Press Release from INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
13 January 2012
A CALL ON NIGER
Anyakwee Nsirimovu
IHRHL is most constrained to call on all self-styled Niger Delta region’s leaders, persons and groups to foreclose sentiments being ridiculously and spuriously expressed through sponsored press conferences, newspaper advertisements or forums, and face issues and realities presented by the announcement, by President Goodluck Jonathan, in regard to the withdrawal of fuel subsidy on January 1, 2012; and join others in protesting the injustice of the moment which spells no ethnic, religious nor political boundaries. These people should shun forthwith, their agenda of promoting threat situations that does not exist, and defending the indefensible. Social and Economic inequalities, and absolute poverty across Nigeria, which has been compounded by the insensitivity displayed by Mr. President, in the manner in which he arbitrarily removed the subsidy should be completely condemned, rather than anybody anywhere justifying what is clearly a policy pronouncement that smacks of incompetence, bad thinking and timing.
IHRHL insists that time is ripe for ethnic jingoist, groups and so-called leaders of thoughts, in the region to retrace their steps, stand up and be counted on issues of principles, rather than engaging in senseless ethnic-based and irrational arguments or positions that are unsustainable or cannot stand the test of any measure of rationality. It would serve the short and long term interest and up the standing of Mr. President, who hails from the region, and the first one at that, to be properly advised, both at closed door sessions, and in the open on right policy principles in the interest of the peoples of the region specifically and Nigerian in general. Voices of the peoples of the region who have suffered most incalculable injustice over time, must be clearly heard and openly, when and wherever there is any sign of injustice in the land. There is absolutely nothing like the President of the Niger Delta region in the Nigerian Constitution; but rather the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Incapacity, incompetence, corruption, abuse of the rule of law and arbitrariness in policy framework, must reserve their full meaning, whether the President or governor is the son of the Niger Delta or Sokoto. These killer viruses have no place in civilized societal relationships. It is absolutely wrong for the same leaders, persons and groups to say one thing in the open, and support protests for subsidy removal in secret, as most of them are doing presently.
IHRHL therefore, calls on well meaning peoples of the region, to defend the interests of the ordinary people of the Niger Delta, that have for the past decades been subsidizing petroleum exploitation with their lives and livelihoods, without any dividend to show for it, inspite of the huge revenues that accrued to the region; and indeed would suffer more than any one else across the country, if the abrupt removal of subsidy by Mr . President were to hold. The peoples of the region should support other socially concerned Nigerians on the streets on peaceful protests, and urge Mr. President and his team to show political will, build trust and confidence by dealing with corruption with impunity in the petroleum sector, especially bringing to book those who have benefited illicitly through subsidy payments; assure turnaround maintenance of existing refineries, engage qualified hands in building new ones; assure local content in the petroleum industry by persuading the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law without any further delay; reduce the cost of governance drastically; sack all incompetent and visionless personal aides and advisers who had brought him to the present state of disrepute, no matter where they come from; urgently deal with the debilitating issue of insecurity in the land, which resulted from prolonged state terrorism against the citizens; and untie himself from the hold of insignificantly unmeritorious wealthy Nigerians who may have bank rolled him into power, and side himself with the yearning millions of deprived Nigerians who own the mandate.
IHRHL, finally calls on these self-styled leaders to urgently check the fatalities of their present immoral and unjust positions, by noting most carefully that the unacceptable level of injustice across Nigeria today, especially so, since the transition of May 1999, is largely the result of a society that has been deliberately and systematically dismantled over these years, of wicked governance, and mismanagement of the nation’s wealth, leaving the youth and other citizens with little hope for a promising future. It should be understood as a period of executive lawlessness and recklessness. Indeed, a failure of leadership which persists under President Jonathan’s watch.
Signed
Anyakwee Nsirimovu
Executive Director
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