Nigeria will soon confront one of the most difficult challenges that any emerging Democracy must face, whether the rule of law as set by the courts will prevail. The Nigerian Supreme Court will soon decide if it will nullify last year's presidential elections on fraud charges. How the government reacts could well determine the future of the country. Nigeria is a sovereign nation, but the United States must urge the current leaders to abide by the Supreme Court's ruling. If not, the unfolding tragedy in Kenya and the violence in that neighboring country could well repeat itself.
On December 27th, Kenyans went to the polls to elect a president. The election was close, pitting an incumbent President Mwai Kibaki against opposition leader, Raila Odinga. Faced with the prospect of losing, President Kibaki apparently chose to steal the election, and in doing so, he precipitated an ethnic civil war. Thus far, about 1,000 Kenyans have died, and another 300,000 have fled their homes.
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