(Update) Day of Fasting for a Free Nigeria

[Free Nigeria Movement <FNM@ix.netcom.com>]

    Dear Nigerian or Friend of Nigeria,
  
          This is to remind you about the global "Day of Fasting for a
  Free
  Nigeria", taking place between 6am and 6pm on October 1st, 1997. If you
  would like to get in touch with those participating in the fast in your
  area, please send us an email at PR@FreeNigeria.org, and we shall be
  sure to send you the relevant contact information. At present, we have
  been notified of participation at close to 400 constituencies worldwide.
  
  The original announcement is appended below.
  
  
          We shall overcome,
       Nasiru Ikharo,
                  National Information Secretary, FNM
  
  
  
  
  ------------------------------------------
  Day of fasting for a FREE NIGERIA
  
  Free Nigeria Movement
  P.O. Box 441395
  Indianapolis, IN 46244
  Phone/Fax +1 (317)216-4590
  Email: PR@FreeNigeria.org
  Website: www.FreeNigeria.org
  Listserv: Maiser@listserv.butler.edu, text of message "SUBSCRIBE
  FREENIGERIA"
  Radio Station:  Voice of Free Nigeria (VoFN) 11.680 kHz, every Saturday
  at 1900Hrs GMT (8:OOpm Nigerian Time)
  
  “Nigeria; Nazi Germany of the 90s”
                  - Ibrahim H. Muhammed
  
  For Immediate Release
  (Please distribute widely)
                            Day of fasting for a Free Nigeria
  Contact: Nasiru Ikharo  at (317)216-4590 or PR@FreeNigeira.Org
  
      On October 1st, 1997 from 0600Hrs to 1800Hrs (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.),
  Nigerians and Nigeria activists around
  the world shall heed the call of the Free Nigeria Movement and hold a
  day of fasting to draw attention to the
  plight of Nigeria and its people.
  
      October 1st, 1960, is the date Nigeria got her flag independence
  from the United Kingdom of Great Britain,
  since then, Nigeria has only had 10 years of democratic and
  constitutional rule,  although it has had 27 years of
  military tyranny. With the latter being the order of the day since 1983.
  
   37 years later, the fast for a Free Nigeria is being held:
  
       * To get our communities and schools NOT to use the products and
  services of corporations that do
  business in or with Nigeria, most notably Coca-Cola, Shell Oil,   and
  Motorola.;
  
  * To increase awareness about the genocidal situation in Nigeria under
  the Gen. Sanni Abacha led Nigerian
  military regime; and
  
  * To pressure the government of the democratic state we live in to
  impose immediate economic sanctions against
  Nigeria, as well as to support the expulsion of Nigeria from the United
  Nations, FIFA, the Commonwealth, and
  other world bodies it belongs to.
  
      By having a global day of  fasting, it is hoped that attention would
  
  be drawn to the large scale repression in
  Nigeria, where the illegal and illegitimate military regime led by
  General Sanni Abacha has thrown the
  duly-elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President
  Moshood K. O. Abiola into detention in
  solitary confinement, executed hundreds of real and imagined opponents,
  including playwright and
  environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, imprisoned at least 7,000 others,
  dismantled all the democratic structures,
  revoked all the electoral-mandates  granted to the duly-elected  and
  legitimate representatives of the Nigerian
  people, allowed oil drilling companies to drill oil without regard for
  the human or ecological communities where
  the oil is drilled, dismantled legitimate trade-unions and thrown their
  elected leaders into detention in solitary
  confinement, allowed the First-lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Kudirat Abiola to
  be assasinated in broad daylight in public
  view by "unknown gunmen", and generally reduced the country with the
  largest population in Africa to a virtual
  jungle.
  
      Nigeria, is a nation in Africa  with a population of over 100
  million people held hostage at gunpoint by
  armed criminals in the Nigerian military , led by infantry General,
  Sanni Abacha. After removing an equally
  illegal and illegimitate "Interim National Government" led by Earnest
  Shonekan, the Abacha regime came into
  power on Novemeber 17th, 1993.
  
  Brief History of the Nigerian Crisis:
  
      The Nigerian military regime, in which General Sanni Abacha held the
  
  portfolio of Minister of Defense,
  held a series of democratic elections for the Local, State and National
  tiers of government between 1990 and
  June 12, 1993, [when the Presidential election was held]. After it
  became apparently clear to those monitoring it
  (both domestic and international observers) that the Presidential
  election was free and fair, and the popular
  candidate, Chief Moshood K. O. Abiola had emerged the winner, the
  military regime, led at the time by General
  Ibrahim Babangida declared on June 23, 1993 that the election had been
  annuled. By August 26th, 1993,
  Babangida resigned as dictator of Nigeria and  handed over to a puppet
  regime called the "Interim National
  Government" (ING), in which he allowed his assistant, General Sanni
  Abacha to retain the portfolio of Minister
  of Defense. By this time, General Abacha had personally supervised the
  daylight murder by Nigerian military
  troops of hundreds of activists who were protesting the annulment of the
  
  Presidential election, and had proven
  beyond reasonable doubt his true regard for the Nigerian people.
  
      By November 17th, 1993, Abacha decided that he had had enough of
  playing the role of Minister of
  Defense in  the illegal "Interim National Government", instead, he chose
  
  to make himself the new dictator of
  Nigeria. He therefore, with the backing of equally unpatriotic criminals
  
  in the Nigerian military, not only
  dissolved the illegal ING, but also all the democratic structures in
  Nigeria, from the local government  level to
  the National Assembly (House and Senate) level, he also upheld the
  annulment of the Presidential election.
  
      Within less than one year of forcing himself on the Nigerian people,
  
  he declared President Moshood Abiola
  wanted for declaring himself the legitimate President of the Federal
  Republic of Nigeria, placed a $50,000
  bounty on his head, arrested him, and has kept him detained in solitary
  confinenemtn at an unknown site till
  today. Within this time, he has also dissolved all the major trade
  unions opposed to his regime, and thrown their
  duly-elected leaders into detention, where most of them are up till
  today. As if that was not enough, he also had
  the leading Nigerian environmental activist, Kenule Saro-Wiwa arrested
  on trumped up charges, brought before
  a military tribunal set up by his equally illegal regime, tried without
  any regard for the rule of law, condemned
  and finally executed along with eight other "conspirators" by hanging.
      At present, General Abacha, using the greed and lust for power of
  certain opportunists in the Nigerian
  civilian populace has created five political parties for Nigeria and
  claims to be working to restore the country to
  democratic rule, even though he has no moral or legal right to do this
  whatsoever, since the Nigerian people
  have already democratically elected their leaders, some of whom,
  including President Abiola are in jail.
  
  International Condemnation of Abacha's Dictatorsahip:
  
        The United Nations, the U.S. State Department, the Commonwealth of
  
  Nations, Amnesty International
  and Human Rights Watch all call the Nigerian military regime of Sanni
  Abacha one of the major human rights
  violators in the world. Arbitary arrests, summary executions,
  destruction of indegenous communities and other
  forms of major human rights crimes are being committed on a daily basis.
  
  International Corporate Support for Abacha's Dictatorship:
  
      Many corporations bankroll this illegitimate and morally repugnant
  regime: Shell Oil, Texaco and the other
  major and minor companies, as well as Coca-Cola, Motorola, Bank of
  America and a host of others. Despite the
  fact that these companies have all been appealled to to terminate their
  business connections with this regime, they
  have all refused to, preferring instead to place profit over principle.
  
      Nigeria activists from around the world and human rights advocates
  call for economic sanctions against the
  illegal Abacha regime. In the USA alone, the Cities of Oakland and
  Berkeley in California, and the Towns of
  Amherst and Cambridge in Massachusetts have passed selective purchasing
  ordinances against the Abacha
  regime. Thereby giving a number of corporations a choice of doing
  business in or with Nigeria or lisk losing
  business with the west.
  
  Who should fast:
  We want as many individuals, civic groups and even institutions to
  participate in this as possible. If you are
  recent graduate from high school, or University, it might pay off to
  contact old teachers and classmates to see if
  they would want to join our campaign for a Free Nigeria, and
  specifically participate Fast.
  
  Use of this announcement:
  
      Activists should feel free to use the information contained here in
  relation to the fast. They should also
  endeavor to send this release (or their version) to as many media fax
  number as they can. Also, copies should be
  sent to the offices of their political representatives, and to Shell
  Oil, Coca-Cola and Motorola (the phone book is
  a valuable asset for getting their local numbers.
  
      Also, more information is available on the Free Nigeria Movement and
  
  the Free Nigeria struggle at the
  FNM website at www.FreeNigeria.org.
  
  Announcements:
  
      If you or your group intend to organize any activities on the day of
  
  the fast, or just intend to participate in
  the fast itself,  please send us a message at PR@FreeNigeria.org and we
  shall be more than happy to publicize
  it.
  
  Appreciation:
  Obviously, there are those who are committed to a Free Nigeria , but
  cannot join us in the fast due of health
  reasons and other prevailing circumstances.
  
  To them, we also say thanks, for we believe that not only shall they
  help publicize the fast, but on that day, they
  shall also be with us in spirit. This is a sacrifice in itself.
  
  On behalf of the Free Nigeria Movement:
  Sincerely,
  
                             Nasiru Ikharo
                               National Information Secretary, FNM