Confronting the Terrorism of Boko Haram in Nigeria - Resourcedat

JSOU Report 12-5Figure 2. File photo dated 1996shows Nigerian President GeneralSani Abacha at the airport ofAbuja. Photo used by permissionof Newscom.24Nigeria achieved a measure of economicrecovery, although with the implementationof the structural adjustment programrequired by the IMF and WorldBank, prices of goods and servicesskyrocketed. 51 Babangida also maintaineda firm grip on power, shufflingkey officers from position to positionto ensure they would not become toostrong, and forbidding political parties.Many Nigerians were disturbed by thegeneral’s favoring of northern (Hausa)elite interests, and Babangida faced andsuppressed coup attempts in 1986 and1990. Other tensions escalated, particularlyreligious strife between Christiansand Muslims; several states, includingKaduna, Katsina, and Kano, had severereligious riots in the early 1990s.Then the parade of coups and militaryrulers took a turn for the worse. In 1993, Babangida allowed for anopen presidential election—the first since 1983. Moshood Abiola, a wealthyYoruba publisher from the south, was widely believed to have won the electionby a large majority, but the northern Hausa-supported military leaderBabangida annulled the vote, and the country was plunged into politicalturmoil. In November 1993, General Sani Abacha—the powerful secretaryof defense—seized power and outlawed political activity. Abiola was laterimprisoned after attempting to claim the presidency and died in prison inJuly 1998.The Nigerian Labor Congress, which had already held a general striketo protest the annulled election of Abiola, organized another general striketo protest Abacha’s coup. Political pressure groups such as the Campaignfor Democracy also stepped up protests against Abacha. In May 1994, thegovernment announced plans for political reform and held elections forlocal governments and delegates for yet another constitutional conference.In October 1995, Abacha lifted the ban on political activity, promised atransfer to civilian power in 1998, and later allowed five parties to operate.