General Abdulsalam Abubakar's 9-month timetable for a transition to military rule is good news for both the country's military rulers and their civilian opposition. "The sudden death of both General Sani Abacha and Moshood Abiola left all sides in disarray," says TIME reporter Clive Mutiso. "It turned the military's planned election -- in which Abacha was the only candidate -- into a referendum over whether a dead man should rule the country. But it also left the opposition without a clear alternative."