Hope and Betrayal in the Niger Delta, by National Geographic: The prestigious and influential National Geographic reveals to the world, in a comprehensive report, the problem in Nigeria's Niger Delta. It is the kind of stuff successive governments did not want the outside world to know.

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"The Niger Delta holds some of the world's richest oil deposits, yet Nigerians living there are poorer than ever, violence is rampant, and the land and water are fouled. What went wrong?
 
Oil fouls everything in southern Nigeria. It spills from the pipelines, poisoning soil and water. It stains the hands of politicians and generals, who siphon off its profits. It taints the ambitions of the young, who will try anything to scoop up a share of the liquid riches—fire a gun, sabotage a pipeline, kidnap a foreigner. "

Four days after President Umaru Yar'Adua received a letter from the Citizens for Nigeria, widely publicized by The Guardian and Punch newspapers, he has ceded to the request to declare his assets publicly for the first time in Nigeria's history. For four weeks, the President had hesitated the move, a fact attested to during the declaration announcement by one of his aides.

The CFN had specifically requested in a letter delivered by DHL to Aso Rock: “For Nigerians to appreciate your seriousness to deal with endemic corruption, we ask that you, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, declare your personal worth, release your tax returns for the past three years and ask all your officials to do the same. This, Mr. President, will give you the moral authority to tackle corruption.” In an apparent response, Yar'Adua released to the public photocopies of his completed assets declaration form.

The PUNCH: Group seeks public declaration of Yar’Adua’s assets

Many of the issues raised by the CFN became the highlights of his declaration, including self-empowerment for Yar'Adua against corruption, and being the first to President to take the dive. Read the historic letter which spurred President Yar'Adua into action after four full weeks of indecision: