A Year in, Nigeria's President Might Not Have Long Left

In 1999, Nigerian strongman Abdulsalami Abubakar agreed to hand over power to civilian leaders, replacing the military rule that had typified much of Nigeria's political history with a rotational power-sharing agreement. The deal, crafted by the ruling party at the time, was intended to prevent any one region or ethnic group from monopolizing influence in the Nigerian government. And indeed, for more than a decade, the country's various administrations were more or less inclusive....