Nigeria fuel crackdown

[Peter van Heusden]

On Wed, Mar 14, 2001 at 07:44:39PM +0100, Johannes Schneider wrote:
> The intended rise in prices for fuel products as a result of deregulation
> might be a trigger for major social protests in Africa's most populated
> country. Nigerain unions are calling for rallies next week.
> 
Last time this happened, the President of the Nigerian trade union
federation called off the strike, openly admitting that the reason was
'saving' Obasanjo's government. Now, with Obasanjo pushing ahead full
steam with massive privatisation packages, it seems conflict is 
inevitable. Oh, and of course, you can't privatise anything if the 
'laws of the market' aren't written in stone, so commercialisation of 
even sectors not directly in line for privatisation is likely (that what
we're seeing in South Africa at the moment).

Anyway, last time Gani Fawehinmi, the well known human rights advocate,
denounced the trade union backdown. I don't know enough about Nigeria
to know what social base, if any, he speaks from.

Peter
--
Peter van Heusden <pvh at egenetics.com>
NOTE: I do not speak for my employer, Electric Genetics
"Criticism has torn up the imaginary flowers from the chain not so that man 
shall wear the unadorned, bleak chain but so that he will shake off the chain 
and pluck the living flower." - Karl Marx, 1844
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