After coups and chaos, trying out a U.S.-style system
It already has black Africa's largest population (about 80 million) and most bounteous economy (1978 gross national product: $33 billion), as well as the clout that comes with being a rapidly emerging leader of the Third World. To those assets, oil-rich Nigeria may soon add another that is very rare in its part of the world: a democratic government.
In a key step in a methodical transition from 13 years of military rule, what Nigerian officials describe as an "impressive" number of the country's...