Olusegun Obasanjo, who became Nigeria’s first elected president in 1999 after nearly two decades of military dictatorship, left vast swathes of the country trapped in poverty when he handed power to Yar’Adua last year. With oil reaching $100 dollars per barrel, and energy-hungry giants like the United States and China beating a path to Nigeria’s door, Africa’s leading oil producer wants to use petrodollars to cure the country’s economic ills and flex its muscles in the international arena.
尼日利亚人需要一剂希望。1999年成为尼日利亚第一位民选总统的奥巴桑乔在近二十年的军事独裁统治后，于去年将一个为贫所困的国家交给了Yar’Adua。随着每桶原油价格逼近100美金，及美国、中国等能源需求大国纷至沓来，这个非洲领先的产油国想用石油美金来医治该国的经济沉疴并提升自己在国际舞台上的实力。