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Article: After 35 Years, Nigeria Still Stumbling on Road to Democracy
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The radiant, round face of businesswoman Shade Edun forms a bitter
scowl as she describes how decades of military rule in Nigeria have
crushed the economic and political dreams of her people.
The civil servants and junior executives who once flocked to
Edun's car dealership have stopped coming. Food markets are full of
disconsolate men and women unable to buy a bag of rice because the
price has jumped 30-fold in recent years. At newsstands, Edun has
stopped buying newspapers because Nigeria's military leader has
banned most of the best opposition publications; what is left is not
worth reading, she said.
"Life in Lagos today is horrendous, upside down, because of the
political situation," ...