Nigerian leader to be sworn in with nation divided
ABUJA: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will be sworn in on Sunday following elections seen as the country's fairest in some two decades. He, hoever, faces a divided nation after deadly post-poll riots.
Jonathan, a 53-year-old southern Christian, handily beat his main opponent, an ex-military ruler from the mainly Muslim north, in the April 16 vote, but three days of rioting following the election killed more than 800 people.
The rioting and massacres spread across the north of Africa's most populous nation, with victims hacked, burnt or shot to death. Mobs torched churches and mosques, beat people after pulling them from cars and attacked shops.
Jonathan, the first president from the oil-producing Niger Delta region, will be seeking to put the violence behind him in an elaborate ceremony in the capital's Eagle Square. Some 20 heads of state, largely from African nations, are expected.
But suspicion remains in the north, where many accuse Jonathan's ruling Peoples Democratic Party of rigging and reject reports from observers calling the election a step forward for the continent's largest oil producer.
Long before the elections, Jonathan faced hostility in the north -- poorer and less educated than the oil-producing south -- since many in the region accused him of snatching power away from them.
His nomination overturned an internal ruling party arrangement that saw it rotate its candidate between the north and south every two terms.
The president initially came to power in May 2010 following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua, a northern Muslim who had not yet finished his first term.
Jonathan, a 53-year-old southern Christian, handily beat his main opponent, an ex-military ruler from the mainly Muslim north, in the April 16 vote, but three days of rioting following the election killed more than 800 people.
The rioting and massacres spread across the north of Africa's most populous nation, with victims hacked, burnt or shot to death. Mobs torched churches and mosques, beat people after pulling them from cars and attacked shops.
Jonathan, the first president from the oil-producing Niger Delta region, will be seeking to put the violence behind him in an elaborate ceremony in the capital's Eagle Square. Some 20 heads of state, largely from African nations, are expected.
But suspicion remains in the north, where many accuse Jonathan's ruling Peoples Democratic Party of rigging and reject reports from observers calling the election a step forward for the continent's largest oil producer.
Long before the elections, Jonathan faced hostility in the north -- poorer and less educated than the oil-producing south -- since many in the region accused him of snatching power away from them.
His nomination overturned an internal ruling party arrangement that saw it rotate its candidate between the north and south every two terms.
The president initially came to power in May 2010 following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua, a northern Muslim who had not yet finished his first term.
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