Nigerian President - Elect Goodluck Jonathan sworn in

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as president for a new four-year term, following a clear poll win.

Foreign heads of state attended the lavish ceremony, which began with a military parade and inspection at Eagle Square in the country's capital, Abuja.

Mr Jonathan was promoted from vice-president after Umaru Yar'Adua died in office in 2010.

Despite his election win the country still has serious divisions and there were deadly riots after polling.

Power sector

The election was largely considered free and fair but hundreds of people were killed in three days of rioting following the announcement of the result.

Mr Jonathan, 53, won nearly 60% of the vote.

He is a southern Christian and had defeated his leading challenger from the mainly Muslim north.

Flanked by two judges wearing white wigs, Goodluck Jonathan took the oath of office.

It was a solemn vow to serve the people of Nigeria and uphold it's constitution.

Watching on were more than 25 presidents from across the continent including South Africa's Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.

Security was tight, the legacy of the bomb attacks at last year's 50th anniversary of independence. So the ceremony itself was held at arms length from the Nigerian people with only invited guests allowed within a kilometre of Eagle Square.

That didn't dampen spirits inside. Military bands paraded, children danced and a gun salute was observed.

Mr Jonathan's nomination also required changing a ruling party tradition of alternating between candidates from the north and south.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Abuja says the pressure is now on the winner to deliver on his many election promises.

Mr Jonathan is famous for his wide-brimmed hat - on display on inauguration day - and his love of Facebook, but enters office with a "to-do" list that would daunt many, he adds.

On the campaign trail Mr Jonathan said fixing Nigeria's threadbare power sector would be a priority as would be reforming agriculture to increase food production.

Our correspondent says President Jonathan will not have to perform miracles to be hailed as a success - given the country's history of mismanagement and corruption most Nigerians would gladly accept some firm steps in the right direction.

Mr Jonathan will face the issue of continuing Christian-Muslim conflict and the simmering tension in the oil-producing Niger Delta

Source: BBC News

Read more »

Map of Nigeria

A map of Nigeria below shows the country divided into 36 states and the capital Abuja. Nigeria is located in the western part of Africa

Read more »

Nigerian Politics

Nigeria is a Federal Republic modeled after the United States, with executive power exercised by the president and with influences from the Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature. However, the President of Nigeria is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Nigerian politics takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential, representative democratic republic, whereby Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Together the two chambers make up the law-making body in Nigeria called the National Assembly. The highest judiciary arm of government in Nigeria is the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Nigeria also practices Baron de Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers. The National Assembly serves as a check on the executive arm of government.

Legal system

The law of Nigeria is based on the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary, and also on the British common law system—because of the long history of British colonial influence. The legal system is therefore similar to the common law systems used in England and Wales and in other Commonwealth countries. The constitutional framework for the legal system is provided by the Constitution of Nigeria.

There are however, four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:

• English Law, which is derived from its colonial past with Britain;

• Common law, (case law development since colonial independence);

• Customary law, which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practices;

• Sharia law, used only in the predominantly Hausa and Muslim north of the country.

Like the United States, there is a Judicial branch with a Supreme Court which is regarded as the highest court of the land.

[edit] Executive branch

The president is elected by universal suffrage. He/She is both the chief of state and head of government and heads the Federal Executive Council, or cabinet.

The executive branch is divided into Federal Ministries, headed by a minister appointed by the President, who must include at least one member of each of the 36 states in his cabinet. The President's appointments are confirmed by the Senate of Nigeria. In some cases a Federal minister is responsible for more than one ministry (e.g. Environment and Housing may be combined), and a minister may be assisted by one or more ministers of State.^[1] Each ministry also has a Permanent Secretary, who is a senior civil servant.^[2]

The ministries are responsible for various parastatals (government-owned corporations) such as universities (Education), National Broadcasting Commission (Information) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (Petroleum). Other parastatals are the responsibility of the Office of the Presidency, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Federal Civil Service Commission.^[3]

Legislative branch

The National Assembly of Nigeria has two chambers. The House of Representatives is presided over by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It has 360 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constituencies. The Senate is presided upon by the President of the Senate. It has 109 members, elected for a four year term in 36 three-seat constituencies (corresponding to the country's 36 states) and one seat in a single-seat constituency (the federal capital, Abuja).

Read more »

Nigerian Civil War

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra. The conflict was the result of economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of Nigeria.

The disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led in 1966 to several back-to-back military coups. The first was in January and led by a collection of young leftists under Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. It was partially successful; the coup plotters murdered Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Premier Ahmadu Belloof of the Northern Region and Premier Ladoke Akintola of the Western Region. Despite this, they could not set up a central government. President Nwafor Orizu was then pressured to hand over government to the Nigeria Army, under the command of General JTU Aguyi-Ironsi.
The coup was counter-acted by another successful plot, supported primarily by Northern military officers and Northerners who favoured the NPC, it was engineered by Northern officers, which allowed Lt Colonel Yakubu Gowon to become head of state. This sequence of events led to an increase in ethnic tension and violence. The Northern coup, which was mostly motivated by ethnic and religious reasons was a bloodbath of both military officers and civilians, especially those of Igbo extraction.

The violence against the Igbo increased their desire for autonomy and protection from the military's wrath. By May 1967, the Eastern Region had declared itself an independent state called the Republic of Biafra under the leadership of Lt Colonel Emeka Ojukwu in line with the wishes of the people. The Nigerian Civil War began as the Nigerian (Western and Northern) side attacked Biafra (South-eastern) on July 6, 1967 at Garkem signalling the beginning of the 30 month war that ended in January 1970. Estimates in the former Eastern Region of the number of dead from hostilities, disease, and starvation during the thirty-month civil war are estimated at between 1 million and 3 million.

Read more »

Nigeria

           Nigeria officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims and Christians with a very small minority who practice traditional religion.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BCE and the 2nd millennium.
The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is black. It is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The economy of Nigeria is one of the fastest growing in the world, with the International Monetary Fund projecting a growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.

Read more »