Washington D.C. — The United States Congress and Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday took different positions on how best to manage the fallout of Nigeria's April general elections, descri-bed by local and international observers as flawed and below standards set in previous elections in the country.

At an open hearing of the Congressional Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health entitled "Nigeria At a Crossroads: Elections, Legiti-macy and A Way Forward", Soyinka insisted that the whole election should be cancelled, the electoral commission be dissolved and an independent body set up to organise new elections within a "negotiated period."

The Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, the US State Department, Jendayi Frazer on the other hand stated that although the election was a great disappointment, there was a great danger of a coup d'etat which Nigeria has suffered in the past, if the idea of an interim government was allowed to gain ground.

Frazer said the US government expects President Musa Yar'adua to facilitate the work of the electoral tribunals in addressing disputes promptly and credibly, saying that "our greatest contribution will lie in applying diplomatic pressure for reform, sharing technical expertise, and catalyzing private sector support all on behalf of job-creating investments and profound governance reforms."

She further stated that the stakes were simply too great to walk away from Nigeria, that the country has been a dependable ally of the US that has made remarkable progress over the last eight years. Frazer stressed the need to nurture Nigeria's democracy, adding that the 2007 elections are a sharp reminder of the great challenges facing the country.

"As a result, addressing these problems quickly must be an immediate priority for the Yar'Adua administration. This will include allowing the legal challenges to proceed unimpeded and their results to be respected. It will also mean moving precipitously to fix the broken electoral system, including making the electoral commission fully independent," she said.

On the Niger Delta Crisis, Frazer said the US is working with the Nigerian State and Federal government to address development issues, prevalence of arms and crime and to establish peace, prosperity and security.

Answering a question on whether she discussed the issue of corruption during her meeting with Yar'Adua, Frazer answered in the negative. She however said it is expected that Nigeria would continue its work on anti-corruption and transparency.

She said: "Yar'Adua focused on electoral reforms and addressing the challenges of the Niger Delta and continued engagement in peacekeeping efforts.

"In collaboration with the federal Nigerian government and the International community, the United States is willing to fund and provide training to combat money-laundering, strengthen customs enforcement and border security, automate police records and offer advisors for state budgetary transparency," said Frazer.

Other efforts of the US government so far are "offering Nigerian officials a network of sensors, radar and communication gear to enhance their control of territorial waters. We wish to provide train/equip programmes for a Nigerian river marine unit that could address fisheries violations, oil theft, piracy, smuggling, narcotics, trafficking and environmental degradation."

But Soyinka, who described Yar'Adua as a "Protem President", cautioned him against acting as the legitimate leader of Nigeria. According to him, the elections are not over and it will be a mistake if Yar'adua believes he is accepted internationally. "He is running a caretaker government," said Soyinka. He and other Nobel Laureates have called for a period of 18 months to allow him address cogent issues.

He voiced his thoughts on how Nigeria can march forward. "From the moment that it becomes clear that the Tribunals have completed the major part of their task, the consequent task of the Protem President would be to activate a Judicial Commission sitting in public, ideally made up of former judges and recognized leaders of society, both secular and religious, business and professional, to investigate the conduct of the recent election," he said, arguing that if an interim government was unconstitutional, so also was the rigging that attended the polls.

He alleged that Obasanjo personally surpervised the rigging of the elections to reward those who helped him with the failed campaign for a third term in office. The former president, he said, has perfected a way of remaining in power with his installation as the life chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees.