PRESSER: AT SANDTON SUN IN JOHANNESBURG: CHIEF TOMì IKIMI [NIGERIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER] re: Adamantì that Nigeria allows freedom of speech & movement 08.18.36 ENTERING TO SIT DOWN AT PRESS TABLE 08.19.34 CUTAWAYS PRESS 08.24.22 CHIEF IKIMI ADDRESSING PRESS 08.27.09 ...we've had long association with thisì country over the past several years...on politicalì front...we Nigerians identified fully with theì aspirations of the SA people to fight Apartheid... 08.28.40 ...we have been independent now for 35ì years...obtained independence from Brittain inì 1960... 08.29.02 ...unfortunately plunged into civil warì in 1967... 08.29.23 WIDE PRESS TABLE 08.29.53 GIVING STATS ON DEMOGRAPHY 08.30.01 ...we are a one race country, all blackì but we have over 250 tribes inside Nigeria. Weì speak about 400 differnt languages...in thisì diversity we are trying to weld together a peopleì who are determined that they should have peace &ì stability... 08.32.13 ...we have of our own free choice adoptedì democracy as the form of gorv that we want butì unfortunately the mode of civil rule that we'veì had over the past 35 years has not taken intoì account the peculiarities of our country.. 08.32.26 ...that's why recently on the mutualì agreement of all the political forces in ourì country, there was a Constitutional Conference... 08.33.02 WIIL REMOVE MILITARY FROM GOVERNANCE INì OUR COUNTRY & INSTALL A CONTINUOUS STEADY CIVILì DEMOCRATIC RULE IN NIGERIA 08.33.34 CUTAWAYS PRESS 08.35.17 TODAY IT'S A 30 STATE FEDERATION 08.38.44 HAD WESTMINISTER STYLE - DIDN'T WORK -ì FEDERATION COLLPAPSED IN 1966 BY MILITARY COUP 08.39.56 PRESIDENTIAL STYLE OF GORV ALSO FAILEDì AFTER 4 YEARS 08.40.39 POLITICAL PARTIES WERE TOO TRIBAL 08.44.16 ...Nigeria is a place where people hardlyì accept election results. They have to fight theì national results...as a result of that struggleì unfortunately they [the General] cancelled theì primaries & removed the leadership of the party,ì including myself,...at all levels...therefore theì party collapsed in October 1992... 08.44.58 ...and banned 23 aspirants...that was theì unfortunate act that detroyed the process which weì have been running for 2 & a half years. It was notì the presidential election per se, because it wasì after that destruction 3 months to a newì presidential election that Moshood Abiola joinedì the political party... 08.47.09 PRESENT GORV WAS FORMED NOV 1993 OUT OFì AN AGREEMENT 08.48.23 WIDE TABLE 08.50.50 ...there was voting in some parts ofì Nigeria and there was no voting in other parts ofì Nigeria. Regardless of that when announcement ofì some voting commenced there was another ? actionì that stopped election... 08.53.02 ...no one is held in Nigeria for hisì political views. No one is in prison because he isì a journalist & because he's writing... 08.53.41 HAVE MORE THAN 60 DAILY NEWSPAPERS 50 RADIO STATIONS & STATE OWNED & PRIVATE OWNED TVì STATIONS 08.53.57 ...and so it is not true because 1 or 2ì newspapers who have taken press freedom for pressì license & have gotten themselves involeved inì things which are wrong... 08.54.32 ...our country is not a primativeì society... 08.55.07 ...no one is held because he has contraryì political views... 08.58.47 TRIAL BY TRIBUNAL FOR COUP PLOTTERS WASì ESTABLISHED IN 1976 ...and that was when 39 peopleì were excecuted whereby a secret trial... 08.59.24ì PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAN BE DONE ON PARTYì PLATFORM BUT NO PARTY EXISTS IN NIGERIA AT THISì TIME - NO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS