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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Full Focus Photos of the week Our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Lockheed says thwarted "tenacious" cyber attack 1:49am EDT Air France crash sparks pilot mystery 27 May 2011 Lockheed says thwarted "tenacious" cyber attack 28 May 2011 Roadside bomb kills seven NATO troops in Afghanistan 26 May 2011 Cooling system restored at Tepco's No.5 plant 12:42am EDT Discussed 94 Obama departs for Europe trip, explores Irish roots 81 Netanyahu speech eyed for sign of U.S.-Israel rift 74 $1 trillion on the table in U.S. debt talks Watched GM pulls the plug Fri, May 27 2011 Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail Tue, May 24 2011 Death toll rises in Joplin, Missouri 12:30am EDT High hopes as Nigeria's Jonathan sworn in Tweet Share this By Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan begins his first full term at the helm of Africa's most populous nation on Sunday with expectations running high that he will push ahead with reforms and try to... Email Print Factbox Nigerian President Jonathan and Vice-President Sambo Sat, May 28 2011 Related News Timeline: Nigeria's road to democracy Sat, May 28 2011 Analysis & Opinion Palestinians are on the wrong path to statehood Why more investor protection is needed, not less Related Topics World » Nigerian incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan arrives to vote in his home village of Otuoke, Bayelsa state, Nigeria, April 16, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Joseph Penney By Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh ABUJA | Sat May 28, 2011 9:06pm EDT ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan begins his first full term at the helm of Africa's most populous nation on Sunday with expectations running high that he will push ahead with reforms and try to heal regional rifts. Heads of state from across Africa, foreign dignitaries, religious leaders and traditional rulers are due to attend a swearing-in ceremony and military parade in the capital Abuja to mark the start of his four-year term. The former zoology student won elections last month which, while far from perfect, were deemed to have reflected the will of the people in a nation which had known virtually nothing but military rule and rigged votes for the past half-century. Jonathan emerged from the polls with a credible mandate, having won 59 percent of the vote, but with his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) chastened by a weaker parliamentary majority and the loss of several powerful state governorships. Many Nigerians said they felt their vote had counted for the first time. The onus to perform is now on Jonathan, who inherited the presidency last year when his predecessor Umaru Yar'Adua died. "The success of the election has upped the game in terms of the expectations of what can be delivered by a Jonathan presidency," said Dapo Oyewole, director of the Center for African Policy and Peace Strategy think tank. "There is going to be a much higher level of scrutiny. Everybody is going to be watching every step he makes." The vote threw religious and ethnic fault lines into sharp relief. Hundreds were killed in rioting in parts of the mostly Muslim north after his victory and his main rival, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, has challenged the result. His relationship with his opponents will be key if Jonathan, a southern Christian, is to galvanize support for reforms and govern strongly. The first big test will be his choice of ministers. "It is a delicate balancing act," said Oyewole. "He has to balance out the regional interests to ensure the cabinet displays a federal character, he has to reflect a religious coloration that ensures different parts of the country are carried along, but he is also going to have to reward some of the people that backed him," he told Reuters. OPTIMISM Jonathan is the first head of state from the restive oil-producing Niger Delta and also carries the high expectations of his home region on his shoulders. He brokered an amnesty in 2009 which ended years of attacks on oil facilities, but thousands of former gunmen remain without jobs. "People are very optimistic based on hope rather than reality," said Bismarck Rewane, head of Lagos-based consultancy Financial Derivatives. "If those expectations are not managed, a few months down the road he will be getting the blame for things that are beyond his control," he told Reuters. Jonathan will also have to deal with the growing threat from radical Islamist sect Boko Haram in remote northeastern Nigeria, which has been carrying out almost daily killings and fire bombings of police stations with impunity. Car bombs, claimed by a militant group from the Niger Delta, killed at least 10 people close to an independence day parade in Abuja last October and security was tightened in the capital days ahead of Sunday's ceremony. Joint police and army checkpoints were set up on all roads into the city and helicopters buzzed overhead. Jonathan is serving what would have been the second term of late northern president Yar'Adua and there is an expectation among the northern elite that at the next elections in four years, a northern candidate will take the ruling party ticket. But should Jonathan succeed with his reform plans, particularly privatizing the power sector and ending chronic power shortages, popular opinion could again swing behind him. "People will be looking for tangible results and that will be a key determinant of his political future come 2015," said Oyewole of the Abuja-based think tank. World Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. 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