Ogoniland: the Killing Field
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Ogoniland: The Killing Field ONAGORUWA'S TRAGEDY Canada.... C$ 2.00 Ghana CSOO Saudi Arabia Ris 10 00 Germany DM 3 SO CFA Zone 500s 500 USAUSA $3 50 Italy L 2,000 Sierra Leone Le 300 Zimbabwe $1 30 France 13F Kenya Sh 20 UK C1 50 The Gambia D4 Liberia L$ 2 00 r À ! % Funds Management % Capital Issues — Debt and Equity % Capital Restructuring, Mergers and Acquisitions % Access to NERFUND, NEXIM/RRF, ADB/ESL « Overdraft and Term Loans • Loan Syndication and Financial Intermediation DEVCOM MERCHANT BANK LIMITED — anchor tor etovotopnnont. .HEAD OFFICE. 18A Oko-Awo Close. Victoria Island. Lagos Nigeria Tel. (01) 2610206-8.2613132 Telex 22084 Fax 6*2615 Ca»es Devcom CBN/BSD/ADV/210/575/93 KANO BRANCH 100-104 Murtala Mohammed Way, Kano Tel. (064) 621092 IBADAN BRANCH 1st Floor. Cocoa House. Bank Road. Ibadan. Tel (022)412561.400280.40028* 400282 400283 "TH r Outline AimsHÉd SEPTEMBER 26,1994 NIGERIA’S WEEKLY NEWSMAGAZINE VOL. 20 NO. 13 Nigeria: Cover: 9 Abandoned oil equipment worth more than N1 billion at a flow Browning of station in Rivers State has become Onagoruwa a property free for all After weeks of speculation Politics: 18 about an imminent cabinet New faces in 10 states as Sani reshuffle, General Sani Abacha drops three adminis Abacha fired Olu Onago trators and redeploys seven others ruwa, September 12, mak • Adamu Fika loses battle to stay ing him the first attorney- on as National Assembly director- general as he moves to the general and minister of presidency justice to be given the boot. What went wrong? Africa: " 27 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm For government and opposition in Burundi, the formation of a Nigeria: 15 national govememnt is helping to patch up a bitter and bloody struggle for power HowSicklsAbiola? Nigeria Medical Asso- World: 28 cation experts warn the A US-led international forces make final preparations for the Abacha government that invasion of Haiti M.K.O. Abiola's illness may take a turn for the Business: 29 worse unless care is taken Oil producing states present proposals which they say can ensure an equitable and accep Special Report: 21 table revenue allocation formula i 4 Letters The Ogoni Agony 5 Cartoon Has a military task force in 6 Essay Ogoniland exceeded its 7 Editorial peace mission brief? Yes, 33 Dialogue says MOSOP. No, says Dauda Komo, Rivers State ' Cover: administrator Design by: Tunde Soyinka Newswatch (ISSN 0189-8892) is published weekly by Newswatch Communications Limited, No. 3 Billings Way (off Secretariat Road), Oregun Industrial Estate, Oregun, P.M.B. 21499, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Telephone: 4960950. Fax: 962887. Telex: 27874 NE WCOM NG. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or in part without permission, is forbidden. Printed in Nigeria by Academy Press Pic, Uupeju. LETTERS ■ Free in Chains? No! of this great country for well ■ Kolo and Kolo < ♦ r over eight good weeks. The Abiola's Freedom Deal (August 22) In your edition of September 12th, wt was not only a travesty of justice but also common man in the street and were dismayed to see the picture of Hon a discreditable reflection on the entire the richest man in the country Justice K.M. Kolo, the Chief Judge o. judiciary. By stage-managing this strange were forced to get petrol, Bomo State, mistaken for Hon. Justice contrivance of a deal, the federal govern Mamman Kolo of the Federal High Court, ment had unmistakably shot itself in the diesel, kerosine and cooking who was the presiding judge of the foot. The impression given by the gas at exhorbitant prices. He NUPENG case under reference. Since the ingeniously contrived action was that has shown Nigeria and case was outside the jurisdiction of Justice there were powerful forces outside the K.M. Kolo, the appearance of his picture government that influenced its decisions. Nigerians that he is a very against the case has invariably caused a Abiola deserves nothing less than un important person who cannot lot of embarrassment to his Lordship. I conditional freedom. He just cannot be be dealt away with very easily. therefore, urge you to correct whatever free in chains in his country! impressions being created by such Charles I. Oivutu, George Oche, publication and tender an unreserved Ovim, Bauchi. apology for the serious mistake done. Abia State. M, Alkali, Victoria Island, Lagos. • Newswatch owns up the mix up and ■ Madueke’s Undoing apologises to his Lordship. After reading your write-up on the replacement of Rear-Admiral A.A. Madueke, I was forced to conclude that the most innocent, most hardworking, most honest and most impartial military officer today in Nigeria has fallen victim of the present scheming in the military circle. You wrote that he favours Enugu Any important zone in appointments. I must inform you that Madueke's headache today is man who has beca use sensitive positions in Enugu State a re occupied by people from N sukka and Abakaliki zones. Madueke's undoing also something is that he hates politics — be it military or partisan. And for one to survive in Nigeria important to today at that top level he must either be a military politician or a professional politician. Those criticising Madueke say does so failed to tell the world that in-Oji River O ne thing every local government area, Madueke's local through an Nigerian should understand government area, there is no portable water, no electricity, no telephone services important is that although the widely and no good roads. Other biased write assumed June 12 presidential ups against Madueke by your magazine election winner, M.K.O. leaves one guessing what offence the fine medium: soldier committed against your crew. Abiola, was not officially After all, the four naval officers you kept declared president of the on complaining about their removal Federal Republic of Nigeria, everyday were replaced by their kinsmen, not by Madueke's brothers. he was able even in detention Eric Omire-Oluedo, Africa’s No. 1 to paralyse the economic,, Oji River, Newsmagazine social and political activities Enugu State. Typed reactions to the contents of Newswatch, should be addressed to Newszvatch Letters, 3 Billings Way (Off Secretariat Road), Oreguti Industrial Estate, P.M.B. 21499, Ikeja, Nigeria. All letters must bear the correct names, addresses and signatures of the writers. Newswatch reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and brevity. 4 Newswatch, September 26,1994 | NEWSWATCH CARTOONS "QUOTES" That Dr. Olu Onagoruwa has been El/Bl KIV MWISTfN HAS dropped by the federal military HO MoUUDfiE, NO COPV government comes to no one as a surprise... The only snag was, once the Oft INFORMATION... constitutional lawyer knew he could not contain unconstitutionality any longer, his resignation would have been more honourable than a sack — Nigerian Tribune in Sidelines, the newspaper's front page commentary. The bite was his downfall. After biting me, I knew I had to put him down fast. He did it out of desperation and in a smart way. —Bash Ali, African heavyweight boxing champion, after his 41 seconds win over Sean Jones, an American. It seems hardly rational to ask anyone to withdraw from a position which he cherishes and adores, for a cause he does not support and has repudiated openly. — Bisi Lawrence, a veteran journalist and newspaper columnist in an essay, At a time like this written on Nigeria's political crisis. A regime that denies the people freedom of association, clamps down on the press and prevents the masses from seeking legal redress cannot deliver the country to true democracy. — Gani Fawehinmi, a Lagos-based lawyer and social critic, reacting to the promulgation of anti-freedom decrees by the Abacha government. We absolutely do not want the slowest ship to decide the pace of the convoy. — Helmut Kohl, German chancellor, rebuking Britain for its foot-draging on European integration. I know that I shall no longer exist in a few months or years. But it is not over death that I feel concerned. It's over no longer living. — Francois Mitterand, 78, the French president, confirming the state of his health. I have no scruples. The good news we take advantage of. The bad news we hide. — Rubens Ricupero, a Brazilian finance minister accusing government of manipulating economic data in support ofHenrique Cardoso, his predecessor and presidential candidate. Newswatch, September 26,1994 5 ESSAY Deterring Destruction By Murtala Nyako HERE IS NO DOUBT THAT NIGERIA IS FACING compounded on their way home when they are ambushed many daunting political, economic and social by armed robbers/assassins or are involved in road mishaps. problems today. To find lasting solutions to these All these negate the laudable provisions in our problems in our life time, our ingenuity and will constitution pertaining to the issues of sanctity of life, safety power will be tested to the fullest. One of such problems, of property and freedom of movement of citizens in our which has adversely affected our national unity and social country. We must find a way of enforcing these provisions. cohesion, is the extent and frequency of destruction during There are today a large number of people still waiting for crisis of lives and properties of Nigerians living in places compensation for the properties and lives wilfully destroyed other than where they or their parents were born. by fellow Nigerians of different ethnic divide over the years. We witnessed the massive destruction of lives and We must do something about that and others that might properties during the Western Nigerian crisis of 1965 and arise in the future. We must force the community, which the Ironsi regime and soon after its demise in 1966.