This is the News Analysis segment of the Voice of
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The ongoing threatened impeachment of General Obasanjo will be running its course—that, you already know. What you may not realize is that General Obasanjo is going to get away with murder—the murder of thousands of villagers from Odi and Jukun who were shot to death by Nigerian soldiers. Most of these civilians were unarmed and defenseless, and were not resisting the fiercely armed Nigerian soldiers.
Listen to Obasanjo’s defense. He admits he did give the order to the army for “…soldiers in aid of civil authority…” First, his argument is that it is within his constitutional authority as the President of Nigeria. This is for consumption by his tormentors—the National Assembly pursuing the impeachment imperative. Second, the General is implying that he gave the order, but how soldiers carry / carried out the order is not under his direct control. This part is for the consumption of the public, and for the rest of the world who are appalled that a President in this day and age could give such an order.
What the General is not saying is that prior to the bloody expedition of his soldiers—on his order—to massacre Jukun civilians, the President visited a military ceremony where he gave an inciting speech centered on the problems in Jukun, to rouse the soldiers. If he is now insinuating that the result of the soldiers’ action was unanticipated by him, then, it is up to his conscience to judge him. We of Voice of Biafra International did point out this incitement at the time.
As for Odi, did not General Obasanjo himself promote and decorate the military commander of the army unit that wiped out these hapless unarmed civilians there, too, after the operation? We are not privy to what he told them before or even during, but one would suspect that it was not different from how he prepped the soldiers that went to Jukun.
The point is that the General stands justifiably accused of the murder of these innocent villagers. He gave the orders. He either aroused the soldiers prior to the attack on these innocent people, or he congratulated his soldiers after the action. Besides, this massacre did not happen only once. He knew what happened at Odi, and had no qualms about ordering his soldiers to do Jukun. To now begin to imply that there was no way he could know how his soldiers were going to handle the situation is a convenient defense. We live him to his own conscience.
This brings up two issues. The first is this: by implying that the field commander and the soldiers under him are the ones that determined and decided how to deal with unarmed civilians, he is shifting the blame to those soldiers and their field commander. And these soldiers now have no voice or avenue to defend themselves—not that they can deny what they did and how hideous it is. But at least, they can say that they were under orders to kill—orders given from above, from their commander, then from the Supreme Commander. How do frustrated soldiers vent their angst?
The second issue is that General Obasanjo always invokes God when it is convenient for him. He instructed the entire country to fast with him while he was praying and waiting for the signal to run again. He has crowned himself God’s prophet, apostle and messiah to
Back down to earth, let us bring to your attention something that will truly upset you. Do you realize that neither the President of Nigeria nor the Vice, nor the State Governors and their deputies, can be tried for a crime while they are in office? So, if the President was to be accused and indicted for the murder of these victims of the order which he admits he gave, he could never be brought to justice at this time? Blame your constitution for that! We have pointed out that this constitution is flawed, having been foisted upon the peoples by the military, without the opportunity for participation in its formulation by the same people who now stand cheated and deprived of justice by the same constitution. Can you now see why the Governors can be associated with so many nefarious activities, and might even be committing true crime, but will get away with it as long as they are in office?
We only ask all these highly placed persons to remember the case of Pinochet. They may feel and act invincible and untouchable now. But someday, the long arm of the law will catch up with them, when they are most vulnerable. And we are not just talking about local law: we are speaking of International Law.
General Obasanjo, in his recent defense of Sharia, stated that each State in
If this is federalism and each State to its own ways and means, why is it that the General always insists on solving political and legal issues in Biafran regions, by himself, or by his PDP party, or by his government? Recall that the General and his government sit idle on the sidelines watching Sharia-induced violence unjustly take the lives of so many Christians, especially Biafrans, in the Sharia States, explaining that his hands are tied? However, as soon as the Biafrans in Biafra reacted by attempting to retaliate, General Obasanjo and his army were quickly there, victimizing those whom he had already knowingly left unprotected at the mercy of the Northern marauders who were even called “warriors.”
It is clearly for these reasons that we are certain that
Fellow Biafrans, we have to take our own destiny in our own hands. If you cannot participate directly in the actualization of
In the meantime, our praise goes to every man and woman, boy or girl, child—everybody—who is contributing in any way to the process of
Give us
That’s the news analysis for the week
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God bless and keep