Nigeria's Jonathan Secures Presidential Nomination

Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party settled its primaries late Jan. 13, with President Goodluck Jonathan securing the party's presidential nomination by a wide margin. His opponent, Atiku Abubakar, was heretofore hailed as the "northern consensus candidate," but failed to win several key northern states. Abubakar has limited options for reaction — he has no ties to the Niger Delta and thus cannot prompt attacks there, and Nigerian security forces would put down any attempt to spark sectarian violence in the north. Jonathan, in the meantime, is using as much of his influence as he can to reassure northerners that their interests will not be left by the wayside.