The death of former Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua on May 5, and the transfer of power to his deputy, current President Goodluck Jonathan, has brought an end to a period of drift and dismay in Nigeria. Yet the uncertainty persists. Jonathan has less than a year to prepare this country of 150 million people for elections after recent national contests have been disorganized and highly disputed. Militant action in the oil-rich Delta region has abated but not ended. Much of the country is without electric power most of the time, and even the supply of fuel in this oil-producing state is erratic.

Hope rests on the relatively unknown Jonathan to begin leading Nigeria out of the labyrinth of conflict, corruption, and widespread poverty. The United States has stepped up its engagement with Nigeria, as symbolized by the recent signing in Washington, D.C. of the framework for a Binational Commission, meant to work on issues such as governance, the development of the Niger Delta, energy reform, and food security. What strategies are there for advancing growth, governance and security in this pivotal country as it approaches its 50th anniversary of independence on October 1, 2010?

Speakers

• Richard Joseph
  John Evans Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University
• Oka Obono
  Senior Lecturer, University of Ibadan
• Layi Erinosho
  President, African Sociological Association
• Judith Asuni, Discussant
  Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
• Dorina Bekoe, Moderator
  Senior Research Associate, U.S. Institute of Peace