VOA慢速英语:尼日利亚的执政党在2014年面临许多挑战

Nigeria’s Ruling Party Faces Challenges in 2014

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA LearningEnglish.

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program, we report on a new opera abouta hero in the fight against slavery in the United States.

“There are elements of gospel, jazz, blues, and thenyou hear a ‘field holler,’ you hear ragtime, work songs.”

But we begin today with a look at the difficulties facingNigeria’s ruling political party in 2014 -- especially from the main opposition party.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan presents the 2013 budget plan at a joint sitting of the parliament in the capital Abuja October 10, 2012

“And that change, whereas the way we have seen it, isinevitable. It is coming -- and it will come very soon. Politics is a game of number(s) and we are increasing by the day.”

A look ahead to Nigerian politics in 2014, and a new American opera aboutslavery, written by a Nigerian-American: today on As It Is.

Growth of Nigerian Opposition Expected to Continue

There were major political changes in Nigeria in 2013. Different oppositionparties joined, and many governors and members of parliament who weremembers of the ruling party left the party to join the opposition.

Experts say President Goodluck Jonathan and his party face major challengesthis year as the country prepares for presidential elections in 2015.

Caty Weaver reports.

Nigeria’s united opposition is now stronger than at anytime since military rule ended in the country in 1999.

This opposition is called the All Progressive’sCongress, or APC. Powerful members of otheropposition parties and the ruling People’s DemocraticParty have joined the APC since July.

APC politicians like Hajiya Hafsat Mohammed Baba inKaduna say people want change.

“And that change, whereas the way we have seen it, is inevitable. It is coming-- and it will come very soon. Politics is a game of number(s) and we areincreasing by the day.”

Five of Nigeria’s powerful state governors recently left the ruling party andjoined the APC. Among the five were the governors of the heavily-populatedstates of Kano and Rivers.

And 37 members of the National Assembly’s lower house have moved from the PDP to APC. Now, the PDP no longer has a majority there.

APC politicians and political observers tell VOA that as many as seven moregovernors will leave the PDP for the APC. They say members of the NationalAssembly’s upper house -- the Senate -- will do the same early this year.

Political expert Abubakar Sufiyan Osa Idu Al Siddiq says the loss of thegovernors’ support for the PDP hurts the chances for President Jonathan to be reelected.

“Definitely, People’s Democratic Party has never had it so bad because to beelected president of this country even if you have the majority of the votes, thelaw says that you must have 24 states out of 36 -- two-thirds of them.”

Nkeiru Okoye (Courtesy of American Opera Projects)

Ruling party member Saidu Usman Gombe says he does not believe the APCwill be successful.

“This opposition party, they are deceiving themselves. Even in the party, thatopposition, there is a lot of clash. And they will crack. They will break downcompletely before (the end of) 2014.”

The People’s Democratic Party has governed Nigeria since 1999. It is theonly party to hold the highest positions in the central government and haverepresentatives in the country’s 774 local governments.

But many members have been leaving the party because they are unhappywith President Jonathan. Some do not support his efforts to fight corruption. Some are unhappy that he did not follow a party custom that is designed tobalance the presidency between leaders from the north and from the south.

President Jonathan reportedly has the lowest level of support of his rule. Experts say his opponents may try to remove him from office this year as theygain new members in the National Assembly.

I’m Caty Weaver.

You are listening to As It Is, a program designed to help you learn to speak,read and write American English.

Now back to Christopher Cruise. He reports on a new opera written by aNigerian-American woman about slavery in the United States.

Thanks Caty.

Nigerian-American Writes Opera About American Slavery

The opera is called “Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line To Freedom.” Harriet Tubman is an American hero who escaped from slavery and ledothers to freedom.

Nigerian-American composer Nkeiru Okoye wrote the opera. She says she has been interested in Harriet Tubman all her life.

Harriet Tubman, 1820-1913: She Fought Slavery, Oppression

“I don’t remember ever not knowing about HarrietTubman. My mother used to love to read my sister andme stories, so my mother probably told me about hereven before I learned about Harriet in school.”

The American Opera Projects produced the opera. The U.S. National Endowment for the Arts helpedfinance it.

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in the state ofMaryland around 1820. In 1849, she escaped slaveryby fleeing to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- the northern states did not permitslavery. Harriet Tubman immediately began her anti-slavery work.

“But she became famous because she went back down to rescue the rest ofher family and anyone else that would go with her.”

​ Ms. Tubman led the creation of a series of hiding places that came to becalled The Underground Railroad. Slaves who escaped used the places totravel toward freedom. The people who ran the Railroad were called“conductors.”

“Harriet, who became known as ‘Moses,’ was the most famous conductor in the U.S.”

There are many stories about Harriet Tubman’s life. Some of them are not true. Ms. Okoye says when shebegan to write the opera, she had planned to add tothose stories.

“When I started this process, I wanted to pay tribute toHarriet Tubman by writing a highly fictionalized accountof her.”

But she decided to try to get the facts instead.

“I spent three years getting to know Harriet’s world.”

Using that research, Ms. Okoye wrote what is called a “folk opera.”

“Which is slightly different from regular opera. Most of the music in HarrietTubman is rooted in traditional African-American folk idioms. So, there areelements of gospel, jazz, blues, and then you hear a ‘field holler,’ you hearragtime, work songs and there are things that sound like spirituals throughoutthe opera.”

Ms. Okoye says she wanted people who saw the opera to learn about thecomplete life of Harriet Tubman -- not just her heroism.

“The first act is called ‘In slavery’ and the second act of the opera is called ‘InFreedom.’ And I did that because I thought it was very important for viewers toexperience Harriet as a full person. I think most people like to think of Harrietas a born liberator, and it robs them of an important part of the story. It’s kindof like hero worship. We don’t get that there’s this vulnerable person who’sthere -- we don’t get the full picture.”

“Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line ToFreedom” opens next month at the Irondale Center in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Fort Greene was one of the stops along TheUnderground Railroad.

Harriet Tubman: "When I Crossed That Line To Freedom"

Thank you for spending some of your time with ustoday.

I’m Christopher Cruise reporting from VOA LearningEnglish headquarters in Washington.