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1)Call to action 2)Press Release on Mayor Marion Barry's trip to Nigeria ---- FNM Call to Action on Mayor Marion barry's trip to Nigeria =
The illegal Sanni Abacha regime which is holding over 100 million Nigerian citizens hostage is hosting a "World Conference of Mayors" in Abuja, Nigeria from November 16th to November 18th, 1997. In an effort to seek legitimacy on the world stage, it has invited various elected municipal leaders from around the world, unfortunately, about a hundred of them responded and agreed to attend the conference. Among this lot, the most high profile figure is Mayor Marion Barry of Washington DC, USA, who along with his wife has chosen to participate in the proceedings. Mayor Barry's involvement is unfortunately going to give the illegal Abacha regime a lot of undeserved publicity and recognition. Since Mayor Barry has already left for Nigeria, after declaring his intention to do so with barely hours left before his departure, at this point in time, the only thing left to do in regards to his trip is to make him issue a public statement upon his return apologizing for taking part in a conference which to all intents and purposes is an insult to the conscience of all freedom loving people worldwide . Even though this apology cannot erase the fact that he took part in the proceedings, it would at least serve as a very useful tool to counter the propaganda which the illegal Abacha regime would undoubtedly put out. The only way this sort of apology can be extracted is if public pressure is placed on his office from the grassroots. All it takes is for you to place a phone call or send a letter, fax or email to his office expressing your displeasure. You don't necessarily need to be a DC resident or voter, or even be based in the United States, as the main goal is just to let him know that global attention has been focused on his misguided action. Unfortunately, Marion Barry's office does not have a conventional email address, and all email has to be sent through his website at http://www.ci.washington.dc.us/MAYOR/mform.htm, for those who don't have access to a web-browser however, please send your letters to the Free Nigeria Movement at PR@FreeNigeria.org for onward transmission to his office. For those who can afford it, please call his office or send him a fax at: (202) 727-2980 (voice), (202) 727-6561 (fax) or drop him a letter at the following address: Mayor Marion Barry Executive Office of the Mayor One Judiciary Square Washington, DC 20001
Your action and support is very important as the only way to cut the link between the illegal dictatorship in Nigeria and the powers that be in the "Free World" is by embarrassing the latter into giving up their relationship with the former. It worked in the case of South Africa, and through the efforts of us the people, it shall work in the case of Nigeria. Lastly, if your elected municipal official(s) is/are also one of those who have gone to Nigeria for this junket, please let us know, and we shall also target him/her. =
Please feel free to forward a copy of this press release to your local media and other outlets.
Solidarity, Free Nigeria Movement
------------- Nigeria; Nazi Germany of the 90s =
- Ibrahim H. Muhammed =
For Immediate Release =
(Please distribute widely) =
Mayor Marion Barry=92s trip to Nigeria for =93World Conference of Mayors= =94 =
Contact: Nasiru Ikharo at +1(317)216-4590 or PR@FreeNigeria.org =
Sunday, November 16, 1997
The Free Nigeria Movement (FNM), a global mass movement working for the restoration of freedom to Nigeria and its people is dismayed at the announcement from Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry=92s office about his participation in the =93World Conference of Mayors=94 which is taking pla= ce in Abuja, Nigeria this week. The FNM is not opposed to the principle of Mayor Barry sharing his wealth of experience in a global setting, but is greatly disappointed that he, a leading voice in the African-American community, would so brazenly participate in a conference being hosted by the General Sanni Abacha led Nigerian dictatorship, unarguably the most repressive regime in Africa today. =
The Abacha regime which is sponsoring the =93World Conference of Mayors=94 is responsible for unconstitutionally usurping the electoral mandates of not only the elected President of Nigeria, President Moshood K.O. Abiola, but also all the other democratically elected leaders of the Nigerian people, including those in the Nigerian National Assembly (Congress) (over 500 in number), the governors of the 30 States, the legislators of the 30 States (over 6,000 in number), and all the elected local government functionaries (over 20,000 in number), bringing the total number of usurped mandates to somewhere in the range of 30,000. Furthermore, the regime has intimidated, bribed, exiled, imprisoned or murdered all those elected Representatives who have dared to refuse to compromise their electoral mandates. In this regard, even the duly-elected and legitimate President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola has since June 1994 been detained without trial at an unknown location and under inhumane conditions; his =93offense=94; daring to insist that the electoral mandate bestowed on him by the Nigerian people is superior to the brute force used by General Sanni Abacha and his military collaborators in seizing the reigns of State power. It is therefore hard to see exactly what prompted Mayor Barry to choose to become a participant in a program being sponsored by a regime with such a reputation. Furthermore, the information being conveyed by his office that he is going to address over 700 recently =93elected=94 Nigeri= an local officials is extremely flawed based on the fact that the only legitimate elected Nigerian officials are those of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC), both of which have been declared illegal entities by the Abacha dictatorship, along with the democratically-elected office holders they produced. =
The FNM 1st Vice-President, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammed, who is operating from within Nigeria stated inter alia that =93... from all indications Mayor Barry and all the other democratically-elected Mayors [from democratic countries] have chosen to make themselves pawns in the macabre pursuit of the Abacha regime=92s quest for legitimacy and recognition...=94, the 1st Vice-President further added that =93...if the= se people are sincere about having dialogue with Nigerian =93Mayors=94, and other principled duly-elected representatives of the Nigerian people, they should seek them out in the jail cells and graves where they have been placed by Abacha...=94 For his own part, FNM President Tunde Okorodudu, stated inter alia =
that he =93...would have expected a Mayor who has no idea of the situatio= n in Nigeria to take part in such a charade, definitely not Mayor Barry, a man who is allegedly so afrocentric that he even wears traditional African costume to work...=94, President Okorodudu also added that he was=
=93...extremely disappointed that principled African-American leaders are=
falling for the age old tactic of =93divide and rule=94, currently being employed by the illegal Abacha dictatorship to divide support for the plight of the Nigerian people in the African-American community...=94, th= e President also added that =93...the Conference is composed of three types=
of people, those who don=92t know about the situation in Nigeria, those who know about the situation in Nigeria but are turning a blind eye to it, and those who know, but are pretending that nothing is amiss...=94 The FNM has among other accomplishments been instrumental in passing a number of selective purchasing/divestment ordinances against the Sanni Abacha led dictatorship, the most recent being in Alameda County, California on September 30th, 1997. The FNM has also established a radio station to broadcast into Nigeria, called the Voice of Free Nigeria (VoFN), it broadcasts into the country every Saturday evening between 1900-2000 Hrs. GMT. Currently, the FNM is in the process of putting together a =93Government-in-Exile=94 (GIE), composed solely of the democratically elected Representatives of the Nigerian people whose mandates were usurped by the illegal Abacha dictatorship, when fully constituted, it is intended to serve as the moral voice of the Nigerian people. =
Long live Freedom, Long live the Free Nigeria Movement, Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
On behalf of the Free Nigeria Movement: =
Sincerely, =
=
=
Nasiru Ikharo, =
National Information Secretary, FNM
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