Nigeria, Sept. 12 -- The elections are in clear jeopardy. In Benue, a state ruled by a priest, state-financed hooliganism targeted at the opposition has sprouted. If a presidential candidate of one of the major parties cannot move around freely, then the elections, even if they hold, will be a sham.

When Governor Alia barred Obi from entering Benue last year, many thought he was clowning. I said Alia was a total Alikirija. I could not put childishness and cynicism beneath a priest who had left the altar of God for the altar of filthy politics. I could not, however, associate Father Alia with political barbarism. I could have bet my farm that Alia, even if duplicitous enough to speak from both sides of the mouth, still had a sense of boun...