Nigeria

Nigeria, located in the west part of Africa, is the continent's most populous country, with 130 million people. It is also the continent's largest oil producer and one of the largest oil producers in the world. A century of British colonial rule ended in 1960 and Nigeria now has an elected government but over the past few decades there have been a lot of military coups.

The Oil Wars

In September 2008, the Niger Delta's most prominent militant group, MEND or the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, declared an "oil war", warning all oil workers to evacuate the delta immediately. MEND’s move was a response to a major army offensive against the rebels. “We have declared an oil war in response to the unprovoked aerial and marine attacks on our positions by the armed forces of Nigeria," said Jomo Gbomo, Mend's spokesman. “We are asking that oil companies evacuate their staff from their field facilities because the brief is not to capture hostages but to bring these structures to the ground.”

Media

The BBC says of the country's media:

Nigeria's media scene is one of the most vibrant in Africa. State-run radio and TV services reach virtually all parts of the country and operate at a federal and regional level. All 36 states run their own radio stations, and most of them operate TV services.

Media freedom improved under President Obasanjo, but restrictive decrees remain in force. Citing high levels of violence, the media rights body Reporters Without Borders has said Nigerian journalists operate amid a "prevailing culture of brutality".

Lobbying and public relations by Nigeria in the U.S.

• KRL International LLC, a Washington, DC based lobbying and public relations firm, filed papers in 2007 under the Foreign Agents Registration Act for its work on behalf of Nigeria. The nature of the work was stated as:

Outreach to US Administration, US Congress, NGOs and media institutions to ensure that the reform agenda of Nigeria is understood by US public.

• KRL answered "yes" to the question of "would political activities be involved?".

• Jim Lobe of Inter Press Service wrote in 2001 of the lobbying activity in the U.S. by African governments:

African governments are paying millions of dollars to lobbyists in hopes of influencing Washington's policy, according to an examination of US government files. Oil-producing nations -- especially, Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea -- are paying the biggest fees by far, but others, especially those with which Washington has difficult relations, are not holding back the cash.

Lobbying became a fixture of Washington by the late 19th century as private companies and commercial associations felt it increasingly necessary to influence the federal government. Foreign governments, despite having fully staffed embassies here, have used lobbyists to press their points of view for several decades now.

The government of Nigeria, which was known for spreading a lot of cash around numerous high-priced lobbyists here during military rule, apparently has since decided on one major representative, GoodWorks International. The firm's chairman, Andrew Young, served as president Jimmy Carter's UN ambassador and later as mayor of Atlanta. Besides his position at GoodWorks, Young acts as president of the National Council of Churches.

"GoodWorks can work to reverse Nigeria's negative image through effective representation of Nigeria's interests in the US," reads the firm's contract, which was filed last August. It states that GoodWorks, which is based in Atlanta and has no Washington office, is to receive 500,000 dollars as an initial retainer and 60,000 as monthly retainers thereafter, not to exceed a total of 1,500,000 (dollars) for the first year of service only.

Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• British American Tobacco Nigeria
• Independent Journalism Centre (Nigeria)
• Nigeria's oil industry
• Race-baiting Strategy Helps Keep Shell Pumping in Nigeria

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Tobacco industry documents about Nigeria

• The Cigarette Market in Nigeria - Qualitative Consumer Behavior and Brand Status Study(BAT, 1991) Describes youth market for cigarettes in Nigeria

Websites

• Nigerian Government.
• Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
• Nigeria Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
• Nigeria.com.

Profiles

• Nigeria, CIA The World Fact Book.
• Country profile: Nigeria, BBC, January 10, 2006: "After lurching from one military coup to another, Nigeria now has an elected leadership. But it faces the growing challenge of preventing Africa's most populous country from breaking apart along ethnic and religious lines."
• Timeline: Nigeria, BBC, February 24, 2006.

Articles & Commentary

• Nigeria to ban cigarette advertising, Brooke J, New York Times, July 18, 1988.

1999

• "Nigerian ghost army," BBC, December 3, 1999.

2002

• "Nigeria: Oil, Poverty, and Rights, 2," Africa Action, July 9, 2002.

2003

• Odiza Kibiam, "Regime Change In Abuja???" Nigeria Exchange, May 7, 2003.

2004

• Dan Isaacs, "Analysis: Behind Nigeria's violence," BBC, May 5, 2004.

2005

• "Nigerians bristle at census jibe," BBC, April 19, 2005.
• "Nigerians wary of corruption crackdown," BBC, May 2, 2005: "Nigeria is vigorously campaigning for western donors to write off its $35bn debts - and is backing up its arguments with a crackdown on corruption."

2006

• Emma Amaize, "Killings, Kidnap in Niger-Delta: Villagers flee en masse from troubled spots as pressures mount over abducted foreigners," Vanguard Online, January 21, 2006.
• "Oil-rich Niger Delta faces 'shocking' new wave of violence," IRIN News, January 27, 2006.
• Dan Isaacs, "The Nigerian Delta's troubled waters," BBC, February 20, 2006.
• "Nigeria's shadowy oil rebels," BBC, February 21, 2006.
• "Nigeria warns on political riots," BBC, March 3, 2006.
• Edward Harris, "Towers of burning gas: Nigeria's oil curse," Mail & Guardian Online (Africa), March 16, 2006.
• Sola Odunfa, "Nigeria's counting controversy," BBC, March 21, 2006: "No-one knows how many Nigerians there are - and until now the authorities have been too afraid to find out."
• "Nigeria oil output to 'hang in balance' - US intel," Reuters (Engineering News (Africa)), March 23, 2006.

2007

• Ken Silverstein, "Their men in Washington: Undercover with D.C.'s lobbyists for hire", Harper's Magazine, July 2007.
• Smoking troubles for tobacco companies The Nation (the newspaper of Nigeria) online edition, December 2, 2007. Discusses Nigerian federal government's lawsuit against British American Tobacco Nigeria and BATN's "corporate social responsibility" efforts.