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Nigerian President Yar'Adua dies

Nigerian President, Umaru Yar'Adua, died on Wednesday night at the age of 58. He had been ill for several months with a heart condition. The government announced seven days of national mourning and said Yar'Adua would be buried later today.

Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde
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Acting president Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as president.

"In line with the Nigerian constitution, the acting president Goodluck Jonathan will be Nigeria's president while his deputy will have to be appointed later," says correspondent Ben Shemang in Abuja.

Reuters

He will be buried at 2pm local time on Thursday in his home town Katsina.

Yar'Adua came to power in 2007 elections which he himself acknowledged were flawed. The country's Supreme Court finally ruled in December 2008 that he could stay in office, dismissing objections lodged by rival candidates. This meant Yar'Adua became the first civilian leader in Nigeria to take over from another.

Yar'Adua promised a long list of reforms at his inauguration: tackling corruption, reforming the inadequate power sector and the flawed electoral system.

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02:48

President of the Nigerian Senate, David Mark

Sonia Rolley

The president of the Nigerian Senate, David Mark, approved of his programme.

"The seven point agenda which would actually make us leap from where we are to one of the 20 developed economies in the world," he commented.

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00:57

Ben Shemang reports from Abuja

Even before he was elected, there were doubts about whether Yar'Adua had the physical strength to reform the most populous country in Africa.

His health problems dated to the late 1990s when he was governor of his native Katsina state. Health problems forced him to travel to a German hospital on several occasions.

He left the country again in November to receive treatment in Saudi Arabia for his heart condition. Goodluck Jonathan assumed executive powers in February and has since appointed a new cabinet and his own team of advisers.

"Yar'Adua was a very pious man, very religious, very committed to development in Nigeria," said Mark.

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00:45

Nigerian Nobel laureate, Wolé Soyinka

Sonia Rolley

Nigerian Nobel prize winner, Wole Soyinka, told RFI that politicians had handled Yar'Adua's illness in a disgraceful way.

"My feeling is one of resentment for those who used him as like a mere instrument for their diabolical political gains," he said. "Yar'Adua should have been released from office ages ago to pay full attention to his health, but people who knew how ill he was refused to take the necessary steps towards preserving him in his last days as a human being. He was just used and I found it most disgusting."

American President Barack Obama said Yar'Adua would be remembered for his personal decency and integrity, his deep commitment to public service, and his passionate belief in the vast potential and bright future of Nigeria's 150 million people.

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