Fractured Federalism: Nigeria's Lessons for Today's Nation Builders in Iraq

Abstract

Nigeria's April 2003 elections were a watershed for its democracy, with an outcome that broadly reflected the electorate's wishes and for the first time in the country's history was neither followed (nor interrupted) by a coup. But the elections have made it more difficult for President Olusegun Obasanjo to govern, with heightened ethnic and religious tensions, increased violence and mounting regionalism. Nigeria's tribulations should serve as a stark warning as the USA and its partners embark on nation building in Iraq, where a federal structure has been suggested as critical to rebuilding the country.