SECTION FOUR
Existing constraints on grassroots activism and the flow of information
1. Life under the
Obasanjo administration
With the election of Olusegun Obasanjo in early 1999, hopes
of democracy and freedom spread across the Niger Delta.
However, many of these hopes have yet to be realized.
The Obasanjo administration has publicly stated that it
intends to carry out a variety of political changes. These
include the freedom to organize and demonstrate, a reduction
in military presence, strategies to reduce corruption, a
renewed mandate for a Human Rights Commission, and the
establishment of a new environmental ministry. The Human
Rights Commission will investigate cases as far back as 1965
(including Obasanjo's own time as military head of state from
1976 to 1979), but it will have powers only to hear testimo-ny,
and not to enforce penalties for legal violations of the
human rights of Nigerian citizens.51
At the time we visited
Nigeria, 10,000 petitions had already been filed with the
Commission, 8,500 of which were from Ogoniland.52
From our conversations with activists in the Delta hub of
Port Harcourt, and with people in villages, we got a sense of
hopeful confidence that the elections have brought increased
freedom to demonstrate, organize and protest. However,
recent media reports say this hope is slowly being eroded. On
October 11, 1999, Jerry Needam, a reporter for The Ogoni
Star, MOSOP's magazine, was detained for publishing a communiqu�
which claimed that all activists in the Delta were
considered enemies of the state.
The Nigerian police continue to operate with impunity. Bribes
were openly and repeatedly solicited from members of our
delegation who were seeking simple police reports. Members
of the delegation witnessed people being beaten with rocks
and whips, as well as threatened with automatic weapons
when attempting to visit their family members in jail.
2. State of siege in Bayelsa State
Forty percent of Nigerian oil originates in Bayelsa State, yet
this state is among the poorest ones in the Niger Delta.53
This
provides a strong impetus for popular initiatives on resource
control, which inevitably end in military repression. We drove
through military roadblocks on highways and in towns
throughout the state, witnessing male and female passengers
on other vehicles being stripped and searched. In Yenagoa, the
capital of Bayelsa State, we saw soldiers lounging and
patrolling throughout town with machine guns, their presence
being maintained since the crackdown following the
Kaiama Declaration in December 1998 and January 1999. This
declaration calls for self-determination, and demands an end
to oil activities until affected communities are consulted.54
The Ijaw are the predominant ethnic group in the Bayelsa
State. Ijaw activists told us they had been suffering from intensified
military persecution since October 1998. Media reports
and government accounts now portray Ijaw youths as being
violent and driven by religious cults and traditions; however
the people we met with were well organized and nonviolent,
driven by a quest for environmental justice and human rights.
In an interview with the delegation, the Bayelsa State governor,
Chief DSP Alamie Yeseigha, debunked the myth being promot-ed
by the military and federal government that Ijaw youths are
"criminal" and "violent", and labeled these myths justification
for violence against an entire ethnic group.55
On Sept. 11, 1999, while we were in the area, between 35 and
50 youths were reportedly detained by the military and later
shot and killed, their bodies being dumped into the river near
Yenagoa.56
Though this is an extraordinary occurrence, arbitrary
arrests unfortunately appear common in the state. On
two earlier occasions, other youth had been arbitrarily arrested
and detained without charges, or under false charges.57
Women have often been the targets of repression by the
Nigerian military as well. We heard that rape is a common
tool of control and oppression used by the military in the
Niger Delta.58
On September 12, 1999, members of our host organization,
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth-Nigeria were
held at gun point in Yenagoa by approximately 30 soldiers for
20 minutes without explanation.59
Though our foreign status
afforded the delegation special treatment by the military, at a
military post on a river crossing in Yenagoa one soldier
warned us: "If you snap a photo, I'll blow your head off."
Tensions have escalated in Bayelsa State since we left the Niger
Delta in September 1999, to the point that president Obasanjo
has threatened to declare a state of emergency. On November
20, 1999 following the killing of policemen in the area several
weeks earlier, Nigerian military troops started moving into the
state, with naval support, machine guns and heavy artillery
aimed at the civilian population. Eyewitness accounts estimat-ed
that there were over 1500 troops in the state. As of
November 22, journalists were not allowed into the region to
investigate military killings and human rights abuses. There
were reports of hundreds of civilians killed by the military,
mostly women and children, and thousands more displaced
from their communities in Odi, Mbiama, Kaiama, and Patani.
60
Words from the frontlines
We need to congratulate ourselves, the peo-ple
of Nigeria who were able to fight
despite the tyranny of Gen. Ibrahim
Babangida, Sani Abacha and Abdusalami
Abubakar. What we have now, however,
can only be descried as dictatorial democra-cy.
That's a democracy fashioned by dicta-tors
being run by ex-dictator for the benefit
of friends, hangers-on and pretenders in
our country. Be that as it may, we believe
that the best way to go about it right now
is to expel dictatorship in our democracy.
We can only do this by taking a look at our
constitution which contains draconian pro-visions
which do not augur well for the
dream of our democracy. We also have to
look at the relationship and the kind of
structure we have on the ground right now
that has brought about the state of affairs, I
am talking about the not-so-federal nature
of the Nigeria federation, the diabolical fed-eration
that we have today. The people of
the Niger-Delta, as usual, have been in the
forefront of the struggle to bring about this
democracy...the first step is to allow
Nigerians to sit down at a roundtable and
discuss. And that discussion should come
through a Sovereign National Conference
(SNC). Obasanjo needs not be afraid of
SNC. We can begin to work towards SNC
and the way to do it is, first and foremost
to understand that Nigeria as it is now cannot
take Nigerians to that dream land to
which we are all looking forward. And so,
we need to re-organize ourselves; we need
to re-structure and the only way we can do
all these is through the SNC....These
demands are legitimate; they flow from ethnic
nations... throughout history, ethnic
question never fades away.... I think the
beauty of Nigeria or the multiple colored
rainbow that brought us together can be
built on...We need to go to the dialogue
table to discuss the best way, the best structure
through which this country can stay
together. That can only be done through a
Sovereign National Conference. It is the
will of the Nigerian people. It can only be
done through grassroots work. The conference
will be composed of ethnic nationalities,
people's and pro-democracy movements,
labor etc. We must decide the country
we want. It cannot be run through the
1999 constitution which is dictatorial, iniquitous,
unjust and must be thrown into the
dustbin. The way forward is for us to be
consistent and insistent in our agitation�
peaceful and non-violent agitation for justice.
We cannot be cowed and intimidated.
We heard there are plans by the Federal
Government to re-introduce the Gestapo
squad to go about killing and arresting people
of the Niger-Delta. The other day the
security seized The News magazine and
African Today coming into the country. We
seem to be going back to the dark days of
Abacha.... But we are committed to defend
Nigeria. We will stand firm to defend our
territorial integrity as a people. The people
of the Niger Delta are committed to Nigeria
and to democracy. Our struggle is for a true
Nigerian federation. A federation that recognizes
the ethnic nationalities; the dignity
of the people, a federation that will defend
us when we are harassed in any part of the
world, a federation that will provide free
health, free education, housing, employment
opportunities to our people. That is
the federation we are asking for....self-determination
means I am able to protect my
culture, able to transfer what I have today
to my children, protect their future. That is
self-determination. It is also is the ability to
aspire to whatever you want to be. We are
saying that the present federation cannot
give us that. In the National Assembly
today, we are only allowed to speak Hausa,
Igbo, Yoruba and English languages. In
Nigeria today it is who you know. Positions
are based on ethnic nationality. These positions
are being cornered by the elites of
these three ethnic nationalities. That is why
we are saying that if Nigeria is going to
move forward it is not going to be the basis
of the federation. We want self-determination
for ethnic nations. Before Nigeria there
were ethnic nationalities. And you cannot
say because we have been forced together
by transnational companies, we should
continue to be perpetual slaves. We will
refuse to be that. We will defend our dignity
as a people. We shall join forces with all
the ethnic nations across the world who are
similarly oppressed and that is what we are
doing now. The coalition in the Niger Delta
today is a coalition for justice, to protect
and enhance democracy, to bring about a
true Nigerian federation where every citizen,
no matter where you are, will be free
to say: "I am a Nigerian". Self-determination
is the only vehicle through which we
can actualize this."
Excerpts from writings by Oronto
Douglas, Deputy Director of
Environmental Rights Action/Friends of
the Earth, Nigeria.
3. Existing decrees that discourage
protest and muzzle the press.
Many of the people we spoke to in the Niger Delta expressed
hope in Nigeria's future, now that military rule has been left
behind. However, the fact is that many repressive decrees
from previous military regimes haven't been ablolished. The
Nigerian constitution, adopted under military rule by former
head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar shortly before he handed
the presidency to Olusegun Obasanjo, contains over 200 former
military decrees, some of which have a direct impact on
communities in the Niger Delta.
For example, the State Security Detention of Persons Decree
#2 of 1994 empowers the President or Inspector General of
Police to arrest and detain any person for a period of three
months, renewable on grounds of an ambiguous "in the
interest of the state" clause. It has an ouster clause that
allows no court in the land to entertain the matter. This
decree was used comprehensively under former head of
state, General Sani Abacha, and less so under General
Abdusalami Abubakar.61
The Special Petroleum Offenses Miscellaneous Decree, instated
under the military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari,
makes tampering with any oil or gas installation an offense
punishable by life imprisonment. This means that anyone
who enters an operating area on land or climbs aboard oil
platforms in protest can be punished by life in jail, with no
option of bail, even if unarmed and nonviolent.
Even more draconian is the Treason and Treasonable Offenses
Decree of 1993, which states that any person "who utters any
word, displays anything or publishes material which is capable
of breaking up Nigeria or part thereof; causing violence or
a community or section thereof to engage in violence against
that community or against another community, is guilty of
treason and liable on conviction to be sentenced to death."
This decree is known as the �Ken Saro-Wiwa decree' because it
was used against the famous writer and Ogoni activist. Saro-Wiwa
was hanged by General Abacha in 1995, along with
eight other Ogoni activists, after actively championing the
cause of the Ogoni people, and making Shell's anti-environmental
practices an international issue.
These decrees effectively muzzle the press and disallow civil
society to protest, while empowering the police, military and
oil companies to ignore concerns from communities, imposing
a chilling effect on the system of checks and balances
vital for a healthy democracy. They also directly contribute to
the further exploitation of the people and land of the Niger
Delta by multinational oil corporations.
"The first thing I find it great and I thank
these organizations that come here.
Especially the American people. Take care
of our children in America. My son Ken
Saro-Wiwa did not die of hunger. He died
for his own human rights and the Ogoni
people. He gave his Bill of Rights to the
Nigerian Government and Shell Company.
The oil on this land was given to us by
God our own resources. The crude oil killed
every plant and the crops that grow there
since Shell came here to dig and destroy
the soil and not do anything for us. No
hospital, no school, nothing, no lights, no
water. If you see water we are drinking�we
drink with frogs. This is what Shell did. My
son gave them the Bill of Rights. They did
nothing or change nothing. Shell send
own troops to shoot us, shoot, run over
our houses, drive us to the bush, loot our
properties, then go from village to village
and burn houses, shoot us, kill us...that's
the work of Shell, that's what they did.
Perhaps...Shell is a competent company
they should have advised the Nigerian
Government, if they did not know, but
they did not. They are the first people that
come in to shoot us with an armored car
and planes. We have no plane, we have no
armored car. Ken Saro-Wiwa does not fight
them with gun, he did not fight them with
matches, he do not fight them with stick,
but he made a Bill of Rights telling them
this. This is our thing, give us our rights.
Myself was here, Shell came in this town
and drove me to the bush. I spent two
weeks in the bush. I ate with monkeys,
eat with animals in the bush, because I
could no make the way to come back
again. This was Shell...they did not see
me, they come and search for me for two
weeks. I was unable to come back to my
house. And today we don't want Shell.
We don't want Shell to be with us unless
they would want to kill all of us. The government
of Nigeria is a wicked govern-ment.
Shell who stay in Nigeria taking all
our properties the are wicked company you
see. You see our children here see
them...see them for yourself and talk. So
many international organizations have
been coming here...is there any crime for a
man who has the thing to ask, say this is
my thing. Let me have it. It that a
crime?...so I ask again to the Global
Exchange people who come here is there a
crime for a man to ask this is my thing
give it to me, do I have any right...is there
a reason why this man could be
hanged...Ken Saro-Wiwa was not a rogue.
He did not commit any offense, but he
asked for Human Rights. He died for the
survival of the Ogoni People. He did not
die as a rogue. He did not die as a thief. As
you come today you see things for yourself.
If you go to Abuja today you will see
their children are very...they are well educated.
They are qualified for any position
in the government. But you can not see
any Ogoni man positioning things in the
Nigerian Government. You look at the
women, they're holding machete. It's good
that you came to see things for yourself. If
you go to Lagos or you go to Abuja. Or go
to our south side, east side, look at their
women. Look at they children. They are
rich and the source of their revenue comes
form here, the oil�comes from this place,
Ogoni. But you look at the children of
Ogoni. They are not qualified for education...
they don't have anything but
machete and oil that come from
Ogoniland...it would please me that you
visit and take the time to see me and condemn
them...my son Ken Saro-Wiwa has
been hanged. I miss him. I will appreciate
your visit if you will move and can do
something for Ogoni people who are
dying. They are dying. Thank you and
may God lead you."
Address by Mr. Saro-Wiwa, Ken Saro-Wiwa's
father to our delegation,
September 10, 1999, Ogoni.