The response of Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua's regime to the Niger Delta crisis jeopardises the country's entire existence, writes Sabella Ogbobode Abidde in this week's Pambazuka News. With the president only interested in pursuing brutal, military 'solutions' aimed at completely annihilating 'trouble-makers' in the region, fears around the launch of a full-scale invasion seem set to be realised. Calling for a national sovereign conference to establish a lasting, long-term solution, Abidde stresses that no amount of bombing will ever lead to a sustainable peace.

Niger's president Mamadou Tandja is ready to dialogue with the opposition following a crisis triggered by a controversial referendum which has approved an extra three years for him, the head of a delegation of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), Mr Alassane Sawadogo, has announced. "President Tandja presented himself to us as a man ready for dialogue, anxious for peace, stability and Niger's supreme interest," Mr Sawadogo, PAPMP for Burkina Faso, said at the end of an audience with the Niger president.

On August 28, 2009, President Mamadou Tandja signed into law a bill granting him absolute control over the Supreme Council for Communications (CSC), the country's media regulatory body. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)'s correspondent reported that Article 130 of the new Constitution that was recently adopted under a controversial referendum in early August has reduced the previous 11 members to seven. It also gives the president the power to appoint four members, including the CSC's president.