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Barrack Pledges To End Iraq War
TTimes World Report
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Barack Obama, the Democratic contender for the US presidency, has said his main priority as president would be to end US involvement in Iraq.
Speaking before an international tour, Mr Obama said "our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe".
The senator said another priority would be to take the war to al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
His Republican rival accused Mr Obama of contradicting himself over Iraq.
John McCain said the US "surge" of American troops in Iraq was working, and that the same strategy should be applied to Afghanistan.
I won't bluster and I won't make idle threats - but understand this, when I am commander-in-chief, there will be nowhere the terrorists can run and nowhere they can hide
In an apparent criticism of the Bush administration, Mr McCain said the US effort in Afghanistan was "no way to run a war".
Addressing supporters in New Mexico, he said: "If I'm elected president, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory."
He also said he would bring al-Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden, to justice.
Mr Obama's foreign policy speech comes ahead of a tour that will include Iraq and Afghanistan, the dates of which have not been disclosed for security reasons.
In his speech at the International Trade Center in Washington, Mr Obama said: "This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st Century."
Al-Qaeda has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia
He said the conflict in Iraq must be brought to an end as "the central front in the war on terror is not Iraq, and it never was".
Mr Obama said that as president he would take the US in a new direction, and a priority would be to finish the fight against the Taleban and al-Qaeda, which has an expanding base in Pakistan.
He said the troop surge policy had actually hurt America's overall strategic interests, by diverting resources away from Afghanistan, just as the situation there was deteriorating.
Mr Obama said a withdrawal from Iraq would allow a much-needed redeployment of troops.
He said sustained co-operation was needed between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nato to root out al-Qaeda and the Taleban.
"It is unacceptable that almost seven years after nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on our soil, the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are still at large," he said.
On other issues, Mr Obama made the following pledges:
To use all tools not to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon
To invest $150bn over the next 10 years to end America's dependence on foreign oil
To develop new defences to protect against the 21st Century threat of biological weapons and cyber-terrorism
Timetable for withdrawal
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the war over the war in Iraq is moving into high gear.
The essential difference between Mr Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain, is that the Illinois senator wants to set a clear timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq - some 16 months - while Mr McCain insists that the situation on the ground, not timetables, must govern the pace of any withdrawal, our correspondent says.
It is not just a political argument, he adds - it has a huge bearing on the signals that the next US president will send to the Middle East and at root it is a test of their capacity to be Commander-in-Chief.
Opinion polls suggest that Americans remain deeply divided on the best strategy in Iraq, with almost equal support for a clear timetable or for no timetable for a withdrawal.
Mr Obama may not necessarily need to win this argument outright, our correspondent says, but in setting out his foreign policy stall he needs to show that he has credible, concrete positions that make sense of a complex world.
French defence to counter terror
Terrorism is the main threat facing France and its defence system needs to change to reflect that, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said.
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He was announcing a major overhaul of the military which includes cutting more than 50,000 defence jobs and boosting intelligence resources.Mr Sarkozy confirmed France would soon rejoin the military command of Nato that it left in 1966.He was outlining his new strategy to some 3,000 senior officers in Paris.
There is no doubt that France's new defence policy bears the stamp of President Nicolas Sarkozy himself, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus.He is the most Atlanticist president to occupy the Elysee Palace since the late 1950s, our correspondent adds. In 1966, Gen Charles de Gaulle pulled French troops out of Nato's integrated command structure as a gesture of independence from Washington.Mr Sarkozy said that despite France rejoining Nato command, the country's nuclear forces would remain under strict national control and that France would not relinquish command of its own forces.
"We can renew our relations with Nato without fearing for our independence and without the risk of being unwillingly dragged into a war," Mr Sarkozy in an address on his new defence strategy.French forces already operate and train alongside their Nato colleagues, but are not part of the integrated military command.Nato spokesman James Appathurai said the organisation's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, welcomed the move.
Intelligence boost
His speech follows the release of France's first major defence review in 14 years, in a paper called the White Book on Defence and Homeland Security.Mr Sarkozy wants to create a smaller, more mobile army that will be better equipped to respond to terrorist threats.
"Today, the most immediate threat is that of a terrorist attack," he said.
"Thanks to the effectiveness of our security forces, France has not been attacked in recent years. But the threat is there, it is real and we know that it could tomorrow take on a new form, even more serious, by nuclear, chemical and biological means."
He said the intelligence budget for new satellites, drones and other surveillance equipment would double, and that up to 10,000 soldiers would be assigned to internal security duties ranging from pandemics to cyber-attacks.A new national security council will be set up at the Elysee palace. A former ambassador to Iraq and Algeria has been named to hold the newly-created post of national intelligence co-ordinator.
Pared down army
Under the proposals, some 54,000 military and civilian defence jobs will be cut, and some 50 military bases and other defence facilities will be closed in a move that is thought likely to spark protests in towns where the closures will take place.France will trim its army - the biggest of the European Union - navy and air force from 271,000 troops to 224,000.The new policy will also see the number of combat-ready troops reduced from 50,000 to 30,000. The country's defence spending will total 377bn euros ($584bn) from 2009 to 2020, including 200bn euros that will be spent on equipment, Mr Sarkozy said.
As of 2012, the military budget will increase, he added.
Some of France's four permanent bases in Africa will be shut down.
More than 9,000 French troops are based in Africa, including in Djibouti, Dakar in Senegal and Libreville in Gabon.
The new military strategy will be discussed in parliament later this month.
Cellar incest girl 'will recover'
Kerstin Fritzl, the 19-year-old whose illness in April alerted the Austrian authorities to a major incest scandal, will make a full recovery, doctors say.
They say the woman, who spent her life as a captive in a cellar, has taken her first steps since waking from a coma.
Ms Fritzl, who was admitted to hospital suffering from major organ failure, has also been reunited with her siblings.
She is the eldest of seven children fathered by Josef Fritzl with his daughter, Elisabeth.
Steady progress
Though her mother visited her regularly, Kerstin finally met other family members on Sunday.
"The family is now very happy to all be together for the first time," family lawyer Christoph Herbst told a press conference.Elisabeth and the six surviving children have moved into a house on hospital premises to enable them to live as normal a life as possible while still under hospital care."The reunion of Kerstin with her family a few days ago was a moving moment," hospital director Berthold Kepplinger told a press conference.
Her medical recovery was a "great relief", he said, adding that he expected her to recover fully and "develop normally".Dr Albert Reiter, who treated Kerstin, said she said made steady progress since being woken from an artificially induced coma.
He said she first greeted him during a morning visit on 1 June.
"I said to Kerstin 'Hello Kerstin', and Kerstin tells me 'Hello'," he said.
Mr Kepplinger said she could read and write, and was good at communicating.She told doctors that she would like to travel on a ship and listen to a Robbie Williams concert.Elisabeth was held captive for 24 years and raped repeatedly by her father.She and Kerstin and two other children lived in a cellar beneath his house. Three other children lived with Mr Fritzl, while another died as an infant.Mr Fritzl, 73, remains in detention pending charges.
South Africans in crime protest
Thousands of South Africans have marched through the capital, Pretoria, to protest against the high crime rate.
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Popular actor and comedian Desmond Dube said he was inspired to organise the event, called the "Million Man March", after a neighbour was shot dead.The protesters handed over a memorandum calling for urgent government action.The minister who accepted it on President Thabo Mbeki's behalf was drowned out in the chorus of boos as he tried to respond to their concerns.The march comes a day after local reggae singer Tiny Motho Siluma was shot dead outside his home.
His is the latest in a number of high-profile murders.In October last year there was outrage when the famous reggae artist Lucky Dube was also shot dead in Johannesburg. He was attacked by armed robbers in a suburb of the city.
'Numbers not important'
The BBC's Peter Greste in Pretoria says the chanting on the march was enthusiastic enough but barely 10,000 people showed up, a tiny fraction of the number that the organisers ambitiously called for. The protestors themselves carried signs reading "Break the silence", "Stop Crime" and "Enough".
"I am very angry for the future of my children. I don't see any future for my children in South Africa," one woman said.
Another protester said numbers did not matter and the march had been a success."We did come here and we've shown that the few that came here represent the ones that didn't," he said.March organiser Desmond Dube, no relation to the late musician Lucky Dube, said a friend of his had a nine-year-old girl who was raped and shot in the head, then a neighbour was shot in front of his gate."I think for me that was it," he told the BBC's World Update programme."As an artist, as an actor in this country I put tools down and I said I'm going to make sure I do something about this."
Unity
A spokeswoman for the ruling African National Congress, Jessie Duarte, expressed his support for the march, saying the government had to work with communities to tackle violence.
"We believe that part of the solution is the unity of the people on the ground," he told the BBC.
"For this very reason we've asked people to revert back to the formation of street committees to root our criminals."
South African President Mbeki has vowed to crack down on crime.
Figures for April to September 2007 showed a slight decrease compared to the same period the year before.
However, there were still nearly 9,000 murders in those six months.
Correspondents say the fight against crime is one of the big challenges facing the South African government.
Robberies and car-jackings are often accompanied by extreme violence involving guns.The country's many migrants, the recent victims of xenophobic attacks, are frequently blamed by local people for much of South Africa's crime.The government said 56 people had been killed and more than 650 injured in last month's anti-foreigner violence. At least 70,000 were displaced.
One reported dead in Greek quake
At least one person has reportedly been killed as an earthquake rocked southern Greece, collapsing buildings and causing panic.
Several injuries were reported from falling roofs as the tremor - which had an epicentre 200 kilometres (124 miles) west of Athens - struck near Patras.
The quake had a magnitude of 6.5, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said, and could be felt in the capital.Greece is one of Europe's most earthquake-prone countries.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1.Experts have warned that aftershocks are likely as the quake's epicentre in the Peloponnese region was close to the ground's surface."It was terrible," Makis Paraskevopoulos, the mayor of the southern town of Pyrgos, told state television."We have never lived through something like this before. It was very long and we felt that the town was being flattened."
South Africa: Behind the violence
What was it that led to around 100,000 foreigners being driven from homes in South Africa?
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One factor could be rising anger at allegations that foreigners have corruptly been given subsidised housing.
At first South Africa's Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils said that some kind of subversive "Third Force" was behind the attacks.
"We are not just seeing spontaneous xenophobic attacks," he said during a tour of the worst affected areas.
"There are many social issues at the root of the problem, but we have reason to believe that there are many other organisations involved in sparking the attacks," he added.But later he withdrew the accusation, saying: "I accept that we have had a spontaneous outburst of xenophobia here."
So what really caused the attacks?
With the violence having been perpetrated across such vast areas of the country, there is no simple answer.But one source of tension has been intense competition for the subsidised housing built by the government under its Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).The problem with the RDP housing is that although the government now builds over 180,000 units a year, there are never enough.They are allocated not by municipalities or officials, but by the locally elected councillors.
Bribery and corruption
For a number of years now this has led to allegations that they take bribes in return for housing and this has led to many protests.In 2005, for example, residents in the town of Musina, close to the border with Zimbabwe, marched on the municipality to protest about the lack of action against certain councillors accused of giving houses to foreigners for money.
Sinkie Makushu, chairman of the Greater Musina Unemployment Forum complained that they had provided ample evidence of corruption, but that no action was taken.
"The police have every bit of information regarding corruption at the municipality, but they keep saying they are still investigating," he said.
The previous year angry residents chased about 50 people out of RDP houses after claims that they were foreigners, who were paying rent or had bought the homes outright from local councillors.Some of those evicted from the RDP houses produced bank receipts proving they were paying rent of 50 rand ($6.5) or more to some councillors. Other occupants said they had bought the houses for 6,500 rand ($850) each.
'Fertile ground'
Anger at the allocation of housing in return for payments has been seen in several places during the xenophobic attacks carried out over the past two weeks.People living in Alexandra, on the outskirts of Johannesburg where the violence originated, said foreigners had jumped the low-cost housing allocation lists by paying bribes.
The housing department in the Gauteng region which surrounds Johannesburg said it had allocated nine houses to foreigners in Alexandra but argued in a report that those people had permanent resident permits.
The opposition Democratic Alliance said the government needed to clarify its housing policy and explain who qualified for state-owned houses.Since most councillors are members of the African National Congress, it is the party that has been blamed.The problems were acknowledged by ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe."Many people have taken occupation of more than one RDP house and sell their houses instead of living in them. We must put a stop to this practice and expose all who are corrupt," he wrote on the party's website.
A similar point was made by the leader of the ANC's ally, the South African Communist Party."Some of our own councillors illegally take bribes and allocate RDP houses to undeserving people who are South African and non-South African citizens," said Blade Nzimande, the SACP's general secretary."These corrupt practices create fertile ground for intra-community conflict and xenophobia," he said.
Taking action
The government has attempted to deal with this issue.Recently the department of housing said that more than 7,000 civil servants have acquired RDP houses illegally. "We have 7,363 pending cases of fraudulently acquired RDP houses by government officials throughout the country," says Simphiwe Damane-Mkhosana, head of an anti-corruption unit in the housing department.
"We intend to prosecute all the individuals who benefited."
But the practice has become so widespread that rooting it out is proving difficult.The resulting tensions have only served to exacerbate differences between South Africans and foreigners living in the so-called Rainbow Nation.
Niger set to become oil producer
China will invest $5bn (£2.5bn) over the next three years to develop oil production in Niger.
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State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is expected to produce the country's first barrel of oil in 2009.Under the agreement, CNPC will build a 2000-km pipeline and a refinery with a capacity of 20,000 barrels a day.The investment in Niger's Agadem block near the border with Chad is China's latest move to secure energy resources in Africa.
'Win-win'
Niger's mines and energy minister Mohamed Abdoulahi said the deal was a "win-win" contract that benefitted the people of China and Niger.He said that Niger is expected to produce its first crude in 2009.Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and ranks in the bottom five on the United Nations human development index.
More than three million people were affected by a famine in the country in 2005.
Accusations
China has invested $30bn in Africa's oil and gas industries, primarily in Sudan, Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.But China's foray into Africa has prompted accusations of modern day colonialism.
Development organisations have attacked China for ignoring alleged human rights abuses - especially in Sudan - to tap resources.Niger's eastern region, where the country's oil reserves are located, has been relatively unaffected by a revolt by Tuareg rebels.But China's ambassador to the country, Chen Gonglai, appealed for peace in the country at the contract signing ceremony."To develop a nation, you have to have to security," he said.
Nigeria seizes 80 tonnes of drugs
Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has seized 80 metric tonnes of cannabis in one of its largest ever hauls, officials say.
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The drugs were seized by NDLEA agents in a single raid in the south-western city of Ibadan, following a tip-off from other security agencies.The drugs were loaded into a bullion van, a truck and a car ready for supply to a residential area in the city.The seized cannabis had an estimated street value of $1.2m.Ekaete Egwunwoke, the NDLEA's commander in Oyo state, of which Ibadan is the capital, said his organisation had also discovered two illegal warehouses used by the drug syndicate for the storage of cannabis.
Open drug-use
Eight suspected drug dealers have already been arrested in connection with the seizure of the cannabis.A decade ago, Nigeria was one of the transit points for illicit drugs in West Africa but in recent years security agencies have stepped up their campaign in clamping down on the movement and sale of illegal drugs.But although the government focused resources on the fight against the sale and use of illicit drugs in Nigeria, this has not stopped people from using drugs.Cannabis and marijuana are still being smoked openly by youths, sometimes on public streets.
Has Yar'Adua had good year?
May 29 marks Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's one year in office after winning what international and local observers condemned as an flawed election.
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If by waltzing through the calendar and remaining busy at nothing in particular is having a good year, then he has done great. The guy is simply sleepwalking his way through four years. He gives the impression that after he got the job, he has been at a loss of what to do. If only he would concentrate all his efforts at just one thing (such as uninterrupted power supply) and succeed at it, that would be worth all his presidency. He needs to wake up.
Joe Akinmusuru, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
AM FROM SAME PLACE WITH MR PRESIDENT BUT MUST CONFESS THAT FROM ONSET I NEVER GAVE HIM A CHANCE GIVEN THE TEAM HE ASSENBLED LARGLY MADE UP OF POLITICIANS WHO ARE HUNGRY TO LOOT AND FEATHER THEIR OWN NESTS. ALL THE 7 POINTS AGENDA SET BY HIM REMAIN LARGELY ACADEMIC AND SHOULD BE A REFERENCE POINT OF EMBRASSMENT WHEN ITS BECOMING OBVIOUS THAT OBASANJO EVEN FARED BETTER. FOR NOW MR PRESIDENT IS STILL SLEEPING WITHOUT ANY DIRECTION SO FAR. TOO BAD FOR NIGERIA STILL USING HER 3RD ELEVEN AS LEADERS
ALIYU NUHU, LAGOS
Well planned and deeply entrenched reforms and development is what is needed in Nigeria, not quick fixes. Since the end of the first republic there have been no significant infrastructural development. Developing them will certainly take some time.
T Adegoke, Pretoria, South Africa
Yardua is slow. However the president before him (General Obasanjo) was fast in looting the money. People has to remember that Obasanjo single handedly installed Yardua via a fradulent election. Nigerian comtinue to suffer under Yardua. He has destroyed EFCC and all the corrupt ex Governors are on the loose free spend their proceed of crime. This is not fair. They have their cronies as advisers. Thives advising thives. God will surely put down bad governments.
A Anjorin, UK
Dear BBC have your say,
Somebody by the name of Englishclayton reply to one of my comment,which is published incompletely by you. on the topic of Yar`Adua one year in office. The person asked me some questions angrily abut what du I want for westerners to do? making refrences to aids, invasions and wars.Please BBC, if its possible,put me on line live with that person for his reply, simply because I don`t have enough space here to reply.
It will be of great pleasure if you permit this
Thanks
A. Musa Kamara, Duisburg, Germany
I think Yar'adua will be a great president just give him a little more time.Nigeria even in this shape is a great country and will be even greater if someday we find honest leaders like Murtala and Buhari.
May Allah guide and proctect Yar'adua and Bless our Beloved country-NIGERIA.
Mika'ilu Atiku, Dallas Texas,US
I believe Yar'Adua is doing as well as he possibly can to achieve his goals. He is attempting decentralize all of the decision making in the government. Nigeria's past is full of military regimes that governed through force and decree. This created a government that operates in the same capacity as an army; this includes the HEADS of each bureau and agency. If they aren't ordered to do something then they wont do it, there is very little initiative in each branch of Nigeria's government.
Olaniyi, United States
President Yaradua is a good man. The only fear I have for him is about the people that surround him and the senate. They are more interested in actualising their own selfish interest than any other thing. The President has tried, I only have one advice for him - he should tackle the electricity problem...other things will follow.
Rasheed Adeleke, Quebec, Canada
Yar'Adua cannot be credited with having done anything positive for Nigeria right now. He appears to be slow on implementing progressive programs for Nigeria. There are several things he could have changed already. I think he is a slow thinker. My advice to him is to focus on POWER SUPPLY. If he can do that for the country, it will be an excellent legacy. Obasanjo as corrupt as people said he was, is known for anti-corruption crusade(EFCC), communications(cell phones, land linesand others.
Iyayi, Benin City
It's rather too early to judge the man, but considering his promise of a state of emergency in the power sector within the first 100 days and failing to so, and his promise to change the elctoral system immediately and sleeping on it and of course a lot of other promises that we are yet to see any meaningful deviation from the Obasanjo era, I think Yar'adua has not lived to the expectations of majority of NIgerias. But still a year is not enough to score the man.
Salihu Muhammad, Zaria city in Kaduna State
I think Yar'Adua has done well for him and his family in Nigeria. Nothing more or less.
Mohammed Ali, Monrovia, Liberia
Which is the classic definition of leadership in Africa. He jets to Germany to get medical care; probably his dogs visits German veterinary too. In the mean time women die of preventable childbirth complications at an unconscionable rate. Ever heard leaders in Africa are accountable to the devil while leaders in the West are accountable to God?
Eziokwu Bu Ndu, Nigeria
(part2) corruption and Money laundering that prevails at the moment. Secondly, to boost the Economy, he needs to focus on energy and here I mean Electricity. I say this for many reasons. In the basic it’s an amenity- Equivalent to the right to life. It’s important for home industries, citizens will feel the price effect, it will attract foreign investment. However, it is difficult to achive the second without the first and Nig. can only hope as have always done, that he can make a diff.
Alex Angus, London
Nigerian President is trying, his one year in office is better than 8years in office of the formal president of Nigeria.
He should keep it going.
Thanks,
Yours Faithfully,
Prince O.
Prince O. Africa, Abidjan
A president in Africa needs to be given time and freedom to achieve his goals. It took Preident Mugabe several years to implement his plan. We should not rush President Yar'Adua. He has many areas to address. The Nigerian energy sector is cash rich and will need the help of the President. Similarly his plans for land reform will take time. We should give the President our support and prayers. Africa is now free from colonial powers! The future is in the hands of the President!
Justice Cocklecarrot, Auchtermuchty, United Kingdom
Why blame us westerners ? What do you want ?
Stop aid ,invasion , war ,what ?
You live in free Europe thanks to the U.S.A. in the ww2
Sorry sort it out in Africa not in Europe.
[englishclayton]
Like you don't know Africans, especially Nigerians, are addicted to blaming Euros. Given the right platform Nigerians would blame Euros for all the potholes and death traps we call highway here. We would move from gear 1 to 2 if we blame ourselves as much as we blame others.
Ekene, Nigeria
Nigeria's 'Baba-go-slow' one year on
Some critics of Umaru Yar'Adua have given the Nigerian president a new nickname: "Baba-go-slow".
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Most people called his predecessor Olusegun Obasanjo "Baba" - in reference to his fatherly style of governing.Mr Yar'Adua has inherited a less-than respectful name after a year of seemingly little progress.
But is that really fair
When he came to power in a flawed election last year, President Yar'Adua promised reforms, and lots of them.The electoral system would be revolutionised, peace would be sought in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the murky oil industry would be reformed as well as the woefully inadequate power industry.
'Topsy turvy'
"He's not really done anything of substance this year," says Mahmud Jega, editor of the Daily Trust newspaper. "He's helped calm down what was a cantankerous political atmosphere, and he's not making enemies left, right and centre."But progress has been very slow. He's not a very vigorous person."Peter Esele, the president of the Trade Union Congress, says this year has been a "topsy turvy" one for the Nigerian president."On the one hand there has been a marked departure from the ways of the past. A lot more is being done properly," he says.But, he adds, powerful people in government are still interfering in business to benefit their own interests, damaging Nigeria's economy.And this corruption does not look like it will be stopped."There is no political will to do so, and we're going round in circles."
'All talk, no action'
In the oil-producing Niger Delta, where poverty surrounds the pipelines carrying Nigeria's crucial revenue, criticism is stronger. "I don't see any sincerity in government," says Obulabo Inko-Taria, editor of the Port Harcourt newspaper Hard Truth.
The government has reached out to some armed groups and persuaded them, reportedly with cash payments, to stop blowing up oil pipelines.A peace conference is due to be held in the next two months, but Mr Inko-Taria says he is not impressed."All the government is talking about is discussions and conferences. Conferences to discuss what?" he says."The issue at the centre of this is clear. We in the Niger Delta need to control more of our resources. But they won't address inequality in the Delta."The most publicly visible militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, has not stopped its attacks on oil facilities and says it will not attend any peace conferences.In the power sector the president is still saying he is about to declare a "state of emergency" on the industry - one of his campaign promises. In the meantime, a parliamentary investigation has uncovered that turbines worth billion of dollars are rotting away in ports because there is no way of getting them to where the power stations are meant to be.
The previous administration had promised to generate 10,000 megawatts (MW) by this year; although Mr Obasanjo admitted last month that 10 times that amount was needed for Nigeria to become an industrialised country.
Right now Nigeria's electricity company barely manages to provide 3,500MW.In comparison, South Africa generates 40,000MW, and it is struggling to supply its population - roughly one third of Nigeria's size.
A presidential-appointed committee of experts set up to reform the industry has recommended immediate action to prevent costs on unfinished power projects from growing.
Nigeria has already spent a reported $16bn (£8bn) on them.
'New wives'
But supporters say all this criticism is unfair.Effective solutions to Nigeria's problems require proper planning, they say. Senator Kanti Bello, who represents part of President Yar'Adua's home state of Katsina, says criticism is "small boys talk".
"What do they want us to do, start spending money? That is how we got into this mess, spending without proper planning."
The first year of President Yar'Adua's administration has been about working to ensure fiscal responsibility, that state governments spend oil revenues in the way they are supposed to, he said.According to the constitution, oil revenues - currently $12bn (£6bn) - have to be shared out among state governments.And governors are lobbying hard for the cash to be released.
But if it does the government risks driving up inflation.
"We want them to spend the money on power, schools on hospitals but we know if we release it without being able to say: 'This is what you will spend it on,' they will go and buy new cars for themselves and get new wives," Sen Bello said.Razia Khan of Standard Chartered Bank agrees that progress has been made in Nigeria's fiscal responsibility."There may not have been progress in the headline-grabbing reforms but there have been encouraging signs," she told the BBC.
'Quality not quantity'
Dubious privatisations signed by Mr Obasanjo have been reversed by his successor. Two ministers alleged to have fraudulently shared out budget money they were meant to return have been arrested.
"I don't get the sense that people feel they're going backward in Nigeria. There is progress, it's just very slow," Ms Khan said.
The president himself has promised more will be done.
"The quality of your planning, the quality of your programmes, determines the nature of their achievements," he said in an interview with the UK newspaper Financial Times.
"What we have to learn to know is that you cannot achieve anything without planning, and planning is a long-term process."
Both critics and supporters agree that top of his bulging in tray remains sorting out the power supply."You can't have anything without electricity," says Sen. Bello.How long it takes Nigerians to get a regular supply, will be the real test of Mr Yar'Adua's planning.
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