The Entry visa refusal for John Campbell: case of retaliatory action?

CPC PRESS RELEASE

21 May 2011

The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has noted with much interest the

recent refusal of the former Ambassador of United States of America to Nigeria,

Mr. John Campbell, entry visa to Nigeria with the ‘not meeting-the-visa-requirements’ ostensible reason.

As a party, we are convinced that the real reason for this show of

unreasonableness is not unconnected with Mr John Campbell’s critical

commentaries in recent times on the shenanigans of this PDP-led Federal

Government.

For the records, Mr. John Campbell, who served as US ambassador to Nigeria from May 20, 2004, to Nov.1, 2007; wrote inter-alia on the spurious polling project by Thisday Newspapers on March 09, 2011 with the following words:

 “The poll was conducted by This Day, a newspaper that is sympathetic to the

Jonathan administration, and Ipsos, an international polling organization under

contract to the paper.  I am skeptical that this poll accurately measures Jonathan’s support. Indeed, an approval rating of one hundred percent anywhere stretches credulity.”

In his inimitable brutally audacious style, Mr. Campbell had also written about

the flawed 2007 elections and pre-election Polling project thus:

“Shortly before the 2007 elections, a government cabinet minister came to see me with polling results that ostensibly showed overwhelming support for the

governing People’s Democratic Party. In hindsight, the Obasanjo government’s

sharing of poll results with the diplomatic community looks like it was part of

an orchestrated campaign to try and give credibility to the electoral outcomes

despite the massive PDP rigging of the elections.”

Undoubtedly, Mr. Campbell is unjustifiably being persecuted for his candid

opinion about the country, more so that Nigeria’s Ambassador to US, Professor

Ibidapo Adebowale Adefuye had threatened that his visa would not be reviewed

when expired.

As stakeholders in the Nigerian enterprise, we are appalled by this descent to

infantile and thuggish diplomacy because the Nigerian nation is projected in bad

light, among the comity of nations, by this latest action of the Federal

Government.

It is our considered opinion that if the Nigerian government has strong aversion

to Mr. Campbell’s recent communication on Nigeria, there are available diplomatic channels to ventilate such grievance. We insist that this Government’s action is faux pas and has, inexorably, enhanced Mr. Campbell’s

diplomatic status rather than vitiating it.

We believe the Federal Government of Nigeria can bring about a quick resolution

of this infernal impasse by offering an unreserved apology to Mr. John Campbell

and doing the desired review of his visa.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Rotimi Fashakin. (Engr.)

National Publicity Secretary.