With the fall of Nigeria’s dictatorship and the introduction of democracy in 1999, governors in the mainly Muslim northern provinces believed they had struck a deal with their southern counterparts on a regional rotation of the country’s presidency. In 2007, arguing that it was their turn to choose a chief executive, they bitterly opposed a bid by then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, a southerner and a Christian, to rewrite Nigeria’s constitution in hopes of winning a third term.
在1999年，随着尼日利亚独裁统治的垮台和民主政治的引进，主要是穆斯林的北部省份的地方长官认为他们已经和南部的地方长官就两地轮流担任国家总统达成了共识。在2007年，北部认为该他们选择国家总统了，他们愤怒地否决了是南方人兼基督徒的总统奥卢塞贡·奥巴桑乔修改尼日利亚的宪法以赢得第三届任期的提议。南部地方长官反击说，北方通过独裁统治已经控制了尼日利亚三十多年，南方人应该在未来的几年里担任总统职位。这导致了紧张状态的升级。