Umaru Yar’Adua takes office as president of Nigeria on Tuesday, inheriting a catalogue of crises compounded by doubts over his own legitimacy after a flawed election.
The 56-year-old state governor was handed a landslide victory in last month’s presidential poll, described as ”not credible” by international observers because of widespread vote-rigging and violence.
Ignoring opposition calls for a re-run, he will take an oath of office at a military parade ground in the capital Abuja in a ceremony starting at 9am GMT.
”A new generation of Nigerian leaders will take over the great responsibility of running this great and diverse nation,” outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo said in a farewell address on Monday evening.
The handover was billed as a democratic landmark in Africa’s most populous nation because it is the first transfer from one civilian leader to another in a nation scarred by decades of army misrule. But the election wiped the gloss off the occasion.
Washington and former colonial ruler London sent relatively junior envoys to the ceremony, where a handful of mostly African heads of state are expected.
Yar’Adua, a former chemistry lecturer, has promised to sustain Obasanjo’s economic reforms, which have won international praise but failed to lift the majority in Africa’s top oil producer out of poverty.
As he reaches for the reins of power, Yar’Adua must tackle a rash of kidnappings in oil-producing Niger Delta which has already cut oil exports, the country’s economic lifeline, and the threat of a strike over a fuel price hike.
Obasanjo’s shadow
But perhaps most testing of all will be how he handles his predecessor, Obasanjo, who picked Yar’Adua from obscurity six months ago, made him president and now appears determined to show him who is boss.
”I hope Yar’Adua comes out with some strong positions within a week or two. If not the nation will fight him because they will see him as an extension of Obasanjo,” a senior member of the ruling party said, asking not to be named.
In the dying days of his administration, Obasanjo has hiked fuel prices by 15%, doubled value-added tax and sold off two oil refineries to his business allies — all moves that will inflame the opposition and civil society groups.
”I wish Yar’Adua could have had a honeymoon before facing the hard knocks of policy decisions, but he will be fighting many fires on the domestic front,” said Bolaji Akinyemi, a former foreign minister.
Behind the scenes, Obasanjo has also taken some delicate decisions that would normally have been taken by the new government, such as reshuffling army top brass and nominating National Assembly leaders, the party official said.
Obasanjo automatically assumes chairmanship of the ruling party when he steps down and has said he expects the party to determine policy while the government implements it. Yar’Adua has said the party has a role to play but he derives his powers from the Constitution.
Many Nigerians have shrugged off the electoral fraud and are satisfied with a peaceful transition. They hope Yar’Adua will break free from his predecessor, whom critics accuse of hypocrisy in his war on corruption and cronyism.
”Yar’Adua is honest. The problem is that Obasanjo drew him out so he has to obey Obasanjo. He does not have freedom,” said Ola, a construction worker in the capital. – Reuters