NY Times Editorial, August 6th

[Steve Kretzmann <steve@moles.org>]

            August 6, 1997
  
            Illusions of Nigerian Democracy
  
            [W] ith the United States and France losing interest in
                military and political intervention in Africa, local
            powers are taking their place. South Africa, Uganda and
            Rwanda, among others, have all plunged into their
            neighbors' conflicts, with motives ranging from noble to
            murderous. The prize for hypocrisy, however, must go to
            Nigeria, which is ostensibly defending democracy in
            Sierra Leone and Liberia while still crushing it at
            home.
  
            For all his brutality, Nigeria's leader, Gen. Sani
            Abacha, shows great sophistication in clinging to power.
            General Abacha has easily weathered the weak
            international response to the baseless 1995 murder
            conviction and execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight
            other Ogoni environmental and human rights activists. He
            is now intimidating his people more quietly. Among
            Nigeria's roughly 7,000 political prisoners, for
            example, are 20 other Ogoni activists held for the same
            murders. Most have been in prison for three years,
            several in solitary confinement.
  
            One of the group died, one has gone blind and another
            lost his fingers during torture. Mr. Abacha knows that
            executing or even trying them would draw unwanted
            attention. Instead he seems prepared to let them die in
            jail untried.
  
            Mr. Abacha has been equally shrewd in manipulating
            electoral issues. He has styled himself not as a
            dictator but as manager of Nigeria's return to
            democracy, promised for 1998. Mr. Abacha has allowed the
            establishment of political parties, but all are
            scrambling to make him their candidate. When the leader
            of one party announced he might run himself, he was
            deposed and briefly arrested.
  
            It does not seem to have occurred to Mr. Abacha that
            Nigeria already has an elected President.
  
            Moshood Abiola was widely considered the winner of
            democratic elections in 1993, which the military then
            annulled.
  
            He has been imprisoned for treason since trying to claim
            his presidency in 1994. After peacekeeping in chaotic
            Liberia, Nigeria's military will find it easy to
            contribute to democracy at home. It need only go back to
            its barracks.
  
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