POLITICS-NIGERIA: Abubakar’s UN Debut Draws Praise, Concern

By Farhan Haq Reprint | | Print |

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 25 1998 (IPS) - Nigeria’s Abdulsalam Abubakar took full advantage this week of the golden opportunity the annual opening of the U.N. General Assembly every September offers new heads of government to refurbish the image of their nations.

Gen. Abubakar, who took office after Gen. Sani Abacha died on Jun. 8 of what was ruled a heart attack, used his first appearance here as Nigeria’s president to promise that the nation’s dominant military will restore democracy by next May. He also won some praise from U.S. and other officials for his programmes to improve human rights in Nigeria and to open up the economy to competition.

“I think the world now wants democracy,” Abubakar told reporters Friday. “Our goal is to return our country to a democratically elected civilian government on May 29, 1999.”

In a speech to the General Assembly on Thursday, Abubakar pointedly mentioned what he claimed would be his government’s “short tenure”, and discussed a transition process that would lead to presidential elections next Feb. 27. “Every stage of the elections may be freely observed by international monitors from the United Nations, the Commonwealth and other international bodies,” he promised.

In addition, he contended that in the nearly four months since he took over, Nigeria’s poor human rights record has improved. “The commitment to human rights has been amply demonstrated by the release of political detainees, granting of pardon to some convicted persons and the withdrawal of charges against others,” he argued.

Those arguments have apparently softened the stance of the United States, which is planning to send political advisers to Nigeria during the pre-election period. After a Wednesday meeting between Abubakar and U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright praised the Nigerian general for trying to end Abuja’s recent international isolation.

Clinton did not explicitly promise any improvements in U.S- Nigerian relations in return but, according to one U.S. source, Washington may be willing to restore direct travel links with Nigeria and to help the country secure debt relief. The United States and the Commonwealth suspended many types of economic assistance following the 1995 execution of author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists by Abacha’s regime.

The warmer attitude towards Abubakar, however, has already drawn some criticism by human rights groups, who have been guarded about the level of improvements in Nigeria in recent months.

“We continue to have serious concerns about respect for human rights in Nigeria, including the right to take part in genuine elections,” Peter Takirambudde, executive director for Human Rights Watch/Africa, wrote in a letter this week to Clinton.

“The international community should exercise caution before embracing the new head of state, Gen. Abubakar, and set clear and stringent guidelines as to what is required for a credible transition programme,” he added.

In particular, Takirambudde warned that some pro-democracy groups in Nigeria still believed that the transition process “remains too closely controlled by the military”.

“An electoral commission should be seen to be completely impartial, yet at least three members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have played prominent roles on a partisan basis in previous political processes,” he wrote. “The military government has appointed the secretary to the commission and its regional commissioners, leaving it open to further manipulation.”

Abubakar, however, contended that his government was “committed to sustaining the independence, integrity and transparency of the INEC” and noted that U.N. and Commonwealth teams would meet with the INEC to discuss elections arrangements.

The U.S. Chapter of Amnesty International raised similar concerns in a Sep. 21 letter to Clinton, pointing out, for example, that “the lack of freedom in Nigeria … directly impinges on how free and fair the (transition-to-democracy) process will be”.

Some of the doubts over the military regime’s credibility came up after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited in June to meet Abubakar and detained opposition leader Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner of 1993 elections. Annan stated that he trusted Abubakar’s commitment to a democratic transition and announced Abiola’s willingness – after four years in jail – to set aside his claim to the presidency.

Just days later, as Abiola’s impending release from prison was being discussed, the political leader died of an apparent heart attack while meeting with U.S. officials. Even an autopsy by U.S. doctors who found no signs of foul play failed to convince Abiola’s supporters, and they rioted for days.

Abiola enjoyed particular support in southern Nigeria, whereas the country has been ruled by military leaders from the North for much of its recent history.

Some pro-democracy activists believe that Abubakar and his top aides may be willing to transfer power to civilians, but are less eager to hand it over if any Southerner should win elections.