Statement by the South African Communist Party (SACP):
Congratulations to Olusegun Obasanjo and the people of Nigeria

The SACP joins many other South African organisations in congratulating 
Olusegun Obansanjo on his victory in the Nigerian presidential election. We 
also congratulate millions of Nigerians who have fought over nearly two 
decades for an end to military rule in their country.

We believe that these presidential elections must be seen as the beginning, 
not the end of the democratisation process in Nigeria. The danger exists 
that the elections will simply camouflage a persisting domination of 
Nigerian politics by a narrow elite closely connected to military circles.

President-elect Obasanjo knows better than anyone that a return to civilian 
rule without major institutional democratisation, without the 
transformation of the military and without socio-economic change may be 
insubstantial and even short-lived.

We call on the newly elected president, and on the people of Nigeria, to 
ensure that this weekend's elections do not mark another brief interlude in 
an otherwise dominant pattern of military rule.

March 1, 1999