Lagos

Shopping in Philadelphia can be a cultural experience. From the downtown counter-culture of South Street to the elegant refinement of Rittenhouse Square District, whatever your taste, you'll find something to satisfy it somewhere in Philadelphia. Whether you're buying or browsing, you'll want to hit the major shopping areas: South Street; Chestnut Street and Walnut Street in the Rittenhouse Square District; and Market East Shopping, Jeweler's Row and Antiques Row in the Washington Square District.

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Getting 65 million ballots to the far corners of Africa's most populous country in just a single night was only the beginning of the logistical and security nightmare of elections in Nigeria yesterday. Next there was the gunbattle in the oil-rich south as militants reportedly tried to kidnap the ruling party's candidate for vice president; the truck bomb in the capital, Abuja, that rolled toward the election commission headquarters, crashed into a lamppost and failed to detonate; the voting that had to be canceled in some areas because not all parties were on the ballot; the long delays in opening up many of the 120,000 polling stations; the reports of ballot boxes stuffed and stolen; and the opposition claims of millions of missing ballots.

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Almost a year after Nigeria's military government announced the latest plan for a transition to democracy, many civilian politicians are back on the streets organizing for national elections scheduled for 1998.The previous transition, by another military government, ended abruptly in 1993, when the country's military rulers annulled a presidential election widely believed to have been won by Moshood K. Abiola, a businessman now imprisoned.Ignoring those who are skeptical that the current leader, Gen. Sani Abacha, wants a genuine transition to civilian rule, 18 political groups have responded to the lifting of a three-year ban on party politics in June by organizing political meetings, complete with songs and slogans about democracy.

Continuing to insist that federal agents and a federal jury had nailed the wrong man, a Nigerian was sentenced yesterday to 40 years in prison for his conviction on drug smuggling charges.The man sobbed and flailed his arms as he begged U.S. District Judge John R. Hargrove to believe that his was a case of mistaken identity. The Nigerian insisted that he is Charles Onwauzombe, and not Ebele Onwuazor, who federal prosecutors say conspired to ship millions of dollars worth of heroin into the United States.

COLLEGE PARK -- I arrived in this country a year ago with no knowledge of America other than what I had gathered from hearsay and American movies. These two sources had painted for me a totally artificial picture of America as a land where the American dream may be wished into existence, where dollars can be picked up on streets, a kind of paradise on earth where the people do not have to toil. Armed with this picture, my compatriots flock daily to the American Embassy in Lagos to get a visa.

SINCE winning an alleged 62 percent of the vote in Nigeria's election Feb. 27, President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo has said all the right things.These include a promise of "an open and fair and transparent government"; a mandate to "rebuild this nation"; and a plea that "together, we will strive to bequeath to the next generation a truly democratic system of governance."The words were needed. General Obasanjo's own Yoruba people in the southwest, including the great commercial city of Lagos, favored his opponent.

Md. outpaces national rate Exports of Maryland products rose nearly 18 percent to $8.9 billion last year, outpacing the national growth rate, as a weak dollar drove international demand for U.S. goods. Top Maryland exports included transportation equipment, chemicals, computers and electronics, machinery and fabricated metal products. Oil futures top $100 Oil futures shot higher, closing above $100 for the first time as investors bet that crude prices would keep climbing despite evidence of plentiful supplies and falling demand.

He was born Akinwande Oluwole Soyinka in western Nigeria in 1934 to parents who were devoutly Christian. His grandfather introduced him to the Yoruba spirit world when he was a teen-ager. While he attended university to please his parents, Soyinka was initiated by his grandfather in a scarification ceremony to Ogun, the ancient saint of metals.He published a collection of poetry, "Black Orpheus," during this period and received a scholarship to Leeds University in 1954. After graduating, he moved to London and wrote plays before moving home to write and form a theater company.

Now that Ibriham Babangida has ceremonially stepped down as president of Nigeria one day before the deadline he set himself, the 90 million Nigerians are trying to figure out if he really did. Opposition politicians, suppressed journalists and striking workers who have paralyzed Lagos and interrupted oil exports believe he really kept power behind a fresh facade.General Babangida handed authority to a council of his own choosing, headed by a businessman he had installed, Ernest Shonekan, whose task previously was to clean up corruption and reform the economy as demanded by the International Monetary Fund.

Three Maryland women have been charged with attempting to smuggle 13.2 pounds of heroin into the United States via the Mexican border by concealing the drugs in hand-carried briefcases, U.S. Customs agents said.Agents said Denise Anderson and Cloria Kelly, both 24 and of Laurel, were arrested Saturday at the Customs station at Otay Mesa, Calif. The heroin was found in false tops and bottoms of two leather briefcases, agents said.Agents estimated the street value of the heroin to be anywhere from $4.5 million to $9.5 million, depending on purity.