Criminal Politics: Violence, “Godfathers” and Corruption in Nigeria

elections, Yar’Adua rode to power on the back of elections in which violence and
fraud ensured victory for the ruling party. Seriously addressing the patterns of
corruption, violence, and impunity at the heart of Nigeria’s governance crisis could
be perceived as weakening the very foundations of the PDP’s hold on power by
rewriting the rules of a game in which it has been the dominant player.
Signs of Reform
Since being sworn into office on May 29, 2007 President Yar’Adua made some
encouraging gestures of respect for the rule of law and the notion of transparency in
government. When Nigeria’s Supreme Court overturned the gubernatorial election of
powerful PDP candidate Andy Uba in Anambra State, Yar’Adua made no effort to
interfere with the implementation of that ruling. In July 2007, Yar’Adua gave a nod to
demands for increased transparency by publicly declaring the value of his private
assets. 369 That gesture aroused no small degree of concern among some other
elected officials who found themselves questioned by the Nigerian press about their
reasons for failing to follow the president’s example. 370
President Yar’Adua has publicly acknowledged that the elections that brought him to
power were “not perfect” and contained “lapses and shortcomings.” 371 He also
promised to make a priority out of reforming the country’s electoral institutions,
calling it a “national duty” to “raise the standard and quality of the conduct of our
general elections.” 372 To this end, the president convened a 22-member Electoral
Reform Panel which is due to report back to him with recommendations within one
year. The panel’s membership includes numerous widely-respected members of civil
society, former judges and government representatives.
369 The total value of Yar’Adua’s total assets was $5 million. See “Nigeria’s New Leader ‘Worth $5 million,” BBC News Online,
June 29, 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6252442.stm (accessed July 17, 2007). Some commentators urged that
Yar’Adua explain an alleged discrepancy of several million dollars between this figure and the value of the assets he declared
upon assuming the office of Katsina Governor in 1999.
370 Emmanuel Aziken, “Senators Divided Over Yar’Adua Assets Declaration,” The Vanguard, July 1, 2007. As of the time of
writing, no high-ranking government official at the federal level has followed Yar’Adua’s example.
371 Tom Ashby, “Yar'Adua takes helm of crisis-ridden Nigeria” Reuters, May 29, 2007.
372 “Nigeria electoral chief slams local, foreign observers over polls”, BBC monitoring Africa, May 3, 2007.
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Human Rights Watch October 2007