|
PRESS RELEASE February 14, 2001
By WORLD IGBO COUNCIL BY FAX, ORIGINAL IN THE MAIL Hon. Collin Powell
Hon. Collin Powell Re: Withdrawal of Visas to Generals Buhari & Babangida Dear Hon. Powell: ongratulations on your confirmation as the United States Secretary of State, a deserving position built on your stellar record and shinning commitment for public service. We write to express our shock and dismay at the issuance of visas to Generals Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.) by your Department through the American embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, to attend a lecture series at Chicago State University. These two individuals, especially Gen. Babangida, have perpetrated all sorts of evils on Nigeria, sent the country over fifty years backward, robbed the national treasury, and left fellow Nigerians destitute. Many journalists were tortured and jailed, some killed during the regimes of Buhari and Babangida. Your government was fully aware of the atrocities committed by these rogue rulers, and isolated Nigeria on international matters to put pressure on these rulers to end their evils. It was Babangida who annulled the June 12, 1993 presidential election that processed Nigeria to the far end of its twilight. It was Babangida who sent a letter bomb that killed Mr. Dele Giwa, a famed journalist who was writing articles critical of Babangida�s government and his private business activities. To be sure, Babangida and Buhari are among those who sponsored the reign of Sharia law and Islamic fundamentalism that claimed many lives and destroyed businesses too numerous to count. To now grant visas to these individuals not only affords these pariah rulers a resentful opportunity to launder their dirty record but patently establishes the hypocrisy of the American government in condemning these rulers during their years of terror. Many groups and individuals around the world have expressed their well founded anger to your office in particular and the American government in general about the issuance of visas to these two individuals, yet proper steps have not been taken to withdraw the visas. The evils committed by these two generals pale in comparison with the tax evasion by fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich, yet the American public has shown extreme furor at the presidential pardon granted to Rich. America plays a critical role in propagating and maintaining democracy around the world, but this visa action casts doubts on its commitment to democracy in Nigeria and other countries of the world. We ask that you review the issuance of visas to the two generals and withdraw them immediately. We trust that your office will act consistent with the angry feelings of a majority of the Nigerian public and the world over. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact the undersigned at (301) 464 6489 or (301) 943 6030 We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Sincerely, C. Victor Mbakpuo, Esq. Chair
|