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Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2019—31<br />
Send Opinions & Letters to:<br />
opinions1234@yahoo.com<br />
Western Sahara: When Nigerians<br />
hosted an African President<br />
STATE visits are state<br />
visits. Usually drab affairs<br />
with polite speeches,<br />
handshakes and some<br />
reassurances. It is usually a<br />
state affair in which the people<br />
are rarely involved. Not so<br />
when President Brahim Ghali<br />
of the Saharawi Arab<br />
Democratic Republic, SADR<br />
(Western Sahara) came calling<br />
mid-June.<br />
The notice of his visit was<br />
quite short and his programme,<br />
tight. So a race began to get his<br />
team accommodate a meeting<br />
between him and broad<br />
sections of the Nigerian people.<br />
It was agreed that he would be<br />
hosted under an umbrella<br />
organisation, the Nigerian<br />
Movement for the Liberation of<br />
Western Sahara, NMLWS.<br />
The Movement reminds me of<br />
similar mass Nigerian<br />
organisations that supported the<br />
liberation struggles in<br />
Mozambique, Angola, Guinea<br />
Bissau, Cape Verde,<br />
Zimbabwe, Namibia and South<br />
Africa.<br />
Within hours, one of the<br />
Movement’s affiliates, the<br />
Nigeria Labour Congress,<br />
NLC, offered to provide its<br />
secretariat as venue. The NLC<br />
which is the largest labour<br />
centre in Africa also provides<br />
offices, free, for the Movement<br />
while its counterpart, the Trade<br />
Union Congress, TUC, which<br />
like the NLC, has millions of<br />
dues-paying members,<br />
provides logistical support.<br />
90<br />
The Movement also invited<br />
representatives of 17 civil<br />
society organisations from<br />
women, youth, student and<br />
social organisations affiliated to<br />
it. The meeting was coordinated<br />
by Dr. Dipo Fashina, a past<br />
president of the Academic Staff<br />
Union of Universities, ASUU,<br />
the umbrella organisation of all<br />
academics in Nigerian<br />
universities. ASUU is also one<br />
of the most active organisations<br />
in the Movement.<br />
Dr. Fashina represented the<br />
chairperson of the Nigerian<br />
Western Sahara Solidarity<br />
Movement, Professor Ibrahim<br />
Gambari, the chairperson of the<br />
Joint African Union - United<br />
Nations Special Representative<br />
to Darfur and also, the Special<br />
Adviser on the International<br />
Compact with Iraq and Other<br />
Issues for the UN Secretary-<br />
General.<br />
President Ghali came to the<br />
meeting accompanied by<br />
Foreign Affairs Minister, His<br />
Excellency, Ould Salek;<br />
Special Adviser, Abdati Braika<br />
and ambassador in Nigeria,<br />
Ambassador Malainine Sadik-<br />
Bashir.<br />
In welcoming President<br />
Ghali, NLC President, Ayuba<br />
Wabba, reiterated the “collective<br />
demand that Morocco must be<br />
isolated in the global space by<br />
all countries, not just in Africa<br />
but in the entire world until<br />
Western Sahara gains<br />
sovereignty, free from colonial<br />
control.” Represented by the<br />
president of the National Union<br />
of Road Transport Workers,<br />
NURTW, Najeem Yasin, Ayuba<br />
reiterated: “As long as Western<br />
Sahara is not free, Africa is not<br />
free; and all Africans and<br />
African countries must be<br />
involved in the struggle.”<br />
The Nigeria Solidarity<br />
Movement asked me to present<br />
its speech at the occasion. I<br />
started by reminding President<br />
Ghali that Professor Gambari<br />
was Nigeria’s Foreign Minister<br />
in 1984 when Nigeria formally<br />
recognised Western Sahara as<br />
a sovereign country.<br />
In its address, the Movement<br />
told President Ghali that “with<br />
millions of friends in Nigeria<br />
The wide and active<br />
support by Nigerians<br />
for the liberation of<br />
Western Sahara is a<br />
warning to Morocco<br />
and its collaborators<br />
that they can no<br />
longer hold Africa<br />
down<br />
who solidarise with the Sahrawi<br />
people, you can see that here,<br />
in Nigeria, you are at home<br />
amongst friends, comrades,<br />
br<strong>others</strong> and sisters; so you are<br />
welcome to one of your homes<br />
in Africa.” It added: “There are<br />
some of your fellow African<br />
heads of state who we, our<br />
members and affiliates, will not<br />
touch even with a ten-foot pole.<br />
There are some of them who<br />
will not dare come to a labour<br />
centre like the NLC without a<br />
state of emergency being<br />
declared. We cannot be friends<br />
or receive people who<br />
perpetuate colonialism and<br />
exploitation; who betray the<br />
very essence of African<br />
brotherhood and the soul of<br />
humanity.”<br />
The Movement asked<br />
rhetorically: “Is it not surprising<br />
that the European Union, EU,<br />
which is loud in shouting about<br />
human rights, liberty, freedom<br />
and equality, is in league with<br />
Morocco stealing the natural<br />
resources of Western Sahara?”<br />
It argued that refugee camps<br />
are supposed to be temporary<br />
shelter for refugees and people<br />
in refugee-like situation, and<br />
regretted that millions of<br />
Sahrawi have been forced to<br />
live in the Tindouf Refugee<br />
Camp in Algeria for the past 44<br />
years. It added: “We do not<br />
know any people who have<br />
suffered such inhumanity. Yet,<br />
the international community<br />
says it is interested in human<br />
rights, and even claims to be<br />
fighting for animal rights.”<br />
The Movement mentioned<br />
the case of Aminatou Haider<br />
whom it had hosted in the same<br />
NLC premises in 2009. It said<br />
when on November 13, 2009<br />
she returned to her ancestral<br />
land, the Moroccan monarchy<br />
blocked and deported her to the<br />
Spanish Canary Islands. It<br />
reminded all, that it took a huge<br />
international campaign before<br />
the monarchists allowed her<br />
return on December 17, 2009.<br />
It drew an inference from the<br />
this case: “In that infamous act,<br />
Morocco once again displayed<br />
the fact that the Sahrawi are not<br />
Moroccan citizens or does a<br />
country refuse its citizens entry<br />
and deports them?”<br />
The Nigerian Movement<br />
which described the continued<br />
occupation of Western Sahara by<br />
Moroccan troops and security<br />
as the worst type of apartheid<br />
ever perpetuated, gave a<br />
scorecard of its activities:<br />
“Everywhere Morocco seeks to<br />
perpetuate its evil deeds, we are<br />
there to challenge it. We<br />
sometimes do not succeed, such<br />
as stopping Morocco from<br />
returning to the Africa Union,<br />
but sometimes we do, such as<br />
stopping it from being admitted<br />
as a member of the Economic<br />
Community of West African<br />
States, ECOWAS.<br />
"We felt that the Ebola-like<br />
contagious foreign policy of<br />
Morocco must not be allowed<br />
to spread to the West African<br />
region. Currently, apart from<br />
combating Morocco’s<br />
corruption-driven attempt to<br />
suck in some Nigerian officials<br />
to support its colonisation of<br />
Western Sahara, we are also<br />
engaging the Nigerian<br />
Government to stop the<br />
Fertiliser Producers and<br />
Suppliers of Nigeria, FEPSON,<br />
from its indecent liaison with<br />
Morocco to sell in Nigeria,<br />
Western Sahara phosphate and<br />
natural resources plundered by<br />
Morocco.”<br />
Responding, President Ghali<br />
said: “The support of Nigeria<br />
has been critical for freedom in<br />
Africa. The role of Nigeria is<br />
still needed in driving the<br />
liberation of Africa and we know<br />
it will continue until the total<br />
liberation of Western Sahara.<br />
Reacting to the solidarity<br />
speeches of students and<br />
youths, including from the<br />
Amilcar Cabral Ideological<br />
School, ACIS, President Ghali<br />
said: “We are very happy to see<br />
the young Nigerian generation<br />
joining the old to continue the<br />
struggle for Western Sahara<br />
liberation and to ensure that the<br />
whole of Africa is liberated.”<br />
President Ghali left the<br />
meeting to hold talks with<br />
President Buhari who in a<br />
statement by the Presidency:<br />
“restated Nigeria’s support for<br />
the people of the Sahrawi Arab<br />
Democratic Republic, SADR,<br />
and their quest for selfdetermination<br />
and<br />
independence.” President<br />
Buhari added that “Nigeria<br />
remains committed to<br />
supporting the efforts of the AU<br />
and the UN towards finding a<br />
lasting solution to the Sahrawi<br />
problem.”<br />
The wide and active support<br />
by Nigerians for the liberation<br />
of Western Sahara is a warning<br />
to Morocco and its collaborators<br />
that they can no longer hold<br />
Africa down.<br />
First term report card: Verdict of the examiner<br />
By Funmilola Adigun<br />
THE last session of the Federal<br />
Executive Council meeting in Abuja<br />
provided a very apt occasion for President<br />
Muhammadu Buhari to declare his verdict<br />
and he did not mince words or lose face.<br />
He rose in robust defense of his cabinet<br />
ministers by deflecting orchestrated<br />
criticism of his decision to retain them till<br />
the end of his first term.<br />
In the process, President Buhari<br />
impressively saluted the courage and<br />
conviction of the ministers, noting that in<br />
the situation of serious challenges<br />
confronting the nation at the inception of<br />
the administration, which many<br />
commentators described as hopeless,<br />
“many would have given up.”<br />
But they stayed on, united in<br />
determination to fulfill the campaign<br />
promise of rescuing Nigeria from its<br />
parlous state.<br />
The president then captured the pure<br />
essence of stability of government as the<br />
anchor of nationhood when he specifically<br />
stated that he retained his cabinet because<br />
“each of you has a unique skill and<br />
strength.<br />
"We are a reflection of the Nigeria we<br />
aspire to achieve, a diverse but tolerant<br />
nation where no one is silenced and where<br />
every opinion should be heard and<br />
considered.”<br />
He enumerated some of the major<br />
achievements of the administration, such<br />
as curbing the Boko Haram insurgency,<br />
revamping food security, the diversification<br />
agenda, the Economic Recovery and<br />
Growth Plan, ERGP, rail infrastructure and<br />
the social investment programmes. The<br />
president then added: “I want you all to<br />
leave this meeting proud to have served<br />
your nation to the best of your<br />
ability…..your achievements have<br />
guaranteed your position in the history<br />
books of this country. You have certainly<br />
built the foundations for an improved<br />
economy and a more purposeful<br />
government.”<br />
At this point, discerning readers will<br />
realise the salient issues from which the<br />
president draws both inspiration and<br />
determination to soldier on regardless of<br />
the shrill criticism of the vocal minority<br />
escalated by media manipulation.<br />
It is one thing to be recognised for certain<br />
ethical and governance principles and to<br />
be propelled into presiding over an elected<br />
government by an expectant citizenry.<br />
It is quite another to be able to weather<br />
the ensuing storm of real and contrived<br />
challenges without succumbing or getting<br />
distracted.<br />
But the ultimate success lies in taking<br />
charge with focused commitment and<br />
making the positive difference that defines<br />
progress in halting decline or deterioration<br />
and preparing the grounds for a renewed<br />
The president<br />
specifically stated that<br />
he retained his cabinet<br />
because each of them<br />
had a unique skill and<br />
strength<br />
initiative for reformed implementation.<br />
President Buhari’s political mission was<br />
defined by the frustration with the excesses<br />
of the Goodluck Jonathan administration,<br />
a state of anomie that was rejected by the<br />
masses.<br />
Not even the former president could have<br />
accurately and comprehensively accounted<br />
for the full dimensions of the damage done<br />
to the economy and the polity, certainly<br />
not in re-election season, so there couldn’t<br />
have been anything like proactive<br />
preparation for righting the wrongs by the<br />
incoming President Buhari.<br />
As a reform minded non-conformist<br />
political leader with a well-informed<br />
insight into the evils of bad governance<br />
perpetrated by corrupt politicians, the<br />
opportunity of getting elected into<br />
leadership of the country could only be the<br />
first step in a long and laborious march<br />
against entrenched enemies of the progress<br />
of the country.<br />
Indeed, the first steps in the long march,<br />
equivalent to the first term, were certain to<br />
encounter all manner of rough tackles and<br />
even shifting of goal posts to frustrate and<br />
sabotage such that, as President Buhari<br />
observed earlier, “many would have given<br />
up.”<br />
Giving up was exactly what the oppositionpowered,<br />
elitist minority intended to impose<br />
on the incoming anti-corruption Buhari<br />
administration as a forced alternative.<br />
A return to the bad old days of economydeflating<br />
squandermania must remain an<br />
abominable option that requires all patriotic<br />
Nigerians to thank God for the re-election of<br />
President Buhari for a second term.<br />
It also calls on them to rally round for the<br />
deep entrenchment of the reformist agenda,<br />
especially the anti-corruption and economic<br />
infrastructure development components, in<br />
the last four years of the tenure, appropriately<br />
tagged Next Level.<br />
• Adigun, a lecturer, wrote from Ibadan<br />
C<br />
M<br />
Y