President Olusegun Obasanjo bade farewell to Nigeria, saying Africa's most populous nation had grown stronger and more united during his eight years of civilian leadership after years of ruinous military rule.
In a nationally televised address on Monday night, Obasanjo hailed his successor, Umaru Yar'Adua, who was scheduled to assume office yesterday after elections the opposition has denounced as fraudulent and international observers have said were not credible.
"Democracy is not a destination, it's a journey," said Obasanjo, whose 1999 election ended decades of near-constant military rule, including a particularly brutal 15-year phase that began in 1984. "We are well on our way to a greater destination," he said.
Adua, a 56-year-old state governor, was handed a landslide victory in last month's presidential poll, described as "not credible" by international observers because of widespread vote-rigging and violence.
Ignoring opposition calls for a re-run, he will take the oath of office at a military parade ground in the capital Abuja in a colorful ceremony.
The handover was billed as a democratic landmark in Africa's most populous nation because it is the first transfer from one civilian leader to another in a nation scarred by decades of army misrule. But the election wiped the gloss off the occasion.
Washington and former colonial ruler Britain sent relatively junior envoys to the event, and only a couple of African heads of state are expected.
Many Nigerians have shrugged off the electoral flaws and see the peaceful transfer as a sign of progress.
"Just recently we were experiencing coups and counter-coups, so what we have today is a big improvement," said Musa Abubakar, a civil servant who came hundreds of miles to see the ceremony.
Dignitaries began to arrive at the parade ground where drummers and masquerades entertained the invited guests while hundreds of ordinary people were kept out by police. The crowd applauded when a Muslim emir walked in surrounded by turbanned guards with an attendant holding a silk parasol over his head.
Yar'Adua, a former chemistry lecturer, has promised to sustain the economic reforms of President Olusegun Obasanjo, which have won international praise but failed to lift the majority in Africa's top oil producer out of poverty.
As he reaches for the reins of power, Yar'Adua must tackle rising violence in the oil-producing Niger Delta which has already cut crude exports, the country's economic lifeline, and the threat of a strike over a fuel price hike.
But perhaps the biggest test will be how he handles Obasanjo, who picked Yar'Adua from obscurity six months ago, made him president and now seems determined to show him who is boss.
In the dying days of his administration, Obasanjo has raised fuel prices by 15 percent, doubled value-added tax and sold off two oil refineries to his business allies -- all moves that have inflamed the opposition and civil society groups.
"I wish Yar'Adua could have had a honeymoon before facing the hard knocks of policy decisions, but he will be fighting many fires on the domestic front," said Bolaji Akinyemi, a former foreign minister.
Behind the scenes, Obasanjo has also taken some delicate decisions that would normally have been made by the new government, such as reshuffling army top brass and nominating National Assembly leaders.
Obasanjo automatically assumes chairmanship of the ruling party when he steps down and has said he expects the party to determine policy while the government implements it. Yar'Adua has said the party has a role to play but he derives his powers from the Constitution.
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