VOA常速英语2007-Nigerian President Seeks Approval Amid Continued

By Kari Barber
Dakar
11 October 2007

It has been just over half a year since Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua was elected to power in elections marred¹ by violence and widely viewed as fraudulent. Analysts² say since that time Mr. Yar'Adua has gone to great lengths to show himself as a credible³ leader, capable of tackling many problems in Africa's most populous⁴ nation. Kari Barber reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar that while some Nigerians are optimistic about what Mr. Yar'Adua is doing for the country, others say he will never be accepted as a legitimate⁵ leader given the way he came to power.

Businesswoman Anna Olabiyi says although Mr. Yar'Adua's presidency⁶ has been tarnished⁷, she hopes for the best.

"Nobody is an angel," she said. "We just believe - we keep on praying for him - that he will try his best. It is not easy to be a president. And for the kind of country that Nigeria is, he will have to try."

Despite an election observers say was rife⁸ with vote rigging and intimidation⁹, Mr. Yar'Adua is enjoying a good deal of popularity. Effiong Sunday of Lagos says he is happy with the new president.

 "Really Mr. Yar'Adua has made a great impression in so many ways," he said. "I like his government because it is a democracy. I would like him to help me."

Just how democratic the elections were is still in question as some opposition¹⁰ groups press forward with court cases challenging election results. Spokesman for the opposition All Nigeria People's Party Ibrahim Modibbo says his party is working alongside Mr. Yar'Adua's ruling party, but that does not mean they accept the government or support his policy.

"In the interest of peace and democracy over anarchy¹¹ they decided¹² to go into a government of national unity¹³, but that is not to say the party has stopped our presidential candidate from seeking his rights at the court of law," he said.

 Chidi Odinkalu of the Abuja-based Open Society Justice Initiative says Mr. Yar'Adua is fully¹⁴ aware of his need to enhance his legitimacy¹⁵ inside and outside the country.

"I think Yar'Adua will always have a legitimacy problem in some form," Odinkalu said. "It is not insurmountable in the short term. I think he is certainly aware he does have a legitimacy deficit¹⁶ or a damaged mandate¹⁷."

However, Odinkalu says Mr. Yar'Adua's has made popular economic decisions - possibly winning him some support. Soon after being inaugurated, President Yar'Adua reversed the quick sell-off and privatization of the nation's oil refineries¹⁸ - a last minute controversial move by outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo. He also broke up the country's petroleum¹⁹ company, which many say suffers from endemic corruption²⁰, into smaller parts so it could be better managed.

Mr. Yar'Adua gained praise for halting a scheme by the Central Bank to change the denomination²¹ amounts on the country's currency without consent. To improve his image outside the country Mr. Yar'Adua recently hired a new U.S.-based public relations firm to lobby for him within the United States. But Odinkalu says for many Nigerians, Mr. Yar'Adua's best character is that his leadership style bears little resemblance to that of former President Obasanjo.

"He is more understated, he is less brash, he appears more respectful of procedures," Odinkalu said. "Having said that it is a bit too soon to say if he is less beholden to the forces that have brought him to power."

Former President Obasanjo became widely unpopular by the end of his term for pervasive²² poverty, rampant²³ corruption and ongoing²⁴ violence. In his inauguration²⁵ speech, President Yar'Adua made peace in the violence oil-rich Niger Delta²⁶ region his priority.

Militant²⁷ groups there have been staging attacks on oil facilities and kidnappings - they say for a bigger cut of the region's oil wealth. In efforts to quell²⁸ the violence, Mr. Yar'Adua released from prison key militant leader Moujahid Dokubo-Asari - a longstanding demand of militant groups.

 "Non-Violence in the Niger Delta" peace group head Kennedy West of Port Harcourt says this was a positive move and although fighting has continued, West says things are moving in the right direction. "You cannot expect that something the militants²⁹ have been doing consistently for two years or there about can stop over night," West said. "No, it cannot. But there is peace in certain quarters and certain areas."

Despite early signs of optimism, many are still cautious about what Mr. Yar'Adua's rule will bring to the nation which has in the past suffered harsh military rule.

 Nassir Abbas of the Human Rights Forum³⁰ in the northern state of Kaduna says corruption is still a problem and Mr. Yar'Adua needs not only to examine himself, but also those around him. Many in Mr. Yar'Adua's government, Abbas says, came from the former administration and do not have the clean record Mr. Yar'Adua does.

"At this point in time he is correcting things, at the same time but he is bringing other bad hands into the system," said Abbas. "I think if care is not taken, these bad elements will come back into the system and we will go back to what was happening in the past."

Human Rights Watch recently released a report blasting Nigerian government officials saying their actions more resembled criminal activities than democratic governance. Lagos student Babtunde Sadiq says he believes in President Yar'Adua.

 "I do not want him to allow anyone to be directing him. He should do what is in his mind and what is right to us, the masses," he said.

Mr. Yar'Adua has acknowledged shortcomings in the election that brought him to power, and he has formed a panel to examine the nation's electoral process.

1 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

4 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

8 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

9 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

16 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

17 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

18 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

19 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

21 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

22 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

23 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

24 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

25 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

26 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

27 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

28 quell   

v.压制，平息，减轻

参考例句：

• Soldiers were sent in to quell the riots.士兵们被派去平息骚乱。
• The armed force had to be called out to quell violence.不得不出动军队来镇压暴力行动。

29 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

30 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。