Marc Breindel, Berkeley Voice, July 17, 1997
City boycotting those who do business with Nigeria

Nigerian oil will not power city cars until the West African nation's military dictatorship ends, the City Council decided unanimously Tuesday night.

"I'm overwhelmed with happiness," Free Nigeria Movement President Tunde said after the vote. "Berkeley is the place where awareness arises from ...This is one more big blow to the dictator."

The boycott of all companies that do business with Nigeria comes at some cost to the city, especially when combined with similar actions involving Burma and Tibet. Almost no large oil producer stands in good stead with Berkeley anymore, making it increasingly difficult to fill city gas tanks.

"It's starting to have quite an effect on our ability to make purchases," City Manager Jim Keene said.

At Keene's recommendation, the City Council temporarily exempted from the boycott Chevron credit cards already held by staff. Keene will return in three months to offer alternatives, but warned that "There's always the possibility that when I come back with my report there may be no good alternative to Chevron."

Exxon is the only major gasoline company from which Berkeley may now buy gas, Keene said. He reminded the council that Exxon has not won accolades from environmentalists, especially since the wreck of the oil tanker Valdez.

"Off-brand gasoline ... may be of a lower quality," Keene reported. ...There is the potential for damage to fleet engines and other equipment which increases downtime of the vehicles and the cost of maintenance and repair."

Councilmember Dona Spring took Keene's warnings in stride: "I think it does point to the fact that we need to decrease our dependence on fossil fuel ... I'm glad that the city has started converting to (alternative energy sources), and I'd like to see more conversion taking place.

Another potential expense of the Nigeria boycott is the cost of keeping track of which companies are doing business with Nigeria. Fellow boycott subscribers are pooling resources for a Nigeria/Burma database which will cost about $15,000; Keene estimated Berkeley's share at up to $2,000.

Only Councilmember Polly Armstrong abstained from the vote, as she does with all "international" Items. Armstrong pledged to boycott Shell Oil personally, however.

Activist/filmmaker Carolyn Erbele urged everyone to stop buying Shell Oil. Shell credit cards should be cut up and mailed to the company, Erbele said.

Erbele and partner L A Wood showed the council a 15-minute video titled "Don't Let Shell Kill Again." The documentary includes footage of Nigerian writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed after protesting General Sani Abacha's regime. Saro-Wiwa's killing prompted condemnation by President Clinton and other heads of state.

"We're going to see the same movement as the anti-apartheid movement growing across the United States, from city to city and state to state until the Nigerian dictatorship falls," Danny Kennedy of Project Underground predicted.

Tuesday's vote was not definitive, but nearly so. Keene will draft a final resolution for next week's council meeting, which he said he expects the council to approve as "a technicality."