There may be a wisp of possibility in Sudan to move toward peace. President Bashir stated he will support the outcome of the 2011 elections that will determine if the southern part of the country will secede.  The split seems likely and will hopefully provide a greater independence to the state. The distribution of oil resources will most likely remain a sticking point, but initial plans should tamp tension down and provide time to develop new strategies. This will probably be made more difficult by geopolitics. With new management over resources new players will most likely emerge trying to gain control.

Legitimate elections and respect for the outcome may provide Sudan with a foundation to democratically work out many other ongoing issues, and ultimately provide their people with a better quality of life.

BBC News – Will Bashir let the south go?.

BBC News – Hundreds arrested after Nigeria clashes.

Several thousand people have been displaced abandoning their homes.

BBC News – Critical year ahead for Sudan amid fears of war.

Comprehensive article provides overview of the current situation between North and South Sudan and the upcoming elections that may lead to dividing the country.

BBC News – ICC ‘must probe Nigeria religious violence in Jos’.

International assistance to bolster the governments effectiveness is necessary in Nigeria now. Possible solutions raised by local officials will only serve to deepen ethnic divides and ripple into further economic depression and violence.

http://www.serap-nigeria.org/

BBC News – Nigeria’s oil pipeline sabotaged – Royal Dutch Shell.

Destruction of pipelines resumes confirming MEND has ended the short truce. Violence is flaring all over the country. The issues of ethnicity, lack of resources and discordant government run deep and have been long ongoing. The innocent people of Nigeria are suffering and need international support to focus human and national resources toward developing infrastructure. The countries that use Nigeria’s oil cannot continue to take advantage of the country’s instability.

U.S. concerned about arms flowing to South Sudan | Reuters.

This is an especially dangerous situation. The upcoming elections may be seriously jeopardized.

From the ENOUGH Project:

During a trip to the Haut Uele region of northeastern Congo in December, Enough field researcher Ledio Cakaj found abundant evidence of the Lord’s Resistance Army’s ongoing violence against Congolese civilians. Despite claims from Congolese and Ugandan state officials that the LRA is on its last legs, attacks against Congolese civilians remain frequent and disturbingly brutal. There are also lingering suspicions that the LRA may once again be receiving direct support from the ruling party in Sudan. Congolese soldiers deployed to Haut Uele have been unable to provide adequate civilian protection, and the number of U.N. peacekeepers in the area remains woefully inadequate, but better coordinated and resourced efforts by both Congolese and international security forces have the potential to protect civilians from LRA attacks. Read the two-part field dispatch here.

BBC News – Hillary Clinton blames Nigeria leaders for extremism.

However far the leap between facts, at least Sec. Clinton is bringing attention the the desperate living conditions Nigerians face. The government must be held accountable for its past lack of action and pressed to improve the country’s quality of life, especially for the 70% of Nigerians living on less than two dollars a day.

It is highly unfortunate of the media to hammer the link between the recent Christmas Day bomber and his Nigerian heritage. He had left the country a decade earlier and went to al-Qaeda training camps in Yemen.  His anger toward his father’s wealth and lifestyle was generalized, and radicalized, toward the blanket “sin” of the American lifestyle.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Will Shell payout change Nigeria Delta?.

Shell claims the settlement money to the region is a “humanitarian gesture.” The amount is an insult to all the dead, the destruction of land and water, and the many years past and future destroyed by Shell’s actions.

The direct causes of the rioting in Jos may be unclear, but it is clear that the underlying elements of ethnic tension continue to burst into violence.  This article speculates on reasons for the violence and points out how the government has failed to provide security for the people in northern Nigeria.

The flaring riots interestingly seem to correspond with President Yar Adua’s health problems and growing talk of his inability to lead the country.

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Jos – One Riot Too Many.