So who will really take charge?

The death on May 5th of Nigerias president,Umaru YarAdua,marks the close of a peculiar period of drift for Africas most populous country.

The death on May 5th of Nigerias president,Umaru YarAdua,marks the close of a peculiar period of drift for Africas most populous country. The 58-year-old leader had not appeared in public since last November. Nor had he fully handed over power. A battle for the succession,already under way,will heat up ahead of next years polls.

Mr YarAdua left Nigeria for a clinic in Saudi Arabia last year,reportedly to be treated for a bad heart,having previously gone abroad because of a kidney ailment. Only a handful of his 150m compatriots,aside from his family and a few religious leaders,ever saw him again. He came home under cover of darkness in February,to be whisked away to the presidential villa. The exact cause of his death was not immediately known.

Dogged by ill-health even before he took office in 2007,Mr YarAduas nickname,Baba Go-Slow,compared his sluggish pace of governance to the grinding traffic jams of Lagos,Nigerias financial capital. But he had some success. Last summer he arranged an amnesty for militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta. The deal has been fraying in his absence. He also oversaw banking reforms in sub-Saharan Africas second-biggest economy. Some reckless executives were sacked. Others were hauled before court.

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While the presidents death is no shock,plotting and politicking for next years polls will intensify. The presidency rotates every two terms between the countrys largely Muslim north and its mostly Christian south,according to an unwritten code agreed to by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Mr YarAdua died in his first four-year term. So a northerner is widely expected to emerge as the PDP candidate next year.

Goodluck Jonathan,Mr YarAduas southern deputy,who became acting president in February as the country grew impatient,has already been sworn in and will soon appoint a vice-president,who may then be groomed as next years candidate. Some formidable northern names are already being mentioned. Aliyu Gusau,Mr Jonathans national security adviser,is one. To the horror of many Nigerians,Ibrahim Babangida,a former military ruler,has also expressed an interest in the PDP ticket.

But some northerners say Mr Jonathan should himself be considered,despite the customary system of rotation. Formerly rather passive,he appointed his own cabinet last month. He has promised to clean up Nigerias elections,improve its woeful electricity supply and deal with the unresolved insurgency in the Delta. He has yet to say whether he will run next year. There is much to play for. And many will play dirty.