2006年VOA标准英语-Nigerians Hail Democratic Victory

By Gilbert Da Costa
Abuja
29 May 2006
 

Nigerian Senator Idris Kuta, left, Senator Shola Adeleye, center and Niger State Governor Abdulahi Kure, right celebrate outside the National Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, May 16, 2006   
  
A few weeks ago, the Nigerian parliament decided¹ against a constitutional amendment² that would allow President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for more than two terms. The move was in stark³ contrast to Uganda and Chad, which have approved efforts to extend a serving president's stay in power.

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Analysts⁴ say by rejecting the third-term proposal, despite intense political pressure, the legislature has sent a message across Africa that Nigeria will not slide into years of one-man rule that defined the continent for decades after independence.

Chad, Uganda, and Zimbabwe are a few of the African countries where leaders have amended⁵ the constitution to remove limits to their tenure⁶ and powers.

Maxi Okwu, an Abuja-based lawyer and leader of a coalition⁷ of 16 political parties called the Political Parties Alliance, offers his view about why the third term campaign failed in Nigeria.

"In Nigeria, we seem to be a little bit ahead of many other African states, in terms of development, enlightenment, an active [and independent] media and a very robust⁸ elite⁹. [In addition we have a] very competitive multi-ethnic¹⁰ society that is very suspicious and conscious of one another," he said.  "All these [things came together] to make the [extension of presidential terms] - which may have succeed in other parts of Africa - difficult to fly in this country."

Okwu says that public opinion polls showing a lack of support for changing the constitution combined with heavy media coverage¹¹ of the parliamentary debate on the issue were behind the final tally¹² against the measure.

"Officially the party of the government, that is the PDP [Peoples Democratic Party] stated that the elongation was their agenda. But [legislators] from the same party worked against it," he added.  "That was primarily because their constituents¹³ were opposed to it, and the media played a leading role in bringing home to the people what their representative was saying in Abuja and practically blackmailing¹⁴ the legislators who tried to go against popular feeling at home."

Under the two terms of President Olusegan Obasanjo, Nigeria has witnessed an upsurge in ethnic, political and religious violence that has killed at least 14,000 people since 1999. For some, the prospect¹⁵ of a third term also heightened the possibility of a drift to anarchy¹⁶ and chaos¹⁷.

"We look around us on the African continent," said Wunmi Bewaji, a member of the House of Representatives from Lagos.  "So many Nigerians came back amputated [from Liberia] as a result of [the leader there] not wanting to leave power voluntarily. So many of our soldiers who died in Liberia, so many of our civilians¹⁹ who died in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coasts [civil war]. [Now] we are also monitoring events in Chad where attempts to elongate²⁰ tenure has also created a situation whereby you have rebels fighting in the bush. And we all want peace, we all want stability, we want peace in [our] country."

With President Obasanjo out of the picture, the field is now open for the 2007 elections. The uncertainty²¹ surrounding who will lead the country next is potentially worrisome, because one of the candidates is a former military ruler. But Bewaji says Nigeria's democracy has been strengthened by the events of the past few weeks.

"The bright side of it is that Nigerians have shown a resolve to protect and preserve and jealously defend our hard-earned democracy," he noted²². "This is a very positive development, which could have a very long-term effect on our political struggle. One thing we have done successfully in this exercise is to say it loud and clear that Nigerians, the people of this country, will never accept any tenure extension from anybody."

If all goes well, elections next year will mark the first time in Nigerian history that a civilian¹⁸ president hands over power to another through elections.

1 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。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 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。

5 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

6 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

12 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

13 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 blackmailing   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The policemen kept blackmailing him, because they had sth. on him. 那些警察之所以经常去敲他的竹杠是因为抓住把柄了。
• Democratic paper "nailed" an aggravated case of blackmailing to me. 民主党最主要的报纸把一桩极为严重的讹诈案件“栽”在我的头上。

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

16 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。

17 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

18 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

19 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

20 elongate   

v.拉长，伸长，延长

参考例句：

• We plan to elongate the cooperation with that company in Australia.我们打算延长与澳洲那家公司的合作关系。
• Corn is treated when the stalk starts to elongate.在玉米秆开始拔节时，给玉米打药。

21 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

22 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。