| | Nigeria became independent from Britain in 1960. Its population in the 1993 census was 92.6 million made up of over 250 distinct ethnic groups. GDP is $31.3bn, per head is $388; agriculture which comprises 30% of GDP is the main source of employment but has been steadily declining since oil was first extracted in the Niger Delta in the 1960s. Petroleum and derivatives dominate the economy forming 98% of exports. Anglo-Dutch Shell produces 50% of Nigeria's oil which accounts for almost 14% of the company's global production. Blatant Bias against Nigerian Writer on Trial for his Life On 8 June 1995, Article 19 (the International Centre Against Censorship) issued the following: The trials of Nigerian author and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and those charged with him are fundamentally flawed and should be halted immediately, according to a joint Report released today by Article 19, the Law Society and the Bar Human Rights Committee (Fundamental Rights Denied: Report of the Trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa and Others). The author of the 80-page Report, British barrister Michael Birnbaum QC, went to Nigeria to observe the proceedings, which is being held before a Special Tribunal set up by the Federal Military Government specifically to try cases arising from the murder in May 1994 of four traditional chiefs in Ogoniland. All 15 defendants are charged with murder; if convicted, they face a mandatory death sentence. They are denied any right of judicial appeal, in gross breach of international fair trial standards. According to Mr Birnbaum: The tribunal is neither independent nor impartial. Some of its decisions have been blatantly biased in favour of the prosecution. By appointing a Special Tribunal to hear this case, instead of the ordinary courts, the Nigerian Government is undermining the rights of defence enshrined in the country's Constitution and in international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party. Ogoni Widow Hilary Rouse-Amadi For Ken Saro-Wiwa and all those massacred, mutilated, impoverished and made homeless by the corporate greed of the oil industry. They sit, sadistic smug In metropolitan boardrooms, Dispensing death and destruction Casual with slick stroke Of pernicious pen. Invisible, nameless, unknown predators, They preach paternalistic power From the glossy pages of brochures Bristling bright with presumption. And there they name themselves Good stewards of the land, Modern magicians of technology, Global lords and caring custodians Of all they oversee and survey. Nigeria: the Continuing Disintegration of Rule of Law As the second anniversary of the annulled 12 June 1993 presidential election approaches, the Abacha government has stepped up arrests of human rights and pro-democracy activists at an alarming rate. According to Human Rights Watch/Africa, the government has arrested an increasing number of its opponents in recent weeks in an effort to stifle criticism of its repressive regime. HRW/Africa believes that the most recent wave of arrests may be an attempt on the part of the government to divert attention from the closed trial of twenty-three alleged coup plotters by a military tribunal, in blatant violation of Nigeria's obligations under international human rights law. Nigerian Universities and Academic Staff under Military Rule Attahiru Jega The condition of African universities has recently attracted much attention not only from scholars but also from policy makers, including international aid agencies (Saint, 1993). A devastating crisis has swept over the continent, profoundly affecting the universities and their academic communities. Even the World Bank, which in the mid-1980s claimed that Africa did not need universities, has acknowledged that 'Africa's universities face a crisis at a pivotal point in their development' (World Bank News, 14 January 1993:1). There has also been a growing concern with the crisis in the Nigerian university system. The universities are grossly underfunded, understaffed, overcrowded and lacking in infrastructure and facilities. In addition, they have experienced many violations of due process, the suppression of academic freedom and the restriction of academic autonomy. |
