Defender of the Faith: The Challenges of Nigeria's 2007 Presidential Election

Abstract

Nigeria, with an estimated population of 150 million, is currently the largest country in Africa. Notably, Nigeria has extensive natural resources, particularly the vast proven petroleum and other hydrocarbon reserves. It is internationally recognised for political and military contributions to the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for peace and security operations. Additionally, it has assumed a leading role in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer-Review Mechanism. Within this context, the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007 is of utmost importance. President Obasanjo's handover of power to another civilian administration represents a milestone achievement in Nigeria's history as a sovereign state and an important consolidation of the nation's post military democracy. It represents a considerable contribution to regional stability and international security as well as democracy worldwide, which explains the use of the Defender of the Faith Role concept to explore Nigeria's presidential election vis-à-vis its past human rights records.

Notes

Constructivism offers alternative understandings of a number of the central themes in international relations theory, including: the meaning of anarchy and balance of power, the relationship between state identity and interest, power and the prospects for change in world politics. Its adherents include Wendt (1992); Reus-Smit (2001); Hopf (1998); Price and Reus-Smit (2001); and Brown and Ainley (2005).

Defender of the Faith is one of the role conceptions used to analyse Nigeria's role in the liberation of Namibia (Adigbuo, 2005, pp. 235–241).

A.V. Dicey, Law of the Constitution, 10th edn., p. 202, quoted in Sagay (1996).

Extract from the speech of President Obasanjo while inaugurating the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission on 14 June 1999.

See Onyegbula (2007). The Odi Tragedy was widely reported by the mass media. See Human Rights Watch, Nigeria (1999).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ebere Richard Adigbuo

∗The Cetep City University, Lagos, PO Box 318, Nkwogwu 462001, Imo State Nigeria. Email: [email protected]