Wednesday, February 21, 2001
ANNOUNCE THIS LETTER TO YOUR FRIENDS

PRESS RELEASE  February 14, 2001

By WORLD IGBO COUNCIL
THE TRUE VOICE OF DEMOCRACY
P.O. BOX 66465
Baltimore, MD 21239
USA
Forwarded by Victor Mbakpuo


Withdrawal of Visas to Generals Buhari & Babangida:Open Letter to Collin Powell


BY FAX, ORIGINAL IN THE MAIL

Hon. Collin Powell

Hon. Collin Powell
Secretary of State
State Department
2201 C St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20520

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

cc:    Human Rights Watch
Hon. Arthur Collins, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus
Dr. Elnora Daniel, President, Chicago State University
Ambassador Nancy Powell, Asst. Acting Secretary for Africa Affairs
National Democratic Coalition (NADECO)
Nigerian Democratic Alliance (NDA)
Nigerian Pro-Democracy Network (NPDN)
Nigerian Democratic Awareness Committee (NDAC)
Eastern Mandate Union