and criticised his elder brother's 'capitalist' leanings.

A man of few airs and graces, he is also known to have ignored the advice of aides and bodyguards to walk alone to tobacco kiosks to buy a single cigarette.

Described by his critics as taciturn and not known for his tolerance of opposition, Mr Yar'Adua has sometimes been underestimated.

As one commentator put it, "because he's quiet, people mistake him for a weakling. But he's someone who knows his own mind".

After his controversial election, Nigeria's new president will need all these skills to lead one of the continent's most testing countries.

What next for Nigeria's corruption crusade?

Umaru Yar'Adua steps into Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's shoes with a burden to prove to his critics that he is the man for the job and not the outgoing leader's puppet, as he is widely seen.
One of his main challenges - and there are many - is tackling corruption, which is still widespread in the country despite over six years of fighting it.

Although President Obasanjo was often criticised for turning his anti-corruption fight into a political witch-hunt, Nigeria has seen some recent success in trying to minimise corruption.

The country is now 18 places above Haiti on Transparency International's global corruption index after occupying last place for years.

Many analysts wonder whether Mr Yar'Adua, a reclusive and mild-mannered Muslim from the conservative north-western Katsina State would have the political will to take on Nigeria's corrupt but very powerful political class.

But Mr Yar'Adua has promised that there would be no sacred cows in his administration's anti-corruption fight.

"If my son or my father is found to be corrupt, they will not be spared," Mr Yar'Adua, a former Chemistry teacher, told the BBC recently.

"We are determined to intensify the war against corruption, more so because corruption is itself central to the spread of poverty," he said shortly after he was sworn in as president.

But does Mr Yar'Adua possess the political will to challenge the corrupt political system that made him president?

Fat contracts

One man who knows the value of political will in fighting corruption in Nigeria is the leader of Nigeria's anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He is going to be his own man and take even harder decisions than Mr Obasanjo Mohammed Haruna Political analyst

"Whatever we have achieved in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, it is because we had the political support of the central government," EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu told the BBC.

"To fight corruption will require a very strong political will on the part of the leadership. Without it, you can't succeed."

There are many Nigerians who question whether Mr Yar'Adua has that will.

They allege that as governor of Katsina, Mr Yar'Adua awarded fat contracts to a company working as a front for his family and say he is not clean enough to lead an honest campaign against corruption.

Mr Yar'Adua denies the allegations.

But his claims to be an honest politician could be weakened by the controversy surrounding the elections which brought him to power.

Local observers have condemned these as a "charade", while European Union monitors said they were "not credible".

Network

But others who claim to know him well say he will surprise Nigerians.

As well as corruption, the new president must tackle poverty

"He is going to be his own man and take even harder decisions than Mr Obasanjo took," Mohammed Haruna, a public affairs analyst and Mr Yar'Adua's former classmate told the BBC News website.

"Of course, Mr Obasanjo achieved some success with his anti-corruption fight, but the problem was that he picked and chose the people he went after. I don't think Mr Yar'Adua is like that.

HAVE YOUR SAY Let us give Mr Yar'Adua a chance to prove himself Luseni, Florida Send us your comments

"I remember Mr Yar'Adua as an honest and just man while we were in university. If he is still anything like that, then I'd say he'd certainly do better than President Obasanjo."

Others point to Mr Yar'Adua's decision in 2003 to drop his deputy Ahmed Jikamshi, following accusations of graft, as evidence of his zero-tolerance for corruption.

Fighting corruption as the head of Nigeria's central government might not be as easy, as the country boasts a network of very powerful politicians and influential business owners who always want to have a say in the way the country is run.

Tackling Nigeria's violent oil swamps

Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region may well be the country's biggest cash cow but it also looks set to provide new President Umaru Yar'Adua with one of his biggest headaches.

Militants say they are tired of "plans in the pipeline"

"The biggest problem Nigeria faces today, in my humble opinion, is the problem with the militants in the Niger Delta area," former President Shehu Shagari, 83, told a gathering in Nigeria's oil capital Port Harcourt recently.

Although the Niger Delta has a long history of violence, the situation has gone from bad to worse to disastrous recently with the emergence of armed militant groups willing to kill as part of their campaign for a greater share of the region's oil wealth.

In the weeks leading up to the elections that brought Mr Yar'Adua to power, the militants stepped up their violence, although there was a lull during the actual voting.

The attacks resumed shortly after the polls with more kidnappings and bombing of oil pipelines, leading to a 25% cut in production and ultimately a spike in global oil prices.

The militants have made the swampy creeks of the delta a no-go area for state officials and even the military.

Scared

From a group of angry young men fighting with sticks and machetes, they have evolved into disciplined groups carrying out precise attacks on foreign oil installations in the region.

They kidnap foreign oil workers at will and keep them for as long as they want.

Goodluck Jonathan has twice been attacked since being elected

They also blow up oil pipelines, burn down police stations and dare the government to go after them.

Under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the central government never quite figured how to effectively deal with the militants who have recorded huge successes in disrupting oil production and scaring foreign workers out of the region.

Equally, Mr Yar'Adua does not appear to have a real plan for the region which produces about 90% of his budget. But he now speaks of coming up with one soon.

His most memorable campaign promise was to continue with President Obasanjo's economic reforms, which many Nigerians criticise as being too harsh, with subsidies removed, jobs cut and prices raised.

Lucky escapes

In his inauguration speech, Mr Yar'Adua said the Delta was one of his priorities.

"The crisis in the Niger Delta commands our urgent attention. Ending it is a matter of strategic importance to our country," he said.

"We are all in this together, and we will find a way to achieve peace and justice."

He has not spelt out a coherent plan for the Niger Delta but did recently say he would come up with one in his first 100 days as president.

Perhaps the new president has not heard of the militants' "plans in the pipelines" joke.

Attacks by militants have cut oil production by some 25%

They often say - without smiling - that it is the government's never-ending claim that "plans are in the pipeline" to develop their region, that led them to start blowing up the pipes to look for these plans.

Already, the militants have demonstrated that Mr Yar'Adua's choice of a deputy from the region is not quite the solution he had hoped for.

Goodluck Jonathan, from the Ijaw community like many of the militants, has twice been the target of deadly attacks - and twice he has lived up to his name.

Analysts say the attacks on Mr Jonathan were a statement that a more creative and more genuine solution would be needed to free the region of violence.

HAVE YOUR SAY Let us give Mr Yar'Adua a chance to prove himself Luseni, Florida Send us your comments

"I'd suggest that Mr Yar'Adua should open conversation with these guys rather than shoot their way through the Delta to get them," Benjamin Akande, a US-based expert on Nigeria told the BBC News website.

"The truth of the matter is that Nigeria may need outside help to deal with this situation. The US, the EU, or the AU could come into this conversation and help resolve this issue," Mr Akande suggested.

In the twilight of his administration, Mr Obasanjo has launched what he calls the Niger Delta Master Plan after an earlier plan launched some seven years ago failed to produce the desired results.

Mr Yar'Adua inherits this elaborate and ambitious plan.

The new president appears to be striking the right chords with his calls for dialogue with the militants.

But actually getting the militants to surrender their new found power, having acquired huge arsenals of sophisticated weapons and money from ransom takings, it might be difficult to convince them to come out of the creeks.

Tough challenges for Nigeria's leader

When Umaru Yar'Adua is sworn in as Nigeria's next president later on Tuesday, it will be the first time that one civilian leader has taken over from another in the country's history.

He replaces Olusegun Obasanjo, who plucked him from relative obscurity as a quiet northern state governor to be his successor.

And that has raised questions as to just how independent the new leader can be, given how much he owes to the old guard.

Mr Obasanjo is not making it easy - he will remain head of the governing People's Democratic Party.

And in his last few weeks in power, Mr Obasanjo has sold off a large number of state assets to his allies in the private sector.

Still, this inauguration is a unique occasion in a country whose history is littered with coups and military rule.

Olusegun Obasanjo retains control of the ruling party

But the handover is marred by the fact that Mr Yar'Adua comes to office on the back of deeply flawed elections.

They were condemned by observers both at home and abroad as simply "not credible".

Overcoming the issue of legitimacy is just one of the tasks facing Mr Yar'Adua.

He has now got to rule Africa's most populous nation, whose sheer size and resources make it of real strategic importance.

It is the continent's major oil producer but is riven by corruption and insecurity.

Most people lack even the most basic amenities, such as running water and electricity and they live in poverty despite the government receiving billions of dollars in oil revenues.

Turning all that around will not be easy.