Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., speaks during the House Republican freshmen news conference marking the first day that "all non-exempt employers are required to provide health care coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs or else pay a steep tax" on Wednesday, August 1, 2012. | Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
A US congressman, Tom Marino, has written a damning letter outlining Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari’s atrocities to the United State’s secretary of state, John Kerry.
Marino, a Republican from the state of Pennsylvania, asked the President Barack Obama-led government to withhold security assistance to Nigeria until President Buhari demonstrates a “commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech”.
Marino also asked the US government to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria until President Buhari establishes a track record of working towards inclusion.
According to ThisDay, the US house of representative member addressed the two-page letter dated September 1, 2016 to Kerry, he said said there were a number of warning signs emerging in the Buhari administration that signal “the man who once led Nigeria as a military dictator might be sliding towards former autocratic tendencies”.
Marino, is a member of the US house of representatives committees on the judiciary, homeland security and foreign affairs, and the chairman, sub-committee on regulatory reform, commercial, and antitrust law.
He expressed concern over Nigeria’s anti-corruption war, saying “of additional concern is President Buhari’s selective anti-corruption drive, which has focused almost exclusively on members of the opposition party, over-looking corruption amongst some of Buhari’s closest advisors. Politicizing his anti-corruption efforts has only reinforced hostility among southerners”.
The letter insisted that the Buhari government must “hold accountable those members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Military complicit in extra-judicial killings and war crimes”.
“Dear Secretary Kerry, I am encouraged by the personal interest you have taken in aiding Nigeria and its administration as it takes on endemic corruption, multiple insurgent movements, and a faltering economy,” the letter opens.
“However, I believe there are a number of warning signs emerging in the Buhari administration that signal the man who once led Nigeria as a military dictator might be sliding towards former autocratic tendencies.”
“I would urge the U.S. to withhold its security assistance to the nation until President Buhari demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech.
“A logical start towards this commitment is for the Nigerian government to hold accountable those members of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Military complicit in extra-judicial killings and war crimes”.
“Human rights groups like Amnesty International have widely documented torture, inhumane treatment, and extra-judicial killings of defenseless Nigerians since President Buhari took office.”
Quoting Amnesty International Report, he wrote, “in the last six months, Nigeria’s military has unlawfully killed at least 350 people and allowed more than 168 people, including babies and children, to die in military detention.”
“The secretary to the government of Kaduna State even admitted to burying 347 of those killed in a mass grave. And while President Buhari promised swift condemnation, his words rang empty. Instead of swift reforms, Buhari chose to reinstate Major General Ahmadu Mohammed, who Amnesty International revealed was in charge of the Nigerian military unit that executed more than 640 unarmed, former detainees.
“Also, in separate incidents concerning the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, the Nigerian Army has killed at least 36 – the real number is likely higher – people since December 2015 in an attempt to silence opposition and quell attempts by the group to gather publicly.”
Describing President Buhari as a former military dictator whose reign (as military head of state) was cut short by a coup, he stated that the president has continually shunned inclusivity in favour of surrounding himself with advisors and ministers from the north of the country and the region he considers home.
“Of President Buhari’s 122 appointees, 77 are from the north and control many of the key ministries and positions of power. Distrust is already high in Nigeria and favouring Northerners for key appointments has only antagonized the issue. These appointments are also primarily Muslim in the north and Christian in the south, adding a religious aspect to long-held regional biases.
“Of additional concern is President Buhari’s selective anti-corruption drive, which has focused almost exclusively on members of the opposition party, over-looking corruption amongst some of Buhari’s closest advisors. Politicizing his anti-corruption efforts has only reinforced hostility among southerners,” he claimed in the letter.
He said the Obama Administration would advance justice by urging the Buhari Administration to act decisively to hold accountable members of the police and military.
The congressman said, “This is a logical first step in making a demonstrable, sustained commitment to inclusive democracy, with distributed power in Nigeria. Until President Buhari establishes a track record of working towards inclusion, we ask the State Department to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to the country.
“The State Department should urge President Buhari to form a government that represents the diversity of its citizens and allows dissenting voices to be heard. Democracy can thrive only if people are free to assemble, to express their beliefs, and voice their concerns.”
-The Trent
Buhari is yet to c wot he has done to dis british commercial enclave called nigeria
ReplyDelete