Nigerian security detains top labour leader as national oil strike looms

[Robbien]

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Plainclothes police detained a prominent Nigerian labour leader Saturday, bundling him into a car at an airport in an apparent effort to stop a threatened countrywide strike by oil-industry workers in Africa's largest petroleum exporter, his union said.

Adams Oshiomhole, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, was picked up as he waited at the international airport in the capital, Abuja, for a flight to a southern city, said a statement from the association, which represents 29 unions.

More than 15 operatives of the State Security Services "overpowered him, wrestled him to the ground and bundled him into a standby" car without licence plates, the statement said. His jacket was torn and he sustained bruises as he was "half-dragged, half-carried into the vehicle," it said.

<snip>

"We expected this," union official Owei Lakemfa said. "The government has no answer to the questions being asked by the people. It has no solution to the economic except for resorting to violence and intimidation."

The strike will go ahead Monday, he said.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/10/09/663031-ap.html

[ladybugg33]

1. It's not just the oil we are after, it's the platinum and other ores.

Too bad many Americans find it beneath them to learn about the African continent, its history, and what is really behind what is going on over there. The fact that the "Christian" icons like Pat Robertson and Billy Graham families are behind much of the turmoil because of their financial and investment interests in Africa goes un-reported and not understood. For years, those BG crusades were covers for business trips dealing with Graham holdings in ore mines and other business ventures. A lot of the tribal fighting has to do with who controls the access to these resources and our good "Christian" friends pit one group against the other in order to get protection for their investments. It is so sad how ignorant the natives are. Most here do not realize that the Nigerians cannot even sell their resources on their own because the US and other allied nations have imposed sanctions against the country using unrest and conflict as a cover. It's much too complicated to go into here but trust me, sanctions on ME and African nations mean much more than just punishment for some trumped up belligerent action. We usually through our special ops create the environment for the unrest (destablization) and then under the guise of fighting against an inhumane tyrant (many times one we have helped get into power) we get the UN to impose sanctions as a way of keeping the native people from selling their own resources and using the profits to help their own people. Any African leader who really sets out to help the people is usually forced into a corner and later painted as being an undesirable leader just so we can control the resources of that nation. Just think about Saddam. When you peel back the skins of the Iraqi onion you will find a dictator whom we set up supported and armed. When that dicator begins to exercise some degree of independence from out control (like changing the curreny of trade) we have ways of dealing the destablization card, turning a segment of the country against the leader and soon having the leader fight off the insurrection, thus making him a tyrant in the eyes of and ignorant world. Examine the sanctions on Nigeria. Determine who can and cannot sell the minerals of the nation. Diamond, bauxite, platinum, uranium, gold, silver, titanium...Africa has it all and the ME has the oil. Now go figure!

[Robbien]

3. Thanks for your informative post

In following National Endowment for Democracy activities most of what you say can be discovered. But it is very rare we get any real information in mainstream media.

The Christian part of this was a surprise to me. The corporatists are at least straight forward in their greed. It is sickening to think the Christian programs are causing so much misery while their commercials beg money under the guise of aid.

[AP]

2. Fascists usually start by imprisoning labor leaders-that's what Nazis did.