–
Youngest Chibok Girl Turns 20 In Captivity Today; Buhari No Champion Of Democracy
–
From Emmanuel OGEBE
Loading ...Washington June 8, 2018 – Today, the youngest Chibok girl abducted by Boko Haram turns 20 years old in captivity. Maeda Dorcas Yakubu was just 15 years old at the time of her abduction by terrorists from the Chibok school on April 14, 2014. Dorcas who is an exceptionally bright student, resulting in her reaching final year at a record breaking age, was featured in two videos released by the terrorists. Prayers are urged for her soon release as there have been no negotiated releases of Chibok girls by the government in over a year now.
It will be recalled that heroine Christian Schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu, the sole remaining hostage of the 2018 Dapchi school mass abductions, last month marked her 15th birthday in Boko Haram captivity. Leah was just 14 at the time of her abduction in February 2018. She has been held now for 109 days despite Federal Government’s assurances of her release.
The release of the abducted schoolgirls is the solitary achievement of this administration after 3 years but sadly it remains an uncompleted project.
– Today June 8 is also the anniversary of the abduction of human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe by dreaded operatives of military Dictator General Abacha 22 years ago.
To commemorate this, Barrister Ogebe issued the following statement:
“ In view of the declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day, I merely wish to state the following:
Buhari’s statement once again confirms that he was indeed never a champion of democracy – quite the opposite.
Gen. Buhari & Amb Kingibe served General Abacha’s government in power while Abiola served time in prison – where he died!
Kingibe served prominently in President Yaradua’s government and currently serves in General Buhari’s Government discreetly.
Now Gen Buhari has announced a national honor for Abiola and of course Kingibe his run away mate.
In the meantime Abiola’s business empire has been decimated. His Concord newspaper gone and with it lots of jobs and livelihoods amongst but a few.
Even in his supposed attempt at addressing a travesty on our democracy, it ends up being lopsided. How is this different from Buhari’s detention of fellow Fulani President Shagari under house arrest but the imprisonment of VP Alex Ekwueme (a southerner) in maximum security prison after he overthrew them in a coup?
Furthermore, Kingibe who has been implicated by the former head of NIA for alleged corruption and attempted theft of millions of dollars is being given a national honor by a supposed anti corruption president Buhari.
Meanwhile reputable legal icon Gani Fawehinmi who rejected a national honor in his lifetime is being imposed with one posthumously by an ex-military dictator.
If I were President & wanted to make up for June 12, I would:
– recognize Abiola as president-elect and confer upon his family the entitlements therefore
– apologize to the family and Nigerian electorate for the injustice
– name the Abuja stadium after him
– pay reparations
It is ironic that Buhari never spoke up for these ones in their time of trouble or while they were alive. Rather he continues to hero worship Abacha their oppressor. This gesture is mere symbolism without substance ” -(US based human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe who was arrested in the wake of the assassination of Kudirat Abiola in June 1996.)
– June 8 is also the 20th anniversary of the death of the maximum brutal dictator General Abacha. Per Ogebe,
“It is tragically befuddling that Nigeria’s worst military regime outperformed Nigeria’s current elected government in terms of development and human rights.
General Abacha built the largest housing estate in Africa at the time and the current national hospital while Buhari cannot even equip his presidential clinic.
As a political detainee of General Abacha’s, I had the opportunity to be treated at the Aso Clinic after I passed out from torture and interrogation. It was a fully functional facility 22 years ago even for prisoners compared to today when president Buhari’s own family complain of its inadequacy.
Despite the corruption, waste, abuse and mismanagement of the Petroleum Trust Fund under Buhari then, the PTF still built roads more so than Buhari today.
In terms of human rights, while Abacha tried and executed activists such as Ken Saro-Wiwa, killed pro-democracy protestors in Lagos, assassinated Kudirat Abiola inter alia, the sheer number of innocent citizens killed by the Buhari administration far exceeds Abacha’s terrible human rights record.
The Shiite massacres, the IPOB massacres, the IDP camp bombing and rapes show massive human rights abuses on a petrifying scale under a so-called “democratic” dispensation.
When you combine that with disobedience to court orders, arbitrary arrest of judges which even Abacha never did, selective prosecution of opposition, it can only be concluded that on the whole, that Buhari today not only has a worse human rights record than he did before as military dictator but indeed a worse one than General Abacha in terms of numbers.
Given that he has not hidden the fact that General Abacha is his mentor and role model, and considering that his last public service was under that hated regime, it is abundantly clear that Buhari has no democratic credentials then or now and is a colossal mistake of 2015 which must be corrected at the earliest available opportunity.
Buhari is a serial failure who failed as governor of Northeast Nigeria which is now Boko Haram’s hotbed; who failed as minister of Petroleum then and is failing as oil minister again now; who failed as military ruler them and is failing as civilian ruler now!
If Buhari does not resign, he will make history as the first Nigerian ruler to be kicked out by the military and then by voters!
As one of those who fought for and paid the price for our democracy and freedom when Buhari was feeding fat on Nigeria’s oil wealth, Nigeria as presently constituted is not the nation of our dreams. It is a pseudo-nation of our nightmares.
The most urgent task for the restoration and preservation of human rights in Nigeria is the extrication of dictators and ex-dictators from the democratic space. I urge all human rights activists past and present to return to the trenches for a fresh pro-democracy struggle because we have been deceived by an ex-military gerontocracy parading as a democracy. Where ex-governors retire to the senate, ex-dictators retire to the presidency!”
