Word: nigerian
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a general in the Nigerian army, is a man who always seems to be at the center of the action. In 1975 he and his fellow officers ousted General Yakubu Gowon, who had taken power soon after the outbreak of the bloody four-year Biafran war. The following year, an unarmed Babangida confronted rebellious army officers in Lagos during an attempted coup and persuaded them to surrender. It was he too who masterminded the army coup that, on the last day of 1983, toppled Shehu Shagari, the civilian President whose winking acceptance of endemic corruption had helped...
...industry. As a result, shortages of basic commodities quickly developed. The Shagari regime's tolerance of corruption only added to the country's woes. In 1983 alone, according to Oil Minister Tam David-West, $1 billion in petroleum was secretly diverted from state oil terminals to foreign tankers, with Nigerian businessmen and politicians taking the profits. Some reports say $1 million a day was skimmed from the public treasury. Transport Minister Dikko reportedly amassed a $1 billion fortune, much of it outside the country...
...hajj to Mecca. In July, Babangida had made a visit to army troops around the country, during which he is said to have gathered support for the takeover. Some Western diplomats believe that Babangida's ability to hold on to power depends on his success in turning around the Nigerian economy. Whatever his plans, he knows he must act quickly and | decisively. He has only to look at his own role as coup maker and coup breaker to know that in Nigeria unpopular or ineffective leaders do not last for long...
Readers awarded the thesis a summa minus and it may be published as a small book, according to Elizabeth A. Eames, Rosegrant's advisor. Eames who has done similar research on Nigerian women commends Rosegrant's field work and her ability in "watch things from the inside." Assistant Professor of Sociology Stephen E. Cornell, one of the thesis readers, says he is considering "Choosing Children"--among other case studies--for next year's Sociology 10 reading list...
...make their way out of Nigeria. Their expulsion was decreed last month by the ruling military junta headed by Major General Mohammed Buhari. Under the order, an estimated 700,000 illegal immigrants living in Nigeria were given until May 10 to leave the country. When the deadline expired, the Nigerian authorities sealed the borders, making virtual prisoners of all those who had been unable to leave the country by land, sea or air. Many were stranded on clogged roads with little money and no food. Some were herded into a Lagos airport terminal normally used by pilgrims departing for Mecca...