…raises the alarm America may be plotting to install Ibrahim Nigeria’s president
Convener of the Conference of Nigerian Civil Rights Activists, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, has warned President Bola Tinubu to be cautious in his dealings with the United States Government and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
The CNCRA convener also raised the alarm that the United States may be plotting to install Senator Ibrahim as Nigeria’s president.
Odili stated these in a statement on Monday entitled, “ON SOVEREIGNTY, FOREIGN INFLUENCE AND LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY.”
Ahead of the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly, Ibrahim, who is Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, had recently assured President Tinubu and members of his family that they enjoyed unimpeded transit and could not be arrested in the United States while attending the United Nations General Assembly.
Ibrahim, who is also Chairman of the United Nations Committee on Budget and Administration, gave Tinubu this assurance in a statement by the Office of the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York.
According to him, Nigerian Mission in New York had received no notification from the US government of any restriction on President Tinubu’s movement during the UNGA.
The envoy, who cited Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement, said representatives of member-states and their families are protected from impediments to transit to and from the UN headquarters district.
Ibrahim had explained that the provision requires US federal, state and local authorities to refrain from imposing restrictions on the movement of representatives of member-states, their families, UN officials, specialised agencies and persons invited to the headquarters district on official business.
However, according to Odili, President Tinubu must be extremely careful with the Western world, particularly the US government and Ibrahim, stressing that since the end of the Cold War and especially after 2015, America and its Western allies have been hiding under the doctrine of “democracy promotion” to justify interference in the domestic affairs of other sovereign states.
Recalling the experiences of Venezuela and Libya, whose sovereignty was wantonly violated by the US and their legitimate governments overthrown, their leaders removed, and in the case of Libya, killed, Odili said Tinubu must learn valuable lessons from the aforementioned cases.
The statement partly read, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must tread with extreme caution in his dealings with Senator Jimoh Ibrahim and with Western powers, particularly the United States. Since the end of the Cold War, and especially post-2015, the doctrine of “democracy promotion” has been used to justify interference in sovereign states. Section 2(1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria declares: “Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble Sovereign State.” The game being played is no longer diplomacy. It is domination.
“Venezuela 2002 failed. Libya 2011 succeeded. That’s why I use both as warnings to Tinubu and other African leaders.
“The Record on Jimoh Ibrahim. And let the record be clear: They may have a plan to install Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as Nigerian president. In politics, Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution sets the qualifications for president — not foreign endorsement. Jimoh is a businessman. And a businessman in politics is often callous, shrewd, and transactional. Nigeria is not a company to be acquired. Nigeria belongs to Nigerians. Not to Washington. Not to Brussels. Not to opportunists.”
The CNCRA added, “Does a sitting Head of State not enjoy immunity under international law? Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 provides that: ‘A diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State.’ Customary international law also extends functional immunity to sitting Heads of State. Yet in recent years we have watched as such principles were ignored when geopolitics demanded it. For African leaders, Venezuela, 2002 and Libya, 2011 should serve as reminders: immunity means nothing when great powers decide otherwise.
“Venezuela 2002: A 2-day coup against Hugo Chávez that failed. It’s used as a warning that “constitutional immunity” doesn’t protect you if powerful domestic and foreign actors want you out.
“Libya 2011: Popular protests and NATO air strikes, Gaddafi overthrown and killed in 8 months. It’s used as proof that even a Head of State with decades in power can be removed when the UN and NATO decide to intervene.”
Questioning the relevance of the United Nations in the current global dispensation, Odili asked, “The Question of the United Nations
What exactly is the relevance of this United Nations to Africa? On September 1, 2009, at the UN General Assembly, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi told the world: ‘They say we are equal and the same, but this is not true. It is deception.’ He was warning that the UN Security Council’s veto power makes a mockery of Article 2(1) of the UN Charter, 1945: The Organisation is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. When the West wants to unleash pressure on Africa, they hide behind “human rights” and “equality.” It is manipulation. All lies. Oyibo man na jibiti.”
The CNCRA convener therefore advised President Tinubu to shelve his frequent foreign travels, stay more at home and focus on tackling the various existential challenges confronting ordinary Nigerians.
The statement further stated, “Leadership Must Be Rooted at Home. History is instructive. General Sani Abacha, 1993-1998, never embarked on the kind of foreign trips we see today, yet between 1994-1997 Nigeria paid off a significant portion of its Paris Club debt and maintained relative macroeconomic stability. Section 14(2)(b) of our Constitution states: ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.’ Today we see endless gallivanting to Europe and the USA. That is not statecraft. That is squandering our commonwealth while Nigerians bleed at home from insecurity, inflation, and unemployment.
“Face Nigeria First. Stay in Nigeria and face your work. Secure our borders as mandated by Section 217 of the Constitution. Fix our economy. Protect our people. Leave Donald Trump and his agents alone. Nigeria is not a protectorate. The principle of non-interference in internal affairs, Article 2(7) of the UN Charter, must apply to us as it applies to others. Our destiny must be decided in Aso Rock, not in Washington or Brussels.”
