What is the current human rights situation in Nigeria, outside of Ogoniland?
Wiwa: The human rights situation in Nigeria has regressed, badly, after the death of Ken. The military has gone haywire, because the international community did not impose enough sanctions to check the regime. Oil is still flowing, and oil is all that the military wants. As long as the oil is flowing, they will just do what they have to do. In the rest of the country, we are seeing situations that are worse than in early 1994, as the beatings and the arbitrary arrests and detentions increase. Recently, they don’t even bother to arrest vocal and effective opponents and take them to court. They just silence the person, and they are gone. Then they tell the world that hoodlums killed the people. So generally, it has gotten worse. There is widespread insecurity, and state violence has increased. MM: What sort of linkages are there between the Ogoni struggle and the Nigerian democratic struggle? Wiwa: The linkage is very definite. Part of our struggle is also for the total democratization o
