[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 40 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 40
Concerning the movement toward democracy in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 15, 1995
Mr. Payne of New Jersey submitted the following concurrent resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Concerning the movement toward democracy in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
Whereas the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the international
community had been led to believe that the presidential election held in
Nigeria on June 12, 1993, would result in a return to full democratic
civilian rule in Nigeria;
Whereas General Ibrahim Babangida, the head of Nigeria's military government at
the time of the June 12, 1993, election, interrupted the release of the
election results on June 23, 1993, and later annulled the election,
thereby preventing a return to civilian rule;
Whereas the election process indicated that voters in Nigeria--a country with a
population of approximately 90,000,000 individuals comprising 250 ethnic
groups and spread across 357,000 square miles--were expressing a spirit
of national unity that transcended ethnic, religious, and regional
allegiances;
Whereas reported returns suggested that Moshood Abiola of the Social Democratic
Party was receiving a substantial majority of the votes cast, leading
the poll in 20 of the 30 states in Nigeria;
Whereas the annulment of the presidential elections resulted in various forms of
civil unrest, which in turn led to the death of more than 100
individuals;
Whereas an interim government established by General Babangida on August 27,
1993, and headed by Ernest Shonekan, failed to win the support of the
Nigerian people;
Whereas General Sani Abacha took power on November 17, 1993, appointing an
unelected provisional ruling council to govern Nigeria;
Whereas General Abacha and the provisional ruling council, upon taking power,
stated their commitment to an early return to civilian and democratic
rule, and named several prominent democratic political figures to serve
in the government;
Whereas the political and economic conditions in Nigeria have continued to
deteriorate in the months since Abacha took control of the country;
Whereas the faith of the Nigerian people in the viability of the nation as a
unified whole must be preserved, and the balkanization of Nigeria
guarded against;
Whereas the people of Nigeria have not accepted the continuation of military
rule and have courageously spoken out in favor of the rapid return of
democratic and civilian rule;
Whereas on May 15, 1994, a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats formed the
National Democratic Coalition calling upon the military government to
step down in favor of the winner of the June 12, 1993, election;
Whereas the confidence of the Nigerian people and the international community in
the provisional ruling council's commitment to the restoration of
democracy can only be established by a sustained demonstration of a
commitment to human rights, due process, and the return of civilian
rule;
Whereas the United States would prefer to have a relationship with Nigeria based
upon cooperation and mutual support but cannot, and will not, condone or
overlook the denial of democratic civilian rule--against the clear
wishes of the Nigerian people--by the provisional ruling council or any
other body in Nigeria;
Whereas the lack of support from the Nigerian authorities on drug trafficking
issues has recently forced the United States to again place Nigeria on
the list of countries penalized for failure to seriously address the
narcotics proliferation issue;
Whereas continuing credible reports of widespread corruption and questionable
business practices in the Nigerian Government, and the lack of
cooperation in addressing these problems by the Nigerian Government,
further undermines Nigeria's credibility in the international community;
Whereas the steps taken by the international community in response to the
refusal of the Nigerian military to relinquish power serve both to
encourage the people of Nigeria in their legitimate struggle for
democracy and to limit the ability of the military to entrench its rule;
and
Whereas Nigeria's leadership role on the African continent and its international
influence will be severely compromised by its failure to rejoin the
world community of democratic nations: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) continues to support the Nigerian people in their
commitment to unity and democracy as evidenced by their
participation in the June 12, 1993, presidential election in
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and in their subsequent
insistence on the return to full civilian and democratic rule;
(2) endorses the steps taken by President Clinton and the
Administration--specifically the restrictions on assistance to
agencies of the Nigerian Government, the suspension of military
cooperation between the United States and Nigeria, the
restrictions on travel to the United States by officials of the
Nigerian military regime, and the insistence that full
normalization of United States-Nigeria relations depends upon
the restoration of civilian democratic rule--to demonstrate
United States opposition to the annulment of such election and
to encourage the restoration of fully democratic and civilian
rule in Nigeria;
(3) urges the Administration to continue all actions
designed to encourage the restoration of civilian rule in
Nigeria, especially the restriction on travel to the United
States by officials of the military regime, until concrete and
significant steps have been taken toward a genuine transition
to a democratically elected civilian government in Nigeria;
(4) encourages the Administration to explore additional
measures that might be taken, either unilaterally, in
cooperation with other nations, or through multilateral
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to
constructively encourage the restoration of democratic and
civilian rule in Nigeria;
(5) requests that United States officials, both in the
United States and in Nigeria, consistently reiterate United
States insistence upon the rapid return of civilian and
democratic rule in Nigeria, and that United States Government
agencies such as the United States Information Agency and the
Agency for International Development, as well as publicly
supported agencies such as the National Endowment for
Democracy, should provide support for activities aimed at
strengthening democratic forces and democratic institutions in
Nigeria;
(6) condemns the arrests and imprisonment by the Nigerian
military authorities of Chief Abiola and other political
leaders and democracy advocates, as well as the new
restrictions imposed on freedom of expression; and
(7) urges General Abacha and the provisional ruling council
in Nigeria, in order to maintain the viability of Nigeria and
restore political stability and to avert the further
deterioration of relations between Nigeria and the United
States, to--
(A) fully restore freedom of the press, with access
to all contemporary political and electoral
information, fully respect human rights, and fully
restore the independence and authority of the judiciary
in Nigeria;
(B) immediately release Chief Abiola and the other
political leaders and human rights activists who have
been arrested or detained;
(C) decisively move to resolve the political crisis
in Nigeria by setting up a rapid timetable for the full
restoration of civilian and democratic rule,
unencumbered by the military; and
(D) positively respond to United States and other
international efforts to constructively encourage the
restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
<all>