Background: Freedom of Expression in Nigeria is greatly at an explosive stage that if urgent attention by the U.S. government and lawmakers is not paid in the next few days, may result in another civil war. The present situation has to do with the support giving by the former leader and Presidential Candidate of one the Political parties in Nigeria, Chief Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, to a non violent ethnic group called MASSOB (Movement for the Sovereign State Of Biafra), who felt that the Igbo ethnic group, one of the three major tribes in Nigeria had been continuously marginalized and denied their democratic freedom to chose their leaders.
The Igbo Tribes are located in the eastern part of Nigeria, 99 percent Christians, and the only source of Nigerian wealth, OIL comes from their region. These people are very hardworking and are spread to all parts of Nigeria, and have become victims of the Islamic onslaught whenever there is a provocation.
On August 26, 2004, this group asked their Igbo tribes to show their support for their agitations. This request was obeyed by the Igbos, but the Nigerian government, President Obasanjo felt that the group has committed Treason and ordered for the arrest and prosecution of all of them . This arrest includes any one that supports them. Hence the current Crisis is looming when the former Biafran and opposition Leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu publicly declared his support for the group.
The Nigerian government has since sent an informal invitation to him at his residence at Enugu City, where he resides to appear at Abuja, capital of Nigeria, for interrogation for his public support of the group. Due to the unofficial manner he was invited, and due to the manner of operation of the Federal Government of Nigeria where numerous respected indigenes have answered the same informal invitation but end up being murdered by the agents of the Nigerian Government, Chief Ojukwu was advised not to honor their invitation if the rule of law was not followed in issuing the invitation.
Nigerian government has vowed to arrest him if he does not honor the informal and illegal invitation. Worst of all, they presented him with a one way economy flight ticket to Abuja City, which has been known as the City of Political Torture, thus confirming the suspicion that he will not come back once in their custody.
This Man, Ojukwu represents the pride of the Igbo Tribe, he is the trusted Leader of the Igbos who dominate the southeast part of Nigeria. This Tribe is ready to go to war to defend the illegal arrest of this Man. They also feel that the Federal Government of Nigeria is practicing selective enforcement of the law, as nothing happened in the past when similar invitations were issued to the former military rulers in the name of Alhaji Ibrahim Babangida, Abdulsalam Mohammed and others. Press Releases calling for the mobilization of the Igbos all over the Diaspora to support him and defend our Tribe should the Nigerian government proceed with what Nigerians consider as unlawful arrest of this man. We feel that the U.S. government should intervene to forestall potential loss of lives that might result if nothing is done. We have more than 5 million Igbos residing in U.S.A. Please see one of the Press statements from our Umbrella Association, World Igbo Council (WIC)
WORLD IGBO CONGRESS, INC.
The Secretariat, World Igbo Congress, Inc.
107 Drew Street, Houston, Texas 77004
Press Statement
WHEREAS, The sacred covenant that binds the citizens of any country Nigeria is that all of its people, without exception, enjoy the right to life, freedom and liberty under a government of their own choosing, that such rights be not violated save for reasonable cause and with strict adherence to due process;
WHEREAS, The World Igbo Congress, Inc., holds this truth to be most manifest: that the right of every Nigerian to live peaceably, and to pursue happiness in every corner of Nigeria is sacred and inalienable; that this sacred covenant imposes upon the government and the governed alike, a supreme obligation to resist the temptation on the part of government to overreach in the exercise of its authority, but to assure and preserve the civil liberties of the governed; that this is essence of governance in organized society and the uncompromised dividend and substance of democracy;
WHEREAS, The World Igbo Congress recognizes non-violent civil disobedience as a legitimate and lawful means of political and other civil expression,
WHEREAS, THE World Igbo Congress recognizes and recalls for all Nigerians and humanity that His Excellency, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was Head of State of the former Republic of Biafra, and that, even in opposition has contributed more than many and in ways unparalleled and unmatched, to the development and growth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
WHEREAS, The World Igbo Congress further recognizes that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, being fully reintegrated into Nigeria following the civil war in January 1970 and an unconditional pardon granted by the government of federal Republic of Nigeria, is entitled to all rights and freedoms enjoyed by all Nigerian citizens, including the right of expression, association, and must not be subjected to different standard, disrespect or mistreatment;
NOW, THEREFORE, The World Igbo Congress, mindful of its obligations and commitment to the best interest of Ndi-Igbo and good governance in a safe and secure Nigeria:
1. Endorses the August 26, 2004 sit-at-home campaign, which was sponsored, encouraged and promoted by the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) throughout the Federation of Nigeria because it was non-violent civil expression and lawful means to vent the frustration of their members to the systematic exclusion of Ndi-Igbo from the centers of power and authority in Nigeria;
2. Recognizes that the massive response and success of the campaign throughout Nigeria was not coerced but resulted from the independent and willful actions of free-thinking, individuals who subscribe to the merits of the agitation by MASSOB;
3. Warns the Government of Nigeria against instigating, initiating, encouraging or undertaking any action or activity that is inimical to, impairs, or endangers the personal safety, security, well-being and respectable treatment of His Excellency Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, as the consequence of such action or activity will not augur well for the peace, security or future which all Nigerians, including all Igbo, aspire and are working very hard to achieve;
4. Rejects any suggestion and characterization as treasonable felony, as has been attributed to the Attorney General of Nigeria, the civil expression by MASSOB and freely and willfully adhered to by independent thinking and responsible Nigerians. Nothing could be further from the truth. We firmly believe that the exercise of basic freedoms and civil rights do not constitute a violation of the law, and the only illegality we see here is the attempt by the government and its security agencies to subdue their voice of freedom and skew justice from its natural balance.
5. Considers any and all retributive acts directed at the organizers, participants, and all other persons in sympathy with MASSOB in respect of their non-violent civil expression as hostile to all proper notions of justice and democracy, and reminds all Nigerians of their sacred obligation to resist such acts and all other incidents of governmental tyranny.
6. Believes that if the Federal Government is honest and sincere about securing the unity and stability of Nigeria, it should boldly deal with the clear and evident inequity and injustices, which are the root cause of threats to individual freedoms and enormous unease among the people; these are the real threats to the survival of Nigeria;
7. Insists that the government of Nigeria must abate the constitutional recognition of the Sharia code as a parallel and supreme body of law in its own right because that is irreconcilable to the notion of National singularity under one supreme law. In substance and effect, unless the Sharia code is subordinated to, and subsumed under the supreme law of the land, Nigeria shall continue to be an artificial country divided along religious lines, with religious hostilities residing deep in the sinews of the country.
8. Insists that the government of Nigeria must discontinue and dismantle in all of its forms, the affirmative and official marginalization of Ndi-Igbo and the denial of their right to equal participation in the process of governance; not doing so will continue to be a present danger to Nigeria. The duty of all Nigerians to help in shaping the destiny of the country must coincide with unimpeded IGBO access to all opportunities, rights, immunities and privileges of citizenship enjoyed by Nigerians of other nationalities and ethnicity.
9. Reaffirms support for MASSOB to the extent that it embodies the aspiration of the Igbo people to a truly democratic governance where all Nigerians shall be secure in their rights to liberty, life, property, and, and to the lawful pursuit of happiness in every section of the country, unencumbered by hostility based on tribe, ethnicity or religion.
10. Insists that the Federal Government must immediately embark on genuine electoral reforms to ensure that the right of our people to a government of their own choosing shall never again be violated. The continued violation of the people?s electoral will imposes a layer of political hostility that is as devastating as religious and tribal hostilities.
11. Insists that the Federal Government must put an end to selective and discriminatory enforcement of the laws of the land, must treat all Nigerians equally under the law, must subject government and its officials to laws applicable to other citizens, must pursue fair and substantial justice under the law by avoiding undue influence or interference, ensure the independence of a judiciary with integrity, and must decentralize police powers and grant to State Governments the power to enforce state laws as the most effective way to secure the rule of law in matters that are wholly intrastate.
12. Calls on all Igbo people, and indeed all Nigerians, to be resolute in their demand for good governance, to abide by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to live peaceably with fellow Nigerians, avoid acts subversive to the unity of Nigeria, and to avail themselves of all legitimate means of political expression.
13. Calls on the Federal Government of Nigeria to cease and desist from acts reasonably calculated to foreclose legitimate means of political expression, and to address the aforesaid hostilities that pose the greatest threat to the continued existence of the country. Failing to address the underlying issues only facilitates the danger.
Kalu K. Diogu, Ph.D
Chairman,WIC
September 15, 2004 � World Igbo Congress 2004
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