Note: This editorial by New York Times
EDITORIAL BOARD was initially headlined
‘Nigeria’s Miserable Choices’
The Nigerian government was supposed to hold
presidential elections this past weekend, which
presented voters with the dispiriting choice of
keeping a lousy incumbent or returning to power
a former autocratic leader. Now they will have to
wait at least six weeks to cast votes.
The Nigerian election commission said earlier
this month that it had pushed back the vote until
at least March 28, after the country’s security
chiefs warned that they could not guarantee the
safety of voters in northeastern areas of the
country where Boko Haram, the extremist
militant group, captured international attention
last spring when it abducted hundreds of
schoolgirls. On Friday, Boko Haram fighters
attacked a village in neighboring Chad for the
first time, an alarming sign of the group’s
expanding strength in a region that also includes
areas of Cameroon and Niger.
Any argument to delay the vote might be more
credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s
government had not spent much of the past year
playing down the threat posed by the militants
and if there were a reasonable expectation that
the country’s weak military has the ability to
improve security in a matter of weeks.
It appears more likely Mr. Jonathan grew
alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu
Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to
crack down on Boko Haram. By dragging out the
race, Mr. Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s
campaign coffers, while he continues to use
state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.
That Mr. Buhari, who helped launch a coup
against a democratically elected government in
1983 and ruled until late 1985, has emerged as
potential winner is more of an indictment of Mr.
Jonathan’s dismal rule than a recognition of the
former military chief’s appeal.
Nigerian voters have grown increasingly worried
about the stunning rise of Boko Haram, which
has committed terrorist atrocities including
bombings.
The abductions and attacks by the group have
exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s armed
forces and the dysfunction of the government.
Although Mr. Jonathan’s government has in the
past been less than enthusiastic, and at times
obstructive, in response to offers of American
and European aid, he appears to be growing
increasingly worried. In an interview with The
Wall Street Journal last week, he said he would
welcome American troops to fight the insurgency.
Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption
and the government’s inability to diversify its
economy as the price of oil, the country’s
financial bedrock, has fallen have also caused
Nigerians to look for new leadership. Nigeria, the
most populous nation in Africa, and a relatively
young democracy, cannot afford an electoral
crisis. That would only set back the faltering
effort to reassert government control in districts
where Boko Haram is sowing terror. The security
forces may not be able to safeguard many
districts on Election Day. But postponement is
very likely to make the security threat worse.
