A Letter to My Nigerian Colleagues In The Press

This is a letter I sent to the published email addresses of nine Nigerian daily newspapers. Three of the emails were returned, from This Day, the Daily Champion and the Vanguard. I suggest you might send the same letter or one like it to these publications.

(Go to the http://www.naira.com Website and click media and then the newspaper Websites to hunt down better addresses.)

January 5, 2005

I am curious to know why neither the Nigerian Tribune, nor any of your competitors and colleagues, has reported that the announcements concerning the bidding for rights in the Nigeria-DRSTP Joint Development Zone that were promised by Presidential Advisor Dr. Edmund Daukoru for Dec. 31 have not yet been made.

This is the relevant excerpt from the JDA Home page (http://www.nigeriasaotomejda.com/) where Dr. Daukoru's speech at the Opening Ceremony is archived:

"Address at the 2004 JDZ Licensing Round Announcement Ceremony [by] Dr. Edmund Daukoru, Abuja, November 15th 2004

...

"The summary of the Timetable is as follows:

15/11/04 Press Conference to announce Tender

19 & 20/11/04 Consultative Meetings with Oil Companies atIntercontinental Hotel, Houston, Texas, USA.

25&26/11/04 Consultative Meetings with Oil Companies atHilton Hotel, Park Lane, London, UK.

15/12/04 Submission of Bids

15/12/04 Opening of Bids

31/12/04 Announcement of Awards"

...

I can understand why the Nigerian Tribune might not carry the story of this delay, which has frustrated hundreds of thousands of investors around the world, but cannot understand why all the newspapers fail to cover it. In newspapers in the United States, an important official's failure to keep such a significant deadline would be front page news.

Is there an unspoken agreement not to mess with the government or the oil industry, or is it ignorance, laziness, or stupidity? I would certainly like to know. I have been reading the Tribune with interest and know that it is otherwise an excellent publication.>br>Best,
Joe
Joe Shea
Editor-in-Chief
The American Reporter
http://www.american-reporter.com/

Update: My mail to five of the nine newspapers, including the three mentioned above, this note to the Nigerian Tribune and one to New Age, was returned as undeliverable. None have responded. Perhaps they have the same Webmaster as ERHC and the JDZ.