Kenya (more famously) and Nigeria have both been dealing with fraught internal negotiations regarding the inner workings of government. The stalemate over the composition of the cabinet (and thus the dynamics of power) continues in Kenya. Outside observers, including the British, have advised that Mwai Kibaki's side be willing to give up some seats in order to bring about peace. Not surprisingly, Kibaki's people don't seem enamored of the idea. For peace to prevail, someone is going to have to yield. Kibaki feels he ought not to be the one because he is the President. Odinga's side argues, not without merit, that Kibaki's victory was illegitimate and that Kibaki ought to relent. Whether and how this stalemate is resolved will go a long way in determining Kenya's future.
Meanwhile in Nigeria a similiarly contentious divide seems to have been closed. President Umaru Musa Yar-Adua and his opponents have come to an agreement over the budget crisis that has been hovering over the country. Nigeria's status as a stable state continues to be tenuous. Suffice it to say that if that situation goes awry it has the potential to make the troubles in Kenya and Zimbabwe pale by comparison.
