The Right Decision

To the victor, the spoils. Glasgow will host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, after its bid saw off a rival offer from the Nigerian capital Abuja. It's the right decision, on both technical and moral grounds.

There's little doubt Glasgow was the safe option for a Commonwealth that didn't want to take a risk, as Delhi's troubled efforts to put on the 2010 Games veer from crisis to crisis. Many of the venues are already in place, and Scotland will surely put on a memorable show.

But such technical concerns often have less impact than political factors in the murky world of international sport. Africa had virtually been promised these Games, after South Africa agreed not to challenge Melbourne for the 2006 event. Had South Africa decided to bid this time, the result would surely have been different, but it's got the rather bigger prize of the 2010 football World Cup.

So, it was Nigeria that attempted to become the first African host of the Games, and despite the large African contingent in the Commonwealth, it seems the country's atrocious human rights record was one of the main reasons why it failed. Cynics might say both Nigeria and Scotland held dodgy elections this year, but Nigeria's disgraceful treatment of homosexuals and women are just the most well-known of the reasons why it shouldn't be allowed the prestige of hosting such an international occasion. It's an outcome that should be cheered, not just by Glaswegians, but by everyone.

A Little Less Coup-Prone

Nigeria's newish President has purged some of the country's top military generals. Forty have been told to retire, as Umaru Musa Yar'Adua takes a firmer grip on the country he's ruled since earlier this year.

It's no surprise Mr Yar'Adua wants to weaken the strength of the Nigerian army. He's the first President in Nigerian history to have taken over from another civilian leader, and Nigeria's had a military regime for 30 of its 47 years as an independent state. Things are more stable now - Nigeria doesn't suffer the same indignity as the Central African Republic, which is rather amusingly described in reports by the Associated Press as being "coup-prone". But as a new leader Mr Yar'Adua knows he's got to go further so he can be confident that, when doing important presidential stuff like leaving the country, some hacked off old General so-and-so won't seize power. He may be democratically-elected, but in Africa, even elected leaders have to play nasty.

An Illusion Of Success

Voting takes place today in Nigeria, as the country tries to move from one democratic administration to another for the first time since independence. Despite various legal wrangling that's caused delays this week, things should go reasonably peacefully. No doubt the major leaders around the world will say it's all a jolly good thing, but that only tells some of the story.

Nigeria matters because of its great oil wealth, and because of its size. Its recent stability has made it the big regional power, and that fairly reliable supply of the black stuff makes it important to the US and others, especially with what's going on in Iraq. But despite the great proclamations of democracy, things haven't got better for ordinary people in Nigeria. Most have seen little evidence of their country's riches, and basics like electricity are still scarce in places. Corruption's just as bad as it was in the bad old days. Regardless of who wins the election, there's no sign any of that's going to change.