Neither my demand for the immediate removal of Boko Haram terrorists from Anambra State nor my reading of the political maneuvering in the country is "naive and unreasonable." Also, I would like to address your inaccurate assertion: "The present administration is an inclusive one. The Deputy Senate President is from Southeast and yet they did not vote for APC." How "inclusive" is the "present administration" when almost all the leadership positions in the Senate (Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip) and the House (Speaker, Deputy Speaker, House Leader, Deputy House Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip) went to the North and South West? The two exceptions are the token nod (Deputy Chief Whip) to the South South and the unplanned gesture (Deputy Senate President) to the South East.
It is true that the Deputy Senate President (Ike Ekweremadu) is from southeast. But he emerged as the Deputy Senate President by default. APC did NOT vote him into that position and as we speak, APC does NOT want him in that position. The relentless effort by APC, the so-called Senate Unity Forum in particular, to dislodge Ekweremadu from the lone position held by the southeast zone has risen to the level of obsession. On the front page of yesterday's Sunday Sun appears a caption, "Ekweremadu Must Go—APC." On the front page of today's Sun appears another one, "PDP alleges plot to arrest Ekweremadu." The story is that members of APC sent a petition to the Inspector General of Police hoping that when Ekweremadu goes to the IG to respond he would be arrested and his position declared vacant.
It will be helpful to revisit what transpired the day of inauguration and election of principal officers of the 8th Assembly. It was the plot by the APC leadership to block Senator Bukola Saraki that backfired leading to the emergence of Saraki and Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively. The APC leadership did not want Saraki as Senate President. The plan was to impose Ahmad Lawan as Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker.
The inauguration and election were scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. APC cooked up this 9:00 a.m. "meeting" ostensibly summoned by President Buhari at the International Conference Center (five kilometers away from the National Assembly). I believe President Buhari was away to meet with "President Michelle of West Germany," according to him. The so-called ICC meeting was a ruse designed to entice and arrest Saraki and prevent him from being present in the Senate Chamber during the election of Senate leaders. Please read Saraki's lengthy account of what transpired that day in a piece titled "How I escaped abduction plot", published on pages 3 &5 of the June 8th issue of the Sunday. According to Saraki, he did not attend the meeting at the ICC. He went instead to the National Assembly at 6:00 a.m and sat in a car in the parking lot till 9:45 a.m. when he got out of the car, put on his babaringa and walked into the Senate Chamber. At 10.00 a.m. the Clerk declared the session open. There were 49 PDP senators and only about two dozen APC senators present. Majority of APC senators were at ICC waiting to kidnap Saraki. When voting time came, the PDP members joined a few APC members to vote in Saraki as President and Ekweremadu as Deputy President. By the time the APC members at the ICC to kidnap Saraki could travel the five kilometers to the National Assembly, the entire process was over. Tant pis!
Anyone familiar with the events of the past month knows that "the present administration" is not an "inclusive one." Citing the Deputy Senate President from the southeast as evidence of inclusivity is disingenuous at best.
President, Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS)
Dept. of World Languages & Cultures Phone: 317-278-2038; 317-274-0062 (messages)
Cavanaugh Hall 543A Fax: 317-278-7375
425 University Boulevard
Sent: Sunday, July 05, 2015 6:37 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - News Release: Escalation Of Boko Haram Insurgency By Terror Detainees' Transfer To Southeast: Putting The Records Straight
Prof. Segun Ogungbemi
--The Federal/State prison argument does not in any way justify this wrong-headed, punitive decision to relocate scores of terrorists to Anambra State, Igbo heartland. Perhaps, it's payback time. The Igbo voted massively for PDP and the APC controlled Federal Government is miffed. You ask: "Are the detainees not Nigerians?" Yes, they are. My question to you is this: Will your state in the South West welcome the Boko Haram detainees with open arms? Last week, massive protests erupted in Anambra towns when it was rumored that the Federal Government was planning to send Boko Haram terrorists to the state. The government denied that such a plan was contemplated. But in the middle of the night on Sunday the detainees were dumped in Anambra State without any consultation whatsoever. The Boko Haram headquarters is in Borno State, thousands of miles away from Anambra State. Between Borno and Anambra are scores of states. Why did the government skip those states to dump dangerous terrorists in Anambra State? The sole reason one can ascribe to this horrible move is to inject mayhem in Anambra and destabilize the state. When Boko Haram reared its ugly head in Borno, they attacked/killed some indigenes of Anambra State residing in the area and burnt their homes, businesses, and churches. Fearing for their lives, thousands of Anambrarians fled the North and came home to their state. And now, Boko Haram is brought to their doorstep. Where else can these persecuted Nigerians (the Igbo) run to?
I am currently in Nigeria watching the shenanigans going on. Last week, the National Assembly distributed eight leadership positions. In the Senate (Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip) and in the House (House Leader, Deputy House Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip). Seven of the eight slots went to the North and South West; one went to the South South; NONE (ZERO) went to the South East (Igboland). What was distributed to South East instead is Boko Haram. Give me a break!
The Aguata prison where the Boko Haram detainees are housed is located in a densely populated Ekwulobia area. It would be an exaggeration to call the Aguata prison a minimum security prison. I was informed that the only security the prison complex can boast of is a barbed wire fence. And we consider this place ideal for harboring dangerous, murderous criminals! The terrorists belong to a MAXIMUM security prison and there are maximum security prisons in Nigeria. Anambra State does not have any. Very soon, we will be told that some of the detainees in the Aguata prison escaped. And we know what will ensue--murder, bombing, mayhem. The Federal Government cannot contain Boko Haram in the Sambisa forest in Borno and it thinks it can contain them in the Aguata "prison". The APC administration promised Nigeria "Change". I can now see what that change means--Change Boko Haram from Borno to Anambra!
This most egregious action by the Federal Government must not stand. The Boko Haram detainees must be removed from Anambra State immediately.
Obioma Nnaemeka, PhDChancellor's Distinguished Professor
President, Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS)
Dept. of World Languages & Cultures Phone: 317-278-2038; 317-274-0062 (messages)
Cavanaugh Hall 543A Fax: 317-278-7375Indiana University E-mail: nnaemeka@iupui.edu
425 University BoulevardIndianapolis, IN 46202 USA
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] on behalf of Segun Ogungbemi [seguno2013@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2015 3:25 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - News Release: Escalation Of Boko Haram Insurgency By Terror Detainees' Transfer To Southeast: Putting The Records Straight
What is not really clear to me is this: were the Boko Haram detainees put in the Anambra State Prison or in the Federal Prison built in Anambra State? Who has jurisdiction over the prison where the detainees are kept?I am not sure if the Governor of Anambra has power to tell the Federal Government where to keep the detainees.What is wrong in keeping any criminal anywhere in Nigeria provided Federal Government is providing security in and around the place at no cost to the State? Are the detainees not Nigerians? If every state of the federation behaves the way people of Anambra are doing right now, how are we going to share the burden of the good, the bad and the ugly within the country? We must learn to share the burden together.I understand the fear and sentiment of the Anambra people but the issue at hand requires collective responsibility.
Prof. Segun OgungbemiOn 28th June 2015, we issued a strong worded public statement, condemning "the proposed transfer" of Boko Haram Terror detainees to Anambra Prisons at Ezinifite/Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area. This followed State-wide protests by Igbo traders based in Anambra State, which took place on 27th June 2015. Hours after the issuance of the widely circulated and read statement, we were reliably informed with a shock that 47 Boko Haram Terror detainees had already been transferred and dumped at the said Prisons. As a matter of fact, they were brought into the Prisons under heavy escort by soldiers of the Nigerian Army in the night of Saturday, 27th June 2015; hours after the said protests..........chidi opara reports: News Release: Escalation Of Boko Haram Insurgency By Terror Detainees' Transfer To Southeast: Putting The Records Straight
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