Following the death of Yar'ardua, Jonathan has been sworn in as the president of Nigeria. He will serve until the next elections are held next year. In Kenya, elections would have been called within 90 days upon the death of the incumbent. Jonathan is now expected to appoint his Deputy.

There is an unwritten arrangement, that when the president is from the mainly Christian south, then the Vice president should be from the mainly Muslim north and vice versa. So Jonathan is expected to choose a Muslim from the North. But then there is a problem. It is also expected that the next 4 years will continue to be under a Muslim from the North, meaning that Jonathan should not vie for the Presidency. Will he consent to this, having tasted the power of the presidenc
The situation is still unclear. Does this mean that if the South was to provide a Muslim president, then the north should provide a Christian Vice president? What would happen if both the north and south president and vice president were christian or muslim at the same time? would Nigeria accept two Christian or Muslim leaders, although they come from the two sides? Indeed, would the north accept the idea of having a Christian president who comes from the north?

For the first to,e, Nigeria is faced with the reality that this arrangement may not be the ideal. It may have worked, but it leaves a lot to be desired. Only time will tell