But critics believe Mr.Yar'Adua has moved too slowly on reforms and that key changes are not expected before the 2011 elections.

VOA: standard.2009.08.22

But MEND has been severely weakened since dozens of its field commanders and thousands of gunmen accepted President Yar'Adua's amnesty offer and disarmed.

VOA: standard.2009.12.21

But the process has been stalled by Mr.Yar'Adua's absence from Nigeria in the past few weeks.

VOA: standard.2009.12.21

In 2009, then-Nigerian President Musa Yar Adua granted an amnesty to thousands of militants wreaking havoc in the oil-rich Niger Delta in the south.

BBC: The leader of Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau

"It's just a mark of appreciation from the good people of Nigeria, " Yar'Adua said during a state reception in the country's capital Abuja on Saturday.

BBC: SPORT | Football | African | Nigeria honours under-17 players

After nearly seven weeks away from home, apparently in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria's president, Umaru Yar'Adua, broke his silence in a radio interview.

ECONOMIST: Politics this week | The