Jos! Cover up of a Nigerian Genocide! By Kayode Ogundamisi

Jos! Cover up of a Nigerian Genocide! By Kayode Ogundamisi

I have been combating myself over the weekend, my mind undertaking a marathon cum 100 meters race between, anger, despair, desperation, disgust and others.Over the years I have tried to convince myself about the viability of Nigeria as one indissoluble country were all and sundry would feel at home irrespective of were they originate from.

Body of Victims of the Jos Genocide
I have been putting my Yoruba nationalism in the background and engaged more on National issues whilst trying to unite different Yoruba self determination groups quietly and also selling the idea of a Yoruba Nation within Nigeria, with the right to self determination under a confederate unit. The event in Jos is about to change that. Not the killings in Jos alone as we all know killings based on ethnicity will keep recurring in Nigeria until the day we all seat down on a round table under a sovereign national conference and decide on how we want to live together as brothers, sisters or otherwise. Until we do that the blood to keep Nigeria together will flow more than the blood required to take it back to the pre colonial days when independent Nation-States lived and developed at there own speed.Back to the source of my anger.

The Jos crisis occurred on my way to Slovenia and as I kept pace with Jos I also tried to keep pace with the events in Mumbai were terrorist were busy cutting down the lives of innocent folks.As I monitored the events in Jos I noticed conflicting figures on the number of people killed. The Nigerian media kept moving from figure’s ranging between 200 to 400 and the Nigerian government not reputed to stating facts as it is kept the figure down to 120. I tried putting a call trough to the presidents media man Olusegun Adeniyi to confirm if figured being put out reflect the situation on ground but I was not succesfull doing that.I have very close and emotional ties to Jos. It was in Jos that I got my social activism sharpend; I did not only live in Jos but also had the privilege of being detained in the famous Jos Prison by the Babangida government and felt the warmness of the people of Plateau more in that colonial Prison.

I am a graduate of the university of Jos. The people of Plateau were not only pleasant but very generous to me and I almost became their in-law but for faith. One of my benefactor Alahji Abdul Karrim Iyimogah a then commissioner of finance in the old plateau state welcomed me to his house from the streets of Lagos and encouraged me to study first in the Federal Polythencinc Nassarawa and later the university of Jos. And all trough my activism in Jos he never interfered, neither did all those wonderful people I met in Jos tried to paint me as an ethnic jingoist. As students of the University of Jos and I fought on behalf of the people of Jos we shared a common desire. Make Jos a land tolerant of all race and the rocks on the Plateau a place of rescue for the helpless.I raised enough money in London sent home to Nigeria and commissioned two-experienced researcher on the true death toll in Jos and I am sorry the results they are giving me are worrisome. In Lagos state alone they could locate 39 Yoruba families who lost not only one but as many as 6 family members in the Jos crisis.Till date all the southwest governors keep mum on the massacre.

The Lagos state governor whom I admire a lot but whom this days keep himself away from any Yoruba event as if identifying yourself with your race this days is a sin, was consulting with Nigerians in London whilst his Yoruba kinsmen are mourning in Lagos and other part of the South West.I request governors in the southwest take a lead and start the process of compensating victims of the Jos Massacre and resettle returnees.

I am outraged by the silence befalling Yoruba self determination groups, The ignoble way the Federal Government in Nigeria is treating the incident in Jos.I crave for unity not revenge and I beg we see this as a sign that with all the in fighting and scheming in Yoruba Land over a ludicrous “YORUBA LEADERSHIP” our people who are defenceless are becoming victims of our blind ambition.Those killed in Jos are more than 2000 (TWO THOUSAND) and I challenge the Nigerian government to disprove that figure. Set up an autonomous commission into the killings in Jos, what happened in Jos is a GENOCIDE against defenceless Nigerians whose only sin was living outside their state of origin.If president Umaru Yaradua assume people are not outraged about the killings in Jos he his making a mistake, the Niger Delta will be a Childs play if Nigerians now start resorting to self help to protect themselves.I dropped the use of self-help as a means of protection 7 years ago after taking the decision to step down as the secretary general of the O’Dua Peoples Congress. It is now obvious Nigerians now have to keep a “mad man” in the house to serve as a deterrent to the “mad man” outside. And to those shameless “leaders” in Afenifere whom rather than unite and protect Yoruba are busy fighting themselves, A day will come we would have no choice but visit you in your homes and knock some sense into your head.I am outraged.

Kayode Ogundamisi

My Country is Crumbling

I am still unable to recover from the State of Affair in Nigeria!
We have a clueless President. A Docile Public and an Opposition bereft of ideas on how to move a sick Nation forward.
I am at a loss as to how we got ourselves into the Mess of this moment.

Nigerian activist's distrupt Yaradua's visit. President takes refuge in building under construction.

NIGERIAN ACTIVISTS DISRUPT YAR ADUA LONDON VISIT

A group of activists have forced Nigerian President, Umoru yar Adua to relocate from a venue initially scheduled for talks between him and British officials in London yesterday.
The Liberty Forum, a coalition of over 30 self-determination and rights groups took over The Chatam House venue, forcing the Nigerian President to relocate the event from The Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House 10, St Jamese's Square to a run down Building at 8 Jhon Adams Street London WC2. pic to follow soon.
"We are here to prevent President Yar Adua from deceiving the British people on the real situation in the Niger-Delta. We are here to ensure that Brittain does not send her cutuzens to fight the people of the Niger-Delta. We are here to tell the whole world that Nigeria is a country led by uncaring political leaders at the centre, which does not care about the respect for human rights and the basic tenets of democracy' Kayode Ogundamisi lwho led hundredsd of protesters told the british media many of who had come to cover the event.
The British police watched as the activitist trailed the Nigerian leaders forcing them to relocate and compelling the President to observe for several minutes the showdown with his entourage
he said that Nigeria has become a laughing stock in the comity of nations largely because of the fraudulent elections that brough many politicians to power, the high degree of corruption in the country and the lack of public confidence in the post election tribunals most of which he said are 'in the pocket of politicians"


The protesting Nigerians Representing various gruops Including the Nigerian Liberty Forum , Women In Africa , Journalists for Democratic Rights, Odua republic Front, ORF, Irapada Omo Odua, and sympthatehic envriomental rights gruops gatherd at the Chtham house from 4pm. when it was 4.30 pm it was then obvious the orgernisers had a siniseter move.
Contact was then made with insiders in the British press who then revealed that the president had been moved to 8 Jhon Adams Street wc2. The Liberty Forum quickly mobilized to picket the new location , Yaradua was picketed and orgernisers rounded up the remaining segment of the event.

Niger Delta! We need not another Darfur in Nigeria.

THE LIBERTY FORUM

United Kingdom

+447951402986
+442030150739

Energy Security, the Food Crisis and the Niger Delta

Prime-Minister GORDON BROWN/ President MUSA YARADUA
PEACE NOT WAR! WE NEED NOT ANOTHER DARFUR IN NIGERIA.

We call on Great Britain. We call on people of the British Isles and the children of great men and women that make Europe what it is to day: a land of freedom and opportunities We call on women and men of goodwill, students, workers and the business class, we call on armed and defenseless people alike, royals and commons, Lords and honorable, to prevail on the Nigerian President Umoru Yar Adua, whose election into office as Nigerian president was roundly condemned by the European Union, EU-having been characterized by rigging, stealing of ballot papers by soldiers, deployed unto the streets and corners of Nigeria, and who killed and maimed voters- to stop fooling the government of Britain on the real situation in the Niger-Delta, Nigeria's oil hub, which has now been highly militarized first by the Nigerian federal government, and now by militant freedom fighters who largely represent the indigenous communities in the region.
Yar Adua, a Fulani, whose grand parents led the 1804 Jihad against the black-skinned African population, represents the interest of the feudal and Muslim North, and have ruled and manipulated Nigeria to their wish and caprices since the Islamic revolution, which seek to continuously put Nigeria in the pocket of this few class.
Oil, which is the main source of revenue in Nigeria, is found in the Niger-Delta, home to indigenous population. These communities, due to large-scale corruption, looting of the public treasury by the leadership at the centre remain largely underdeveloped.
The poorest of the poor live in these communities, their culture undermined, their heritage submerged, their hope dashed, their future traumatized and their children without any future.
Soldiers of Northern origin are posted to these territories, and as expected, they rape the people, as it was in the case of Choba a rural indigenous Nigerian Village (1999), kill them and instill fear on them.
The Yar Adua government is similar in character to Omar Bashir's regime in Sudan, he wants to wipe out the indigenous population, and he cannot do it without help from a super power like Britain.
The late Ken Saro Wiwa, remember him, renewed the campaign for environmental and political justice in the Niger-Delta, but in 1995, he, alongside eight others were hanged and acid was poured on their bodies by the Nigerian state.
A democratic regime which came in 1999 was thought would address the problems of the Niger-Delta, but the Nigerian state did not change in character and form. Instead, it became more vicious and bizarre, all in the bid to continuously subjugate and muzzle the ethnic minorities in these territories. In 1999, Yar Adua's party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP then led by President Olusegun Obasanjo sent 10,000 soldiers to Odi, an Ijaw community of 20,000 people. After 72 hours of military action, the only building remaining in Odi was a post office. 1,200 people were killed and hundreds were missing. What more is a genocide than the maiming of women, children and the unarmed and today the perpetuator of that act, General Olusegun Obasonjo roam the streets of Yaradua Nigeria, neither facing trial for corruption or war crimes.
Today the Niger-Delta people, having waited in vain for justice since 1959 when oil was discovered in their homeland, have taken up arms against the Nigerian state. This is against the background of age long outrage among largely Christian Southern Nigeria communities, that they are tired of leaving in Nigeria, a country ruled by a small fundamentalist group, a country that offers no hope for her citizens, a country that destroys the best of human values and a country whose citizens have been made to become a huge burden on the international community, considering the large number of exiles, some of who have taken up professional jobs in Europe and America and many of whom have taken into drugs, prostitution in Italy and cyber crimes.
Nigeria is an artificial creation, put together, without the consent of the communities, in 1914, following the sharing of Africa into spheres of influence in 1885 at the Berlin Conference. Now, the Yar Adua tribe are on top, and they do manage, at all times, to install their stooges in each of the 36 states of the country, whereas non of the states enjoy the benefit of federalism, which each of them heavily dependent on the centre in all areas including the registration of vehicles, control of ports, police and even as little as the right to create and run counties and the right to chose their political leaders, which must be screened and approved by the centre government.
Apart from the Niger-Delta, the Yoruba and Ibos of the South and the minorities of the middle-belt in the North are asking for self-determination up to the point of opting out of Nigeria. Many of these communities having watched several recommendations chuck by the government into the thrash bin, have decided to take up arms against the Nigerian state.
Britain was aware of this serious problem in Nigeria. In 1957, shortly before Nigeria got independence in 1960, Brittan set up the Willinks Commission, which recommended that revenue be shared 100 percent on the basis of derivation. Today, only 13 percent has been approved and just as recent as in 1999, for the oil producing communities. On top of all this is the fact that a credible election in unlikely in Nigeria under her present structure. This is the gist of this whole problem in the Niger-Delta and in Nigeria.
Another peace summit, the third in 12 years is in the offing, but expectedly, nothing is likely to come out of it, because while the summit is in top gear, Yar Adua is shopping for arms in Britain and has heavily militarized the region since the past 10 years.
A peace summit, even if to be chaired by Britain is what is needed. We need no longer another Iraq in Nigeria. We need no weapons that will be used by an illegitimate political class against the ordinary people of Nigeria.
Self-determination is the substance and the United Nations recognizes this demand under article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Help save Nigeria from war, help save Britain from being fed with lies and propaganda by one of the worst set of leaders in Africa.

As British Nigerians and Nigerians Resident in the United Kingdom with Stakes in Both Countries we demand as follows.

OUR DEMANDS.

PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN SHOULD WITHDRAW HIS OFFER FOR MILLITARY ASSISTANCE TO THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT.

THAT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT SHOULD COMMENCE INVESTIGATION INTO THE PRIVATE ACCOUNTS OF PAST AND CURRENT NIGERIAN PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS WITH A VIEW TO RECOVER STOLEN MONEY AND RETURN SAME TO THE PEOPLE OF NIGERIA.

THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD STOP THE CONTINUED MILLITARIZATION OF THE NIGER DELTA REGION.

THE NIGERIAN POLICE SHOULD BE ADEQUATLY EQUIPED TO DEAL WITH LAW AND ORDER ISSUE IN THE NIGER DELTA.


THAT ONLY A GENUINE RESTORATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE AND ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE IN NIGERIA WILL BRING PEACE TO NIGERIA.

THAT IF THE LABOUR LED GOVERNMENT OF PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN IS IN ANY WAY SEEN TO JOIN THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT IN COMMITING ACTS OF GENOCIDE IN THE NIGER-DELTA, THE LIBERTY FORUM AND ITS AFFILIATE ORGERNISATIION SHALL COMMENCE IMMIDIATE CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE LABOUR PARTY IN THE AFRO-CARREBIAN CUMMUINITY IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM.

Signed.

Kayode Ogundamisi Convener: The Liberty Forum-UNITED- KINGDOM

And affiliates organizations in Nigeria.

Green Peoples Environmental Network, GREPNET-NIGERIA
Community Peoples Action Against Aids, COPEAIDS, -NIGERIA
Irapada Omo Odua, IOD Northern Ireland Chapter.
Journalists for Democratic Rights, JODER, -NIGERIA
Oodua Republic Front- ORF NIGERIA
IJAW MONITORING GROUP-NIGERIA.

NIGERIANS REJECT THE USE OF BRITISH WEAPONS

The Liberty Forum UK
15TH July 2008.

NIGERIANS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OPPOSE THE USE OF BRITISH WEAPONS IN NIGER DELTA.


The Liberty Forum United Kingdom announced its intention to picket venues of events to be attended by the President Of the federal Republic of Nigeria during his 4 days State visit to the United Kingdom.
Since the declaration of the intention, the Nigerian embassy in the UK cancelled two major events one being the publicised meeting of the president with Nigerian resident in the UK, The meeting was scheduled to take place at the Nigerian High commissioner’s official resident on Friday 18th July 2008 at 18.30 hrs.

The cancellation of the meeting by the Nigerian High Commissioner in the UK His Excellency Dr Dalhatu Saraki in our opinion is to deprive Nigerians an opportunity to register their protest to the president on his handling of the crisis in the Niger Delta.

We are at a lost at the secrecy surrounding events the president would be attending. We find the removal of all information of the Presidents visit from the Nigerian High Commission website not only distasteful but an overreaction to a simple declaration of intent to picket.

For a government that prides itself on the enthronement of rule of law, we make bold to say that a right to peaceful protest is also a major component of a democracy.

If the British public could picket the events of the visit of the American President to the United Kingdom we wonder why the president of Nigeria with all its claim of democratic ideals would be visiting the UK like a fugitive and details of his events are known only to loyal members and supporters of the Yaradua Government in the UK.

We restate our protest against the British prime minister Gordon Brown and attempts to reduce the Niger delta crisis to a law and order issue rather than the struggle by the people of Niger delta for social justice, environmental right and resource control.

Whilst the Corrupt Nigerian government, the oil companies and the British government are looking at profit the people of the delta are facing a life long sentence to poverty and environmental degradation.

We condemn any form of Military intervention in the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis by Nigeria or any foreign interest.

We call on president Yaradua to reject any offer of arms, from the British or any foreign government for use in the Niger delta or any part of Nigeria.

Nigerians living in the United Kingdom and British Nigerians will not sleep walk into an agenda by the hawks in the western government to turn Nigeria into another Iraq by a Prime Minister whom in our opinion is clueless about the situation in the Niger delta and the struggle of the people of the Delta for environmental, social and political justice.

The promotion of war and rumour of wars by the British Government will only escalate the situation in the Delta Region.

The role of the British government is to call on the Nigerian government to go into genuine dialogue with the people of the Niger delta, put in place concrete measures to ease the frustration in the delta and be accountable to the Nigerian people rather than the oil companies and the multinationals.


Signed

Kayode Ogundamisi

Convener

The Liberty Forum. UK.

+447951402986
+442030150739