17 July 1997

Sir,

Re: Top Nigerian Rages at SA as a "White Country" (The Star Tues July 15 1997)

Mr Walter Ofonagoro, the Nigerian Information Minister, is a member of an illegitimate regime that came to power in a 1993 coup that was master-minded by General Sani Abacha - a dictator unlike any other that Nigeria has seen.

Since installing himself as ruler of Nigeria, Abacha has wasted no time in consigning the rule of law to the rubbish heap through decrees that circumvent the courts, actions which have been declared illegal in terms of international law and a consistent disregard for the decisions of Nigerian courts. Abacha has also spared no time in decimating the opposition and pro-democracy forces through execution, assassination, imprisonment through trumped-up charges or detention without trial. Those who have been able to escape these fates have either been forced into exile or continue to run the risk of being silenced, sooner rather than later.

Among those currently languishing in Abacha’s Gulags are: President-elect Moshood Abiola, trade unionists Frank Kokori and Milton Dabibi, former head of state Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Shehu Yar’adua, journalists Chris Anyanwu, Kunle Ajibade, George Mbah, Ben Charles Obi and Okina Deesor, and Campaign for Democracy leader Beko Ransome-Kuti.

Under Abacha, the once robust independent press of Nigeria has been driven virtually underground as journalists run the gauntlet of arbitrary arrest or official harassment. Abacha has also unleashed a brutal military campaign, akin to the ethnic cleansing campaigns  experienced in Bosnia, against the Ogoni people and other minority groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta area. This campaign has resulted in the death of over 3 000 Ogoni people, the internal displacement of 30 000, the flight to neighbouring countries of 1 000 refugees, and the exodus of many to seek asylum abroad. Under Abacha’s patronage multi-national oil companies continue to destroy the Nigerian eco-system while denying Nigerian citizens any right in the mineral wealth of their country. In the process he continues to bully his surrounding West African nations through economic blackmail in much the same way as the apartheid regime of yore destabilised our Southern African neighbours for their crime of supporting our struggle for freedom and justice.

That the Nigerian Information Minister should observe that there is a wedge between Nigeria and South Africa is hardly accurate. The despot which is Abacha does not represent Nigeria nor does he speak on behalf of Nigerian citizens. He represents only himself and his military elite. That our government is speaking out against Abacha, albeit not loud enough, is in no way indicative of a wedge between South Africa and Nigeria, but between South Africa and Abacha.

That the Information Minister should further describe this "wedge" as a means of weakening Africa is laughable, as Abacha stands out as the true Un-African leader in our midst as he continues to enslave and oppress one-fifth of all of Africa - siphoning off the wealth of that nation to fill his own coffers and that of his lackeys, such as his Information Minister. It is the Abachas and the rulers of his ilk who are driving this continent to ruin and it is for the sake of this continent that he should begone.

That South Africa should be speaking out against these atrocities of Abacha should be a natural consequence of our fight against oppression and human rights abuses which we suffered not too long ago and which are now being publicly exposed in the TRC. For Abacha’s Information Minister to infer that the South African support for the Nigerian struggle is the work of so-called "developed nations" is to question our ability to see an unjust system for what it is. His statement therefore needs to be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. In the midst of the enslavement of the Nigerian people it remains for the rest of Africa to support them in their struggle for freedom and in the process pledge our solidarity with the people of that nation, as opposed to the despot of that region.
 

Yours faithfully
 

R. Galant
Member of the Steering Committee of the South African Nigerian Democracy Support Group

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