THE NIGERIAN ELECTION

AFRICA needs a good election after the Cote D'Ivoire debacle and there were high hopes that Nigeria would provide it -- the preparations were thorough and on voting day observers gave it a slightly qualified “free and fair” verdict.

But within hours of the result being announced on Monday riots and killings were reported from the North whose favoured candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, polled 12 million votes to the South's Goodluck Jonathan's 22 million. It all seemed to be African election business as usual with the predominantly Muslim North refusing to accept the verdict of the mainly Christian South.

Yesterday Muhammadu disowned those responsible for the violence, saying it was “sad, unwarranted and criminal”. Hopefully his words will calm things down. But the victorious Goodluck Jonathan cannot escape blame completely because he broke a sensible long-standing agreement since the time of independence that the Nigerian presidency should be held alternately by Christians and Muslims. When a Northern president died three years ago before completing his term Goodluck Jonathan, who was vice-president, stepped into his place instead of allowing another northerner to take the office.

The North has remembered this and voted -- and acted -- accordingly. It will take wise heads and cool tempers to restore a semblance of calm and cooperation between the North and South in this vast country.