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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 continu-
ation of military rule and have courageously spoken out
•HCON 40 IH
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 call-
ing 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 inter-
national community in the provisional ruling council’s
commitment to the restoration of democracy can only be
established by a sustained demonstration of a commit-
ment to human rights, due process, and the return of ci-
vilian rule;
Whereas the United States would prefer to have a relation-
ship 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 wish-
es of the Nigerian people—by the provisional ruling coun-
cil 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 pe-
nalized for failure to seriously address the narcotics pro-
liferation issue;
Whereas continuing credible reports of widespread corruption
and questionable business practices in the Nigerian Gov-
ernment, and the lack of cooperation in addressing these
problems by the Nigerian Government, further under-
mines Nigeria’s credibility in the international commu-
nity;
Whereas the steps taken by the international community in
response to the refusal of the Nigerian military to relin-
•HCON 40 IH
quish power serve both to encourage the people of Nige-
ria 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 com-
promised 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 evi-
denced by their participation in the June 12, 1993,
presidential election in the Federal Republic of Nige-
ria, and in their subsequent insistence on the return
to full civilian and democratic rule;
(2) endorses the steps taken by President Clin-
ton and the Administration—specifically the restric-
tions on assistance to agencies of the Nigerian Gov-
ernment, the suspension of military cooperation be-
tween the United States and Nigeria, the restric-
tions 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
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restoration of fully democratic and civilian rule in
Nigeria;
(3) urges the Administration to continue all ac-
tions designed to encourage the restoration of civil-
ian rule in Nigeria, especially the restriction on trav-
el to the United States by officials of the military re-
gime, until concrete and significant steps have been
taken toward a genuine transition to a democrat-
ically elected civilian government in Nigeria;
(4) encourages the Administration to explore
additional measures that might be taken, either uni-
laterally, in cooperation with other nations, or
through multilateral institutions such as the Inter-
national Monetary Fund and the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development, to construc-
tively 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 re-
iterate United States insistence upon the rapid re-
turn 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
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for Democracy, should provide support for activities
aimed at strengthening democratic forces and demo-
cratic 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 be-
tween Nigeria and the United States, to—
(A) fully restore freedom of the press, with
access to all contemporary political and elec-
toral information, fully respect human rights,
and fully restore the independence and author-
ity of the judiciary in Nigeria;
(B) immediately release Chief Abiola and
the other political leaders and human rights ac-
tivists 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 demo-
cratic rule, unencumbered by the military; and
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(D) positively respond to United States
and other international efforts to constructively
encourage the restoration of democracy in
Nigeria.
Æ