From Taiwo Adisa, Bola Badmus, Kunle Oderemi, Adewale Ajayi, Muda Oyeniran, Ayodele Adesanmi, with Agency Reports - 06.01.2010
THE Senate, on Tuesday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to the United States of America (USA), within which it should remove Nigeria from its list of countries sponsoring terrorists or risk a diplomatic row.
The President of the Senate, David Mark, who issued the one-week ultimatum said that the Senate would meet in a closed session on January 12 to deliberate further on the situation.
Mark, who spoke through the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, Ayogu Eze, said that it was unfair for the US to have punished Nigeria for the activities that did not originate from its territory.
Senator Eze told media men on Tuesday: “I am sure that you have been observing the trend in the media and we are referring to the issue of America listing Nigeria as one of the 14 countries to be placed under watch.
“I am speaking on behalf of the Senate and on behalf of the Senate President to state categorically that we are very unhappy about the development and when we resume, we are going to take up this matter seriously if America has not taken Nigeria off that list.
“We also want to advise America that in their own best interest, they should conduct this matter very well in a manner that will not result in diplomatic row between America and Nigeria because the American president had, himself, clearly admitted that this was a failure of the system and manpower of Americans and I don’t see where Nigeria comes in there.
“Moreover, this is just one instance of a Nigerian who, it is clearly established, has no link with any fundamentalist group or any interest group within Nigeria, not even with his parents.
“This was a boy whose disappearance was reported to security agencies, the American authorities and all the relevant authorities and the Americans did nothing and for them to turn round to punish Nigerians for the sin of an isolated case like this is completely unacceptable to the Nigerian government and to the Nigerian Senate.
“We have also watched with keen interest several other breaches that have taken place since this boy’s attempt. There was an uninvited guest who went to the White House, he and his wife were found in the White House. That was not a Nigerian. America should look inward and search their souls, there is something wrong with their system and they should not punish Nigerians who are very law-abiding and good international citizens for the failure and irresponsibilities of American operatives, Nigeria will not take that.”
The US government had, on Monday, released a list of 14 countries to be placed under close watch as states sponsoring terrorism in the wake of the Christmas Day failed bomb attempt on a Detroit, Michigan, US-bound plane by a Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdul-Mutallab.
Senator Eze said our citizens who returned from different destinations, especially those who from America, went through hell in order to meet their kith and kin for the Christmas break and the harrowing experience had scared a lot of them who were even afraid to return and some who were even afraid to originate their trips for genuine transaction in Ame-rica, adding that this must be stopped immediately.
“It is not America alone that has citizens to whom the government is responsible, we also have citizens and we are responsible to them. We will not allow Nigerians to be molested wherever they go.
“I think this message should be put out clearly. When we resume, if the situation is still there, it is going to be one of the major issues that we are going to tackle and the Senate President has told me to state categorically that he is unhappy about this, and, being the chairman of the National Assembly, it means also on behalf of the National Assembly,” Senator Eze stated.
House of Reps
Also, the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, described the US action as unwarranted and unfair.
Spokesman for the House, Honourable Eyibo Eseme, said this while reacting to US govern-ment’s action, following the arrest of Farouk Abdul-Mutallab, a Nigerian, for allegedly trying to blow a plane in the US.
The lawmaker asked the US to remove Nigeria’s name on the list, adding that “the earlier they delist Nigeria on the list or rescind from the decision to put us on the alert, the better for our diplomatic relations.”
Honourable Eyibo said the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau for Investigation (FBI) and other security agencies in the United States might be guilty of some terrorist acts, giving the circumstance of the case at hand.
According to him, “it was possible that the US security agencies listed had accomplices with those that trained Abdul-Mutallab in Yemen.
“It is possible that they have accomplices with the guys that trained the boy in Yemen.
“If not, why didn’t they condemn Yemen? Why have they spared Yemen and are now condemning Nigeria?”
Professor Joy Ogwu
Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Professor Joy Ogwu, has demanded that the US government respected Nigeria's position on terrorism.
“The country cannot be adjudged a terrorist country because of the misdeed of one man, the person in question neither received his training in Nigeria, nor grew up in the country,” Ugwu told the UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria.
“Terrorism is alien to our culture and I can’t even find a word for it in my own native language,” she told NAN on Tuesday in New York.
Ogwu said the country’s media and, by extension, the government had a lot of work to do to counter the misleading negative concept about the country.
Ofonagoro, Mbu react
A former Minister of Information, Dr. Walter Ofonagoro and a one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Matthew Mbu, on Tuesday, differed on the placement of Nigeria on a terror list by the US over the bothched attempt by Abdul-Mutallab to bomb an American airliner on Christmas Day.
While Mbu said the American government could not have done otherwise in view of the gravity of the matter, Ofona-goro believed the US went too far in taking the action.
Mbu said the action was justified because no responsible governmet would condone any act of terrorism.
Asked if the US should not have considered other factors before thinking of embarking on any tough measures over the foiled bombing, the elder statesman said “what has the US done? What has Nigeria done? What would you do if you were an American? Would you go to tea party with Nigeria or go to dinner after Mutallab’s explosion? Why are you asking me the obvious?
“To add more to our problems or compound the situation, what happened to AbdulMutallab is unfortunate and all Nigerians of good mind will certainly regret the unfortunate incident, because the power that be that are against Nigeria will use every excuse to punish innocent Nigerian travelling to their country.
“And my answer is that this is a warning to heartless Nigerian not to engage the country in a global warfare of hatred against their people.
However, Ofonagoro expressed total dissa-pointment with the US over the placement of Nigeria on the terror list, saying that Nigeria is a secular state.
“It is wrong for the US to have done that. Nigeria cannot be listed as a terrorist state because Nigeria is a secular state, since it does not belong to any particular religion and we are doing our very best to fight terrorism.
“I think it is completely unfair to classify Nigeria as a terrorist state. From media reports, we can see that Farouk’s father, Umaru Mutallab, went the extra mile to alert the US that his son was in bad company and this shows a good example of a responsible parent.
“How many men in America or Britain will report their own son as a potential terrorist? I think the man has done more than anybody can expect him to do to show that he is not in support of terrorism.
“What the US is saying by its pronouncement is that Nigeria has the potential for terrorism because of the Islamic fundamentalists in the country and the frequent religious riots. But I still insist that the US is being unfair to Nigeria because they cannot judge the whole country by the action of one young man.
“The implication of the US stand is that any Nigerian going to the US will first be stripped unclothed to make sure he is not having any weapon on him and they will also put Nigeria on their terrorist watch to know if the Islamic militants are now taking over the country,” he stated.
, Afe Babalola too
Eminent lawyer , Chief Afe Babalola, wants Nigeria to review its diplomatic relations with the United States.
Reacting to the listing of Nigeria on the terror list by Washington, after the arrest of Farouk Umar Mutallab for allegedly trying to bomb a plane in America, Chief Babalola described as “unjust and disturbing,” the classification of Nigeria as a country of dangerous people on account of one isolated incident.
”It is unfair and disturbing to use one single case against Nigeria. Citizens of other countries, including Americans and Britons, have been arrested for grievous offences around the world and only such individuals have been held accountable.
“One recalls the case of a British citizen executed recently in China for smuggling into that country a large consignment of cocaine. China did not blacklist Britain.
“It is more disturbing because the alleged offender has not been found guilty in the face of the law,”Chief Babalola argued.
, AC also reacts
The Action Congress (AC) has said that the US action was not necessary and what the country needed now was understanding and support from its international partners to root out religious extremists.
The party, in a statement issued in Lagos, on Tuesday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Nigerians were victims of religious extremists who had engaged in killing, despoiling and maiming of thousands of innocent people over the years.
According to the AC, “Nigerians, most of whom are law-abiding and decent citizens, are now facing a double jeopardy — first from the misguided but few religious extremists among them and now from the US and other members of the international community seemingly intent on punishing all Nigerians for the sin of a few,” it added.
The AC said the Nigerian government itself must do its bit in making the country unattractive for global terrorism sponsors who are seeking to recruit willing folks to swell their ranks.
The party said if Nigeria was emerging as a recruiting ground for terrorists, it was because over the years, the government had not taken up the gauntlet of putting an end to the incessant religious crisis perpetrated by religious bigots and extremists, starting from the Maitatsine riots in the 1980s to Boko Haram and Kala-Kato in 2009.
Other Nigerians react
Experts told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, on Tuesday, that the profiling would not enhance relations between Nigeria and the US.
They urged Nigeria to do its best to save its citizens from unpalatable treatment resulting from the alleged offence of one Nigerian.
A former Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, said Nigeria should urgently seek the intervention of the UN and African Union (AU) to secure an understanding by the US that Nigerians were not terrorists.
Ashiru described the alleged attempted bombing and the listing as unfortunate, especially with Nigeria’s re-branding efforts.
“It is unfortunate that an offence of a single Nigerian would now make many responsible Nigerians to go through demeaning experiences at airports.
“The US government should be made to understand that Nigeria is not known for terrorism; the UN and AU have a great responsibility here in safeguarding Nigerians travelling to the US,’’ he said.
Dr. Jamiu Oluwatoki of the Department of History and International Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), urged the US not to be harsh to Nigeria because of Abdul-Mutallab’s alleged crime.
Oluwatoki, however, urged Nigerians travelling to the US to be more security-conscious.
The lecturer noted that the US government had, since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre (WTC) in New York, been unilaterally fighting terrorism.
“With the situation on ground, Nigerians should be calm and be on the lookout, while the government evolves measures to safeguard them,” he advised.
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