November
21, 2006: Islamic terrorists have not been able to establish bases in Moslem
northern Nigeria, and Islamic conservatism is losing some of its appeal as
well. The criminal gangs and corruption, although under attack, continue to
flourish. The corruption supplies money for state level politicians to maintain
private militias, but none of these personal armies have been put forward as a
player in a potential civil war. The country is divided, but not in an
organized way. Thus there is lots of chaos, but much less threat of a
civil war. Anti-corruption efforts are forcing many potential warlords to spend
a lot of their time avoiding jail.
November
19, 2006: Rebels left an offshore oil platform, and freed 40 hostages, after
occupying it for two weeks. Apparently a payoff was made.
November
18, 2006: A man was caught trying to smuggle 11 pounds of explosives aboard an
airliner. Airport security was increased. Nigeria has had a number of crashes
lately, caused by poor maintenance. But airport security is pretty sloppy as
well, and the smuggler they caught may have been one of many who were not
detected.
November
16, 2006: In the Niger Delta, about a dozen gunmen attacked a oilfield
logistics base, but were repulsed by sailors guarding the facility. Two of the
attackers were killed and one was captured. This was the first time a navy
security force has managed to repulse such a major attack.
