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Yar'Adua sworn in as Nigeria's president
By Olatunde Joel Agoi
AFP
ABUJA
Petroleumworld.com 05 30 07Umaru Yar'Adua was sworn in Tuesday as Nigeria's new president and immediately pledged to tackle unrest in the Niger Delta that has caused a 25 percent drop in the oil-rich country's crude output.
The new president assured Nigerians that he would "find a way to achieve peace and justice" in the Delta region, where around 180 foreigners -- mostly oil workers -- have been taken hostage by armed groups in the past 18 months.
"The crisis in the Niger Delta commands our urgent attention. Ending it is a matter of strategic importance to our country," Yar'Adua said.
"In the meantime I appeal to all aggrieved communities, groups and individuals to immediately suspend all violent activities and respect the law," the incoming president continued.
Yar'Adua's inauguration, in a colourful ceremony at the Eagle Square parade ground in the capital Abuja, marked the first transition from one elected leader to another since Nigeria's independence from colonial power Britain in 1960.
Yar'Adua, 55, the outgoing governor of the Muslim-dominated northern state of Katsina, succeeds Olusegun Obasanjo who stepped down after eight years in office.
Watched by several African heads of state, he took the oath of office alongside his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan -- outgoing governor of the restive southern oil state of Bayelsa.
While Obasanjo successfully implemented some economic reforms and curbed the most excessive corruption in a few sectors, notably the country's airports and ports, the unrest in the south of the country has never been worse.
Kidnappings are carried out by a mixture of militant groups demanding a larger share of oil revenue for local people, aggrieved local communities and criminal gangs who just want to make money.
The best organized of the militant groups say they aim to shut down Nigeria's oil exports completely. They also blow up pipelines and place car bombs.
Nigeria is Africa's biggest crude producer, but is currently losing one quarter of its output to the unrest.
On top of the problems in the Delta, Yar'Adua inherits widespread corruption, a weak democratic record after prolonged periods of military rule and a population that has seen its standard of living crumble even as oil revenue soars.
An estimated 400 billion dollars has evaporated from the country's coffers since independence, according to a recent report. Nigeria is regularly ranked among the most corrupt on the planet by global watchdog Transparency International.
The election in April that brought Yar'Adua to power was widely seen as rigged and he will have to move quickly to pacify an opposition still bitter over the result.
Yar'Adua is among a handful of governors recently absolved of corruption by the country's anti-graft agency. On being elected governor of Katsina in 1999, he immediately made public his assets.
But analysts point out that however clean he himself may be, he will have to satisfy all those who supported his election bid and who see this as pay-off time.
Doubts about Yar'Adua's health have subsided since his emergency evacuation to Germany for medical care during the presidential campaign.
Outgoing president Obasanjo, who is seen as having hand-picked Yar'Adua to succeed him, will retire later Tuesday to his farm in Ota some 20 kilometres from Lagos after attending a banquet in honour of guests in Abuja.
AFP 29 1523 GMT 05 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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