The Niger Delta Self-Determination Movement has appealed to the United Nations to assist the Niger Delta in its quest to own and control its resources.
Ankio Briggs
Niger Delta activist and convener of the NDSDM, Ms Annkio Briggs, explained that their demand was not for a secession.
“This is not a call for secession. After consultations, we came up with the position to control our resources,” she said.
According to her, their demand for self-determination is based on the lopsided nature of resource allocation in the country.
Briggs urged the UN to assist the Niger Delta with the conduct of a credible referendum in the region in order to enable it exercise its rights and the will of the people.
She said, “After due consultations with our various peoples, we have reached a conclusion and our position was reached pursuant to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“We are also relying on the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples and the various bills of rights in the Niger Delta.
“We also rely on the UN address by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 28, 2015.
“The President stated in his address that the unresolved question of self-determination for the Palestinian people and those of Western Sahara, both nations haven’t been adjusted by the UN as qualifying for this inalienable right must now be assured and fulfilled without any further delay or obstacle.”
She noted that being granted self-determination would enable the people of the Niger Delta to exercise their right to autonomy in matters relating to their local affairs, religion, education, economic activities, lands and other natural resources management, among others.
“Pursuant to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the people of the Niger Delta have articulated our demand for self-determination through various ethnic nationalities’ bills of rights.”
ONITSHA—Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, yesterday, gave what he termed as genuine reasons the United Nations should allow Biafra to be separated from Nigeria.
Biafra Soldiers
One of the reasons, he stated, was that the population of the former Eastern state, now South East and part of South South that make up Biafra land can currently boast of over 10 million people, adding that the Biafran people naturally do not share similar culture and tradition with Hausa-Fulani of the North and Yoruba of the South West as to continue to remain together under one country called Nigeria.
According to Uwazuruike, another reason was that MASSOB, as a separatist group, had all it takes to run a sovereign state of Biafra, having had enough instruments, structures, flag, currency, coat of arms and defence to assume a status of an existing government.
Uwazuruike, who spoke to newsmen, yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State, through MASSOB’s Deputy National Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, ahead of the on-going UN General Assembly, renewed his call on the world body to accord a recognition to Biafra as a sovereign state, just as it did to South Sudan which had been accorded a sovereign status since July 9, 2011.
He recalled that US had classified Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan as failed states which needed to be divided between 2011 and 2015, adding that it was only from Sudan that South Sudan was carved out on July 9, 2011, remaining Nigeria, Ethiopia and Somalia.
He cited examples of carving out of East-Timor with only a population of about 821,000 from Indonesia on May 22, 2002; carving out of Serbia with a population of about 10 million from Montenegro on July 2006; carving out of South Ossertia from Georgia and carving out of Kosovo from Serbia on February 17, 2008.
He, therefore, urged UN to grant the sovereignty of Biafra to save the people from further annihilation in Nigeria since there was no basis whatsoever for Biafra people’s continued stay with Nigeria, adding, “Nigeria cannot make any appreciable economic progress until Biafra is allowed to go, particularly now that Lord Fredrick Luggard’s amalgamation of 1914 has since January 1, 2014, expired after 100 years of the amalgamation.”
He wondered why the UN had not been proactive in tackling the knotty problems of the oppressed in Nigeria and asked rhetorically: “is UN waiting till things degenerate into full blown war again or to continue as genocide before they will act?”
* Says Buhari won’t attach value to Ministers after calling them noise makers
* Describes Buhari’s lateness to meeting with Pope Francis, as a monumental embarrassment
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Monday, lampooned President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that Nigeria’s snubbing of the meeting of countries affected by insurgency at the 70th United Nation’s General Assembly meeting was an insult to the country.
Olisah Metuh
PDP accused the presidency of being economical with the truth on why President Buhari was absent at the UN General Assembly in New York meeting where the very sensitive issue of humanitarian crisis arising from the insurgency in Lake Chad countries was discussed.
According to the party, Nigeria’s absence at such a meeting where countries affected by Boko Haram insurgency sought international assistance for millions displaced by the scourge, revealed the All Progressives Congress, APC led government insincerity and ineptitude.
Addressing Journalists, in Abuja, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh stressed that the presidency lied because the said meeting on humanitarian crisis was contained on the official brochure tagged, “High Level Event on the Lake Chad Basin,” and that “high level representation from the government of Nigeria” was scheduled to make contributions at the meeting.
Metuh said: “Further reports indicate that due to the importance of that meeting, it was broadcast on United Nations’ official online television and radio channels, while officials of world bodies have continued to register their disappointment in our country due to the incompetence of the APC-led government. Instead of admitting failure and apologizing to Nigerians, the Presidency sought to hoodwink the public by claiming that the meeting was not one of the official events for which the President and his delegation are in New York, only for the official brochure of the meeting tagged, “High Level Event on the Lake Chad Basin,” to show that “high level representation from the government of Nigeria” was scheduled to make contributions at the meeting.
“It is disheartening to note that the same meeting the President Buhari-led delegation shunned actually yielded a fall out of $6.8 million announced by the United States as funding for regional aid efforts.”
The PDP regretted that whereas, other affected Chad basin countries were fully represented and had fruitful discussions with officials of the world body, the government of Nigeria, which has the biggest challenge of displaced persons, refused to attend such a meeting.
Metuh who titled his speech, “The Decline Of Democratic Ideals” also said that for calling Ministers noise makers, President Buhari will not attach any value or importance to them if he eventually appoints them, adding that the non appointment of Ministers about four months in office is a pointer that the president wants
to run an authoritarian government.
He said, “From his hesitancy and comments, it is deducible that President Buhari never intended to appoint ministers but rather prefers to run a monocracy and evidently does not value or respect those he would nominate as ministers.
“Otherwise, how can anyone repackage the mindset of the President when he, in an interview with France 24 Television in France, stated categorically that his preference is to rule without a cabinet and denigrated ministers as ‘noise makers,’ and of no importance or value in the running of an administration?”
Metuh also noted the diplomatic mix-up experienced during the UN visit, “which resulted in the breach of protocol, crass ineptitude and monumental embarrassment in the late appearance of President Buhari during Pope Francis’ meeting with other world leaders.
“This is most damaging to the image of the country, especially as we note that the damage did not arise out of disrespect for the head of Vatican, the Pope but due to the incompetence of those around our beloved President,” the party added.
Contrary to claims by the Nigerian presidency that a meeting at the 70th United Nations General Assembly to discuss the humanitarian crisis posed by the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group was unofficial, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report today that the meeting is a “high-level” one convened as one of the most important events of the ongoing United Nations annual summit in New York.
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu Credit: Punchnews
The meeting tagged “High Level Event on the Lake Chad Basin” held Friday at the Conference Room 1 of the United Nations headquarters in New York.
It was convened by Stephen O’Brien, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Humanitarian Affairs and held as part of the of the UN Sustainable Development Summit, which opened Friday.
“The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, is an arm of the United Nations secretariat and a meeting organised by it on an issue threatening Nigeria’s existence cannot be described as unofficial,” said a respected Nigerian diplomat who requested not to be named so as not to anger the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The diplomat believes President Buhari should request Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Joy Ogwu, to explain why her office failed to identify the meeting as one of the key ones Nigeria should have attended at the ongoing summit.
“This is definitely a diplomatic blunder,” the diplomat said. “It portrayed us as an unserious country and the President should bring culpable officials to book rather than offer tepid excuses.”
Reuters was first to report the Nigeria’s non attendance at the meeting convened to principally discuss an issue affecting Nigeria the most.
“But while the radical Islamist militants operate out of Nigeria and U.N. aid chief Stephen O’Brien said that is where most people have been displaced by their attacks, Nigeria did not send anyone to the United Nations event,” Reuters reported. “U.S. and European Union diplomats said they were disappointed that Nigeria did not attend the event chaired by O’Brien on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.”
The Nigerian presidency, in a statement Saturday, however, claimed that “The meeting at which Nigeria was reportedly absent was not one of the official events of the United Nations for which President Muhammadu Buhari and his modest delegation are in New York”.
But contrary to attempts by the government to downplay the importance of the meeting and portray it as low level engagement, organisers and diplomats say the gathering was one of the most important meetings concerning the destructive militancy and terrorism ravaging Nigeria and its neighbours.
Aside top UN and EU officials, as well as heads of international nongovernmental organisations who participated, the meeting was also attended by the Prime Minister of Niger, Brigi Rafini and Chad’s Foreign Minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
A brochure of the meeting listed “High level representation from the government of Nigeria” among the panelists expected to speak at the meeting.
Due to its importance, the meeting was also broadcast on official UN online television and radio channels.
At the meeting, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. O’Brien reminded the world to pay attention to the Lake Chad Basin, now an epicentre of “violence and terror” where children as young as six-years old have been used as suicide bombers and the scene of the fastest-growing displacement crisis in Africa.
“A quarter of a million people have fled across borders,” told the high-level meeting. “Many have walked hundreds of kilometres from Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, in the most appalling conditions.”
Mr. O’Brien, appealed to countries in the region to give relief workers access to those in need and also called for urgent financial contributions to the under-funded operations.
“If we disregard the huge scale of humanitarian needs, we could all pay a high price,” he said.
Describing the people in the Lake Chad Basin, which straddles Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, as “some of the poorest and most resilient in the world,” the top UN humanitarian official said “now the region has also become an epicentre of violence and terror.”
“The emergence of Boko Haram has pushed them over the edge,” he said. “Over the past five months, a sharp increase in attacks by Boko Haram has uprooted 500,000 children, bringing the total number of children on the run in northeast Nigeria and neighbouring countries to over 1.4 million.”
He described the “appalling impact on women and children, who are being abducted, abused, raped, exploited, trafficked, and forced to work as porters and lookouts,” and “children as young as six years old have been used as suicide bombers.”
“With so many other humanitarian crises on the international agenda, we hear relatively little about the horrors taking place in the Lake Chad Basin,” he said. “And yet this is the scene of the fastest-growing displacement crisis in Africa, with 2.3 million people forced from their homes since May 2013.”
Mr. O’Brien warned that the future of the region, where business activity is reportedly down by 80 percent, “looks even bleaker, as farmers are unable to tend their fields and trade in some areas is at a standstill.”
UN agencies like the World Food Programme, the UN refugee agency and the UN Children’s Programme (UNICEF) echoed Mr. O’Brien in presenting a grim humanitarian picture of the region and appealing for greater international support to their efforts to reach those in desperate need.
As a fallout of the meeting the Nigerian government dismissed as “unofficial”, the United States announced $6.8 million in funding for regional aid efforts.
The Presidency has maintained President Muhammadu Buhari is fully committed to improve national security and succour for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs.
Contrary to the erroneous impression that may have been created by reports that the Nigerian delegation to the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly missed a meeting on help for displaced persons, President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration remain fully committed to the rehabilitation and well-being of all persons who have been displaced or adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Indeed, the war against terrorism, improved security across Nigeria and additional measures to give succour to internally displaced persons have been central to discussions President Buhari has had with other world leaders since his arrival in New York on Thursday night.
The issues were dominant in the President’s conversations on Friday with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the King of Spain, His Majesty Don Felipe VI and former Prime-minister Gordon Brown who came with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to discuss the actualization of the safe schools initiative, which is of special interest in parts of Nigeria most vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
President Buhari is handling his duty as leader of the Nigerian delegation to this year’s General Assembly with the greatest possible diligence and will certainly not tolerate any tardiness on the part of the delegation in seizing every possible opportunity to advance Nigeria’s interests.
This notwithstanding, it must be realized that it will be near impossible for any national delegation, no matter its size, to participate in all the meetings that are simultaneously happening in and around the General Assembly in New York.
The meeting at which Nigeria was reportedly absent was not one the official events of the United Nations for which President Muhammadu Buhari and his modest delegation are in New York.
While the meeting referred to in media reports is commendable, it was not the only one or the most important of such meetings in New York that are paying attention to the problem of insecurity, migration and violent extremism in the Lake Chad area and the rest of the world.
Nigeria was represented earlier today at an important side event devoted to the North-East called by the UN Population Fund, UNFPA on “Building Stability and Resilience in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Countries.”
President Buhari fully conscious of his responsibility to Nigeria and will accept nothing short of the best for Nigerians in the meetings taking place in and around the United Nations.
Anyone trying to create an impression of dereliction of duty, based on the Nigerian delegation’s absence at an unofficial meeting, is only being mischievous and uncharitable.
President Muhammadu Buhari and his delegation were not present at a United Nation’s meeting to discuss and proffer solution to the problems of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The United Nations, Chad, Niger and Cameroon appealed on Friday for help for millions of people in the Lake Chad Basin region forced to flee the violence of Boko Haram and hit with repeated droughts and floods that have brought malnutrition and disease.
US and European Union diplomats said they were disappointed that Nigeria did not attend the event chaired by United Nations aid chief Stephen O’Brien on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
China has expressed support for Nigeria’s quest to occupy a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Nigeria
China’s position was disclosed by the Speaker of the People’s Parliament of China, Mr. Zhang Dejiang, during a meeting with the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.
A statement by Dogara’s office on Monday said the two presiding officers met in New York, United States, on Sunday.
The Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, who signed the statement, quoted Dejiang as giving his country’s position after Dogara had pleaded with him to support Nigeria’s bid.
The statement said Dogara had urged China to use its influence as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to democratise the organ.
“We appreciate China for its effort to democratise the institution of the United Nations and appeal that you support our bid to occupy a permanent seat on the security council,” the Nigerian speaker had stated.
Dejiang, in his response, told Dogara that China believed Nigeria was a leading developing country that should sit on the UN Security Council.
“We support the legitimate demands of Nigeria for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, together with the reform of the UN,” the statement further quoted the Chinese speaker as saying.
It explained that Dejiang and Dogara had met on the sidelines of the ongoing convention of the Inter-Parliamentary Union holding in New York.
China, the US, Britain, Russia and France are the five permanent members of the UNSC.
But, of late, developing countries, particularly Nigeria, India and Brazil, have intensified campaign for the expansion of the council to accommodate more members.
Meanwhile, Dejiang also assured Dogara that China would look into Nigeria’s appeal to China to review its five per cent tax on the country’s agricultural exports.
The Chinese speaker also condemned the wave of insurgency in Nigeria, assuring that his country would give Nigeria the necessary support to win the war against insurgency.
A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an urgent appeal to two UN special rapporteurs urging them to use their “good offices and positions to urgently request the government of Ogun State of Nigeria to immediately and unconditionally reverse the unlawful sacking and retirement of education officials for allegedly setting examination questions considered too critical of the government of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.”
Amosun
The rapporteurs petitioned are: David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Kishore Singh, Special Rapporteur on the right to education.
In the petition dated August 14, and signed by SERAP’s Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said, “the sacking and retirement of these officials is unlawful, unfair, and a serious violation of their internationally recognised human right to hold opinion and academic freedom. SERAP believes that citizens including students writing examinations have the right to be informed of the activities of public officials and to have access to information that will enable them to participate in political affairs.”
According to the organisation, “the right to education can only be enjoyed if accompanied by the academic freedom of education officials and students. Thus, the education officials unlawfully sacked and retired are denied the freedom to pursue, develop, and transmit knowledge and ideas including through perceived critical examination questions”.
“Indeed, academic freedom includes the liberty of individuals to express freely opinions about the institution or system in which they work, to fulfil their functions without discrimination or fear of repression by the State or any other actor, and to enjoy all human rights applicable to other individuals in Ogun State,” the organisation said.
The organisation said that, “By dismissing those involved in setting the examination questions, SERAP believes that the government of Ogun State of Nigeria is invariably undermining the ability of the examiners and the students to take decisions; exercise their human rights; challenge or influence public policies; monitor the quality of public spending; and promote accountability. This in turn has seriously undermined established controls to prevent abuse of power.”
“The freedom to form an opinion and to develop this by way of reasoning has been violated by the action of the Ogun State government in this case. The ability to hold an opinion freely is indeed a fundamental element of human dignity. The enjoyment of this right is essential for the enjoyment of other human rights and freedoms and constitutes a fundamental pillar for building a democratic society and strengthening democracy,” the organisation also said.
According to the organisation, “The action of the government also poses insurmountable barriers to the right to access information and the right to quality education. It also removes an important tool for combating impunity and corruption.”
“The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that everyone is “endowed with reason and conscience”, a principle developed further in human rights law to include, among other things, the protection of opinion, expression, belief, and thought. Article 19 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party, also echoing the Universal Declaration, provides that everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference,” the organisation argued.
The organisation therefore urged the Special Rapporteurs to urgently ask the government of Ogun State to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally reverse the sacking and retirement of officials involved in putting together the perceived critical examination questions
2. Take the necessary steps to guarantee the effective exercise of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for all individuals and sectors, without exception or discrimination of any kind
3. Refrain from punishing any manifestation of freedom of opinion including through perceived critical examination questions
The Ogun State Governor, Mr. Amosun, recently ordered the sacking of six officials of the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, including a secondary school teacher, over alleged offensive examination question.
Those sacked include two Grade Level 17 officers, Folashade Oresegun, who was the Director, Education Support Services; and Mr. Rotimi Odunsi, who was the Director, Curriculum Development and Evaluation, and a Grade Level 16 officer, Majekodunmi Oluwole.
Others are a Grade Level 10 officer, E.O. Asegbe, a Grade Level 8 officer, Taylor Damilola , and an English Language teacher in Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, Joel Adegbenro.
The sacking of both Messrs Oresegun and Odunsi were converted to compulsory retirement while the four others were summarily dismissed.
The officials were sacked and retired on the basis of a comprehension passage in the English Language examination conducted by the ministry for the Unified Examination in Public Secondary Schools for the third term of the 2014/2015 academic session.
The offensive section was Section C, where the pupils were asked to summarise a comprehension passage on a policy defect on education.
The section which the government considered too critical reads in part:
“There is no arguing about the fact that the government is merely paying lip service to the development of education. It is true that a lot of money is being spent on the education sector but with little or no impact felt by the people, except where we want to deceive ourselves.
Many schools run by the government, which were formerly known for academic excellence have suddenly lost their prestige and are living on past glories. No wonder, many parents and guardians are threateningly left with only one option, to withdraw their wards from these schools to other ones that are better managed.
The evidences to show that the government is not doing enough to assist in the development of education are many. Even pupils in both primary and secondary schools can volunteer a good list on their finger tips. One of the numerous indications is the government’s inability to pay running cost to schools. The running cost is the token amount per pupil paid to school administrators to run the affairs of the school in a term. This has been neglected to pile up for several academic sessions…”
The United Nations refugee agency has said the Federal Government needs more than military force to stamp out Boko Haram, adding that “roots of conflict” must be addressed to defeat the insurgents.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Hussein, expansive economic, social and political opportunities are important to reducing the country’s ethnic and sectarian tensions and countering the growing threat posed by the terrorist group.
Hussein said this on Wednesday during the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva.
“Profound inequalities, corruption, and resulting marginalisation, naturally generate discontent. And the more marginalised and desperate the people, the more likely they are to turn to radical and violent movements,” he stated.
In his opening remark to the Council’s 23rd special session on terrorist attacks, abuses and violations committed by Boko Haram, the UNHCR warned that the atrocities perpetrated by Boko Haram had caused “a critical human rights situation” in northern Nigeria and the Lake Chad region that could only be tempered through development initiatives.
“This despicable and wanton carnage, which constitutes a clear and urgent menace for development, peace and security, must be stopped. Boko Haram’s leaders must know that they will be held accountable in a court of law for these appalling violations of human rights,” Hussein stated.
He therefore called for a “thorough and clear-sighted consideration of the possible roots of conflict,” suggesting that greater participation in decision-making, improved services, and broader economic, social and political opportunities were elemental to building an inclusive society devoid of the tensions that feed extremism.
“Solutions can never be found if the real dimensions of the problem at hand are denied. Vanquishing this threat to peace will require sustained attention that extends beyond the use of military force. Strengthening the rule of law, repealing discriminatory legislation, and implementing inclusive and non-discriminatory policies must be part of the response to the violations committed by Boko Haram. We must also reflect on some of the possible root causes of this insurgency,” Hussein added.
He commended the Federal Government’s efforts at reclaiming territories previously seized by the insurgents and urged to make concerted efforts to redress the imbalances in the North-East region.
“In this regard, I welcome Nigeria’s recent Presidential Initiative for the North-East, which aims to address longstanding social and economic issues, and to create the context necessary for sustainable recovery and economic development,” Hussein said.
The United Nations has warned that perpetrators of post-election violence in the country will not go unpunished.
The global organisation also dismissed fears that the security situation in Nigeria might get to the level witnessed in Côte D’Ivoire during its general elections.
The United Nations Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, and the Secretary-General’s High-Level Representative to Nigeria, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, said this at a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja, after rounding off a two-day visit to the country.
“Given the important role Nigeria plays in the region and globally, the international community is closely watching the elections in Nigeria and that any persons responsible for violence will be held accountable,” Feltman said.
Chambas dismissed fears that the security situation in Nigeria, as the country prepares for the elections, was getting similar to that of Côte D’Ivoire.
He expressed optimism that the country would not go through such experience.
UN “urged the political actors, particularly the candidates, to resolve any electoral disputes through the existing legal and constitutional means.”
Feltman added, “I encourage the political, electoral and security actors to continue working together to create an environment conducive for the holding of violence-free and credible elections, and ensure that all eligible Nigerians can freely exercise their constitutional right to vote, including those displaced by violence in the North East.”
He commended President Goodluck Jonathan and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), for their commitment to implementing the Abuja Accord on peace.
The United States Government and the Government of Qatar have made a donation of $2m each to the Safe School Initiative of the Federal Government.
The safe school initiative is a project aimed at meeting the education needs of thousands of children affected by the ongoing conflict in the North-East, specifically in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
The donation of the US was made by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle and was received by the Minister of FINANCE, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Qatar had earlier made its donation through the Qatar Foundation.
The US ambassador said his government was proud to support the initiative owing to the fact that the program would help to reduce the negative impact of insurgency in the north-east region.
He said, “The US government is proud to support this initiative. Nigerian children who have been affected by the insurgency do not also need to see their hopes for education sacrificed.”
Speaking at the event, Okonjo-Iweala said, in a bid to complement the efforts of the federal government, a Multi-Donor Trust Fund had been set up within the United Nations system.
The $4m, the minister stated, would be transferred into the MDTF which is being managed by the United Nations Development Program and UNICEF.
She explained that the fund would co-finance projects and programs of the SSI alongside the Nigerian fund.
Since the launch of the fund last year, the federal government had committed the sum of $10m while Germany, African Development Bank have each donated 2m Euro and $1m.
Other donors include Norway-$1.5m; United Kingdom-1m pounds in technical assistance and $10m by a coalition of Nigerian business leaders.
The minister said, “The US government, through United State Agency for International Development has made a donation of $2m into this MDTF and we are here to witness the signing of the MoU between the UN and the US government.
“The government of Qatar, through the Qatar Foundation, has also made a contribution of $2m into the MDTF.”
Providing more update on the initiative which was set up last year during the wake of the abduction of the Chibok girls, the minister said about 1,007 students have now been enrolled in various schools across the country through the project.
Pope Francis III has described the killing of over 120 worshippers in the Kano Central Mosque as an “extremely serious sin against God.”
Bomb blast in Kano
The Pope, at a meeting with Turkish leaders urged Muslim leaders to condemn the “barbaric violence” being committed by Islamist groups in the name of Allah.
He spoke just as the Federal Government promised to supply hospitals in Kano with blood, to save the lives of those injured in the attack by terrorists.
The Catholic Pontiff, who maintained that the use of military might against Boko Haram was justifiable, urged greater dialogue between Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths to end religious fundamentalism plaguing the world.
He said, “As religious leaders, we are obliged to denounce all violations against human dignity and human rights.
“As such, any violence which seeks religious justification warrants the strongest condemnation because the omnipotent is the God of life and peace.”
Also on Sunday, the United Nations pledged its “full support” to Nigeria in its efforts to end terrorism .
The global body, in a statement by its Secretary-General, Ban ki-moon, said there was no justification whatsoever for the attack on worshippers on Friday.
“The UN reaffirms its full support for Nigeria’s efforts to fight terrorism and to provide security to the population consistent with international law and Nigeria’s human rights obligations.”
The UN conveyed its “deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and to the people and government of Nigeria” and wished swift recovery to the injured.
The body called on the relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Also, a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, condemned the attack and called on Nigerians to support the military in the fight against insurgency in the country.
Gowon made the call on Sunday at the Church of Nigeria’s end of year thanksgiving service held at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Abuja.
He said recent happenings in the country indicated that the insurgents were not after Christians alone, stressing that all Nigerians, irrespective of their ethno-religious backgrounds, are potential targets.
Gowon said, ‘‘It is the responsibility of every Nigerian and not only the armed forces to do whatever they need to do in order to restore peace to our country.
‘‘Dealing with the problem of insurgency that is disturbing the country requires the cooperation of all Nigerians, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.
‘‘Few days ago, you saw what they did not only to the Christian churches but also the Muslim worship places are being targeted for attacks;
‘‘So we need the prayers of all because only God can ultimately deal with this problem more permanently.’’
He expressed confidence that the military would overcome the insurgents and restore peace to the conflict-ravaged North-East.
In his remark, a former Primate of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Rev. Peter Akinola, urged Christians to continue with the spirit of loving God and serving Him with their skills, energy and time.
He also frowned on Nigeria’s over dependence on its oil and gas resources, saying the trend was causing disunity among Nigerians.
A national leader of the All Progressives Congress and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said the attack had shown that Boko Haram was not doing God’s work.
Tinubu lamented in a statement on Sunday that the sect was doing the bidding of Satan.
He said, “Attacks against numerous locations in the North-East demonstrate how heinous and debased Boko Haram and those who sponsor it have become. So depraved, they have become heartless and filled with enmity against all that is good and proper.
“This was not the act of human beings. These attacks could only have come from the hands of those who do not know God or serve God. This is the act of godless people.The hand of evil, deploying those who have given their selves over to wickedness, committed this terrible thing.
“No reason can be found for what was done except that Boko Haram has once again shown its lust for innocent blood and its disdain for life peacefully lived. Boko Haram killed people praying to God because the god of Boko Haram is Satan himself.”
The former governor said he was confident that Nigeria would overcome terrorism as evil would never overcome good.
He, however, said this was the time for all Nigerians, regardless of religion, to unite to defeat the terrorists.
The APC leader said, “Boko Haram seeks to scare and intimidate Christians and Muslims alike through wanton destruction. They may attack us but never shall this evil force subdue us. Christians and Muslims must stand arm-in-arm to face down this terrorist onslaught.
“Those of us who love peace, who love unity and who love Nigeria can never allow this vile group to achieve its objective – to turn us into a bloodied and divided nation. Nigeria can and will defeat this terrorist machine and those behind it. We have no other home.”
Tinubu commiserated with the people of the state and the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi.
Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Health has directed its blood bank in Katsina to supply blood to the hospitals where many of the injured victims of the attack are receiving treatment.
The North-West Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Musa Ilallah, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria shortly after visiting Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital in Kano on Sunday.
He said, ‘’We went round the hospitals to assess the condition of those who are receiving treatment and we understand that what they needed most are blood and consumables.
‘‘I spoke with the Federal Ministry of Health and they (ministry) have assured me that they will mobilise the blood bank in Katsina to supply blood to the hospitals,’’ he said.
The coordinator said the ministry had also promised to supply drugs and other consumables from Abuja.
Ilallah commended Kano State Government for providing all the needed materials for the treatment of the injured persons.
The Executive Secretary of the state Hospitals Management Board, Dr Kabir Maso-Kano, said lack of consumables was hindering the treatment of the victims.
He, however, commended the residents for coming to hospitals to donate blood to the victims.
The Kano State Government commended NEMA for its prompt response and support to the victims of bomb blast .
The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran, said, “We still have many victims on admission in our hospitals, but essentially we need emergency drugs and other consumables, which have since been exhausted.
‘‘We have 48 victims in this hospital. We have some at Nasarawa, Dala Orthopaedic and Aminu Kano Teaching hospitals.
‘‘We are able to contain casualties and most of the dead ones. So the situation is calm now.’’
The commissioner also praised the l public for coming to donate blood since the incident happened.
“We called on members of the public to come and donate blood and we thank God that people have responded positively,’’ Labaran said.
Earlier, the Director, Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Otegbede Charles, who represented the NEMA Director-General, said he was in Kano to assess the situation.
‘‘The director-general mandated me to come and meet with the state government officials on what the agency can do to further alleviate the sufferings of the victims currently on admission,’’ he said.
Four leading civil society organisations have petitioned the United Nation, UN Security Council asking it to imposee sanctions against countries aiding and abetting the islamist group, Boko Haram.
President Jonathan, Ali Modu Sheriff & President Deby of Chad on Monday in Ndjamena
In the petition, the group led by Socio Economic Rights Advocacy Project, SERAP, called on the world body to immediately initiate and adopt a resolution, “expressing grave concerns about the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in several parts of the North-East of Nigeria in the context of the armed conflict between the Nigerian government and the Islamist group Boko Haram.”
In the letter dated 14 November 2014, the group want the council to “request the AU and ECOWAS to sanction any neighbouring states that may aiding and abetting international crimes through weak border controls and other means; and banks that fail to monitor cash transactions in and out of their branches and thereby enable groups like Boko Haram to launder tainted money.”
Others involved in the request are the Enough is Enough Nigeria Coalition (EiE Nigeria), Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), and Women Empowerment and Legal Aid Initiative (WELA).
According to the group, “Initiating, supporting and adopting the proposed resolution will send a powerful message that the international community has not abandoned the victims and in fact ready to play a meaningful role to end the conflict which has continued to result in serious human rights violations, such as the unlawful killing and displacement of thousands of people.”
It stated further: “Support from all Member States is important to demonstrate that an important institution of the UN committed to promoting international peace and security stand with the people of Nigeria.”
They demanded that the UN Secretary-General, Ban Kimo appoint a Special Representative on the situation in the Northeast of Nigeria to investigate the complicity of any ECOWAS members, individuals or organizations as well report to the Council at regular intervals on the implementation of the proposed resolution.
Part of their requests were that member states should express grave concerns over the continuing deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Northeast of Nigeria, and encourage all efforts aimed at restoring lasting peace and stability.
Beside, they want Member States to fully cooperate with one another and with the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Member States and urge them to identify possible funding and support networks for fighting Boko Haram.
They also requested that Member States, AU and ECOWAS members to ensure that their financial institutions implement enhanced reporting mechanisms for suspicious transactions and to identify banks that are providing financial services to money laundering and terrorist financing.
They also want the body to identify and bring to justice anyone responsible for financing the activities of Boko Haram through speedy trials as well as sanctioning any neighboring states that may be aiding and abetting international crimes through weak border controls and other means; and banks that fail to monitor cash transactions in and out of their branches and thereby enable groups like Boko Haram and their sponsors to launder tainted money.
It added, “We strongly believe that the human rights and humanitarian situation in the Northeast of Nigeria now meets the threshold of “definite threat to international peace and security” in Article 39 of the UN Charter, thus requiring immediate and urgent action by Member States of the Security Council.”
“We believe that Member States now stand at a crossroads in their approach to the human rights and humanitarian tragedy in north-east of Nigeria.
“Now is the time for Member States to stand with the victims of serious violations of human rights in Nigeria if they are not to be accused of double standard in the discharge of the important mandates of the Security Council,” the groups also said.
They equally expressed their concern over the unending crisis, which they argued, have devastating effects on the civilian population, especially the poor, children, women and elderly.
The groups further noted that It has been shown that the Nigerian security forces are unable or unwilling to deter or halt the increasing attacks. The international obligations and commitments by the government to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of the citizens against attacks are observed more in breach than compliance.
But for the ill-conceived visit of Patrick Sawyer, the American-Liberian who brought the killer Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) to Nigeria on July 20, the country may have been spared the scourge being unleashed on its citizenry.
Sawyer, who knew he had the deadly infection, flew into Lagos on July 20 purporting to attend an ECOWAS conference in Calabar. But his widow, Mrs Decontee Sawyer, says Patrick came to Nigeria in search of a better healthcare services.
According to her, “Patrick went to Nigeria for help so that he can get properly diagnosed, and not misdiagnosed as was the case in Liberia. And if it came back that he did have Ebola, he trusted the Nigerian healthcare system a lot more than he trusted the Liberian’s. His action, as it was, was a desperate plea for help. Patrick didn’t want to die, and he thought his life would be saved in Nigeria.”
Tragically, his search for life in Nigeria deposited a plague that is snuffing life from Nigerians.
He died four days after he was admitted at the First Consultants Medical Centre in Lagos, wherein he denied having contact with Ebola-infected persons. Whereas, his sister, Princess had died from the infection back in Liberia, and he most likely got infected, having participated in her burial. His reckless attitude at the hospital after his infection was confirmed, indicated that he was determined to infect as many as he could.
Sadly, all 10 persons who had direct contact with Sawyer have all tested positive to the disease. They have all been quarantined in an isolation ward at a Yaba hospital in Lagos. Of the number, four have died, while six are yet alive.
It is however instructive that as wild as the spread of the disease seems, the Nigerian authorities have striven to ensure a containment by ensuring that the infection does not spread beyond the 10 primary contacts with the index case: Patrick Sawyer.
Unfortunately, however, the 10 primary contacts had contact with some other members of the public, including family members. Thus almost 200 secondary contacts have all been put under surveillance in Lagos and Enugu.
Nonetheless, it is remarkable to note that none of the secondary contact persons, who are under surveillance has so far tested positive to the deadly virus.
What that indicates is that as long as the Nigerian medical authorities are able to rein-in all primary and secondary contacts and shield them from other members of the public as well as closely monitor them, the spread of the infection would have been greatly limited. And that will offer a reprieve, in a way.
It was as a result of the determination of the authorities to ensure that the spread of the disease is contained and quickly tamed, that the young female nurse who had primary contact with Sawyer at First Consultants, but travelled to Enugu to see her husband, was forced back to Lagos along with her husband, especially as she had tested positive to the virus.
Already, some 21 persons who came in contact with the nurse in Enugu were earlier placed under surveillance. However, 15 of them have been cleared of any infection while six remain under surveillance, after they had undergone extensive appraisal from medical experts.
Besides the effort at tracking and setting apart all confirmed or suspected victims of the infection, the government has placed all immigration on land and air borders on red alert. Already, flights to and from Ebola-infected countries have been suspended, just as passengers to and from even other countries are subjected to infrared thermo-scans to ensure that no infected persons leaves or escapes into the country.
Surely, the Nigerian authorities have responded firmly and comprehensively to the affliction, drawing the commendation of the United Nations. The best Nigerians can do at this stage is to pray that they remain unrelenting in their quest to curb the spread of the virus.
This will certainly be boosted if no further deaths are recorded, the chain is not broken by another primary contact who elects to travel or a secondary contact tests positive for Ebola.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The United Nations blacklisted and imposed sanctions on Boko Haram as an Al-Qaeda-linked terror group Thursday, a month after it claimed the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls.
The designation, which was immediately welcomed by Britain and the United States, came into effect after no objections were raised by the Security Council’s 15 members.
The move subjects Boko Haram to UN sanctions, including an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel ban.
The group, which was created 10 years ago, demands the creation of an Islamic state in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria. Their attacks have left thousands dead since 2009.
US ambassador Samantha Power hailed the move as “an important step” in support of Nigeria’s efforts “to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities.”
Nigeria, criticised by the United States for failing to react quickly enough to the rise of Boko Haram, had asked the Al-Qaeda sanctions committee to blacklist the group and impose sanctions.
“It is significant step,” Nigerian ambassador Joy Ogwu told reporters in anticipation on Wednesday. “The important thing is to attack the problem and that is terrorism,” she added.
- Sanctions skepticism -
Experts question whether sanctions will have any real impact on a group based in a part of Nigeria that operates on a cash economy.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in mid-April of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria which sparked international outrage.
The imposition of UN sanctions was recommended last Saturday at a conference in Paris that brought together Benin, Britain, Chad, Cameroon, France Niger, Nigeria and the United States.
The United States and a number of other countries have already designated Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation in an attempt to cut off any overseas funding for the group.
Power said the United States would continue doing everything possible to help bring back the kidnapped schoolgirls and to work with the government of Nigeria to eliminate Boko Haram.
“The Security Council has helped to close off important avenues of funding, travel and weapons to Boko Haram, and shown global unity against their savage actions,” she said in a statement.
In the last five weeks, Boko Haram has stepped up attacks outside the northeast, worst affected by the insurgency, leading to fears of an escalation of violence across the country.
Hours before the girls’ kidnapping, the group bombed a crowded bus station in the Abuja suburb of Nyanya, killing 75. A copy-cat bombing at the same location on May 1 left 19 dead.
On Tuesday, two car bombs ripped through a busy market within 20 minutes of each other in the central city of Jos, killing at least 118, in Nigeria’s deadliest such attack.
Nigeria has concentrated on a mainly military response to Boko Haram.
More than 2,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed this year alone as a result of the violence and the military’s response, according to human rights and monitoring groups.
Critics have called into question the military’s reliance on conventional tactics to fight an enemy waging a guerrilla war and urged “soft power” strategies to be used at the same time.
(AFP) – UN rights experts voiced outrage Monday at a Sudanese court order to hang a heavily pregnant Christian woman for marrying a Christian man and refusing to renounce her faith.
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a 27-year-old who is eight months pregnant with her second child, was convicted last week under the Islamic sharia law that has been in force in Sudan since 1983 and makes conversions of faith punishable by death.
“This outrageous conviction must be overturned and Ms. Ibrahim must be immediately released,” insisted the UN experts on a range of issues, including on the human rights situation in Sudan, violence against women, minorities and the freedom of religion or belief.
They stressed in a statement that under international law, “the death penalty may only be imposed for the most serious crimes, if at all.”
“Choosing and/or changing one’s religion is not a crime at all. On the contrary, it is a basic human right,” they said.
The young mother was found guilty of apostasy, or publicly renouncing Islam — a faith she never professed — and sentenced to hang after she refused to “return” to the Muslim religion.
Ishag, who was born to a Christian mother and Muslim father, was also sentenced to 100 lashes for “adultery”, for living with the Christian man she has been married to since 2012.
Under Sudan’s interpretation of sharia, a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim man and any such relationship is regarded as adulterous.
The UN experts said that the right to marry and found a family was a fundamental human right, and voiced particular concern that the heavily pregnant Ishag was being held with her 20-month-old son in “harsh conditions” at the Omdurman’s Women Prison near Khartoum.
“The imposition and enforcement of the death penalty on pregnant women or recent mothers is inherently cruel and leads to a violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” they warned.
They called on Sudan to repeal all discriminatory laws, adding there was a “pressing need to address the pattern of discrimination, abuse and torture as well as the subjugation and denigration of women in the country.”
Sudan has an Islamist government but, other than floggings, extreme sharia law punishments have been rare.
If the death sentence is carried out, Ishag will be the first person executed for apostasy under the 1991 penal code, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a British-based campaign group, said last week
Nigeria and the U.S. are working on a UN Security Council resolution to designate Boko Haram a terrorist organisation, diplomats at the foreign ministry in Abuja have confirmed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes the sources as saying that the two countries have agreed that the UN should take a quick action to designate Boko Haram a terror organisation.
A strong indication that the 15-member council would consider the resolution emerged on Friday when the members spoke with one voice in condemning the activities of the group.
The council said it would actively follow the situation of the abducted school girls in Chibok and Warabe, both in Borno, and threatened to use “appropriate measures” against Boko Haram.
The council also noted the attacks by the group since 2009, saying “it had caused large scale devastating loss of life and represent a threat to the stability and peace of West and Central Africa”.
A diplomat familiar with the workings of the Security Council told NAN that UN sanctions against Boko Haram meant that all assets and finances traced to the group would be blocked worldwide.
It would also impose travel ban and arms embargo on individuals and entities associated with the Boko Haram organisation.
The governments of Nigeria, U.S, U.K. and Canada have variously designated Boko Haram a terrorist organisation.
The U.S., in addition to designating Boko Haram a terrorist organization, declared its leader, Abubakar Shekau, as the ninth most wanted person in the world.
The Americans have placed a seven million-dollar reward on his head.
The Federal Government on its part had placed a reward of N50 million to any information leading to the rescue of the no fewer than 200 girls kidnapped by the group on April 14.
Meanwhile, international solidarity on the government’s efforts to ensure safe return of the kidnapped girls continued to soar with the arrival of teams of experts from the U.K., U.S. and France.
China has also indicated that it would help international efforts to find the girls.
Speaking at a reception on Friday in Abuja to commemorate the EU National Day, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Micheal Arion, said the region’s foreign ministers would discuss the abduction of the school girls on Monday in Brussels.
“The abduction of the more than 200 young girls in Chibok in particular shows a total lack of respect for life and for human dignity,” he said. (NAN)
