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The Leahy Law And Nigeria’s Only Option

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Jeff Okoroafor
Jeff Okoroafor

Jeff Okoroafor

 

I agree, completely, that Mr President must begin to look for ways to swiftly and transparently expedite his probe of the military/security establishments, and bring to book, culpable officers who has in one way or another, engaged in human rights abuses, with impunity. I also agree that having power is not an express ticket for illegality, even in the face of war. I however, don’t understand the actions of the United States government, to on one hand, commend the new President and his new administration, agreeing that he’s on the right path to achieving a remarkable feat in areas of CORRUPTION, ECONOMY, SECURITY and NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, pledging their SUPPORT to him, and then on the other hand, claiming that their hands are tied because of a LAW which they themselves kick aside at will, where other nations that are accused of same thing, are.

With all due respect to those who see the United States in a positive light, I don’t think they mean well for Nigeria. And without mincing words, they cannot take a moral high-ground when it comes to the issue of human rights abuses as well as other illegal treatments, its not just with their Military nor their Police…there are countries that on daily basis, are engaging in such acts, yet they still support them unconditionally.
While I agree that cases of human rights abuses should be looked into, must we wait for the US to be convinced of President Buhari’s intention to look into this? Also, do we allow BokoHaram to continue KILLING and DESTROYING while we work on getting our records right with the US or are they saying that’s the option we have to consider? I don’t think we have the luxury of such options. What we need to do as a matter of urgency, is to source for hardware elsewhere because innocent Nigerians are dying and the North East is fastly becoming uninhabitable. Does the US stop its war in Afghanistan because it’s soldiers are accused of human right violation?

The United State may be a good ally, but they are sure not the best ally. I think at some point, we have to draw the line between lofty speeches without action, and frankness with action. As much as we want our government to do the right thing, we must also make sure we don’t cut ourselves to slices.

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Since there are no law stopping Nigeria from buying hardwares from other countries, i suggest that the government of Nigeria should immediately begin to make plan for such process.

Jeff Okoroafor is a leading member of a new generation of civic advocates for government accountability and democratic change in Nigeria. The Citizen Affairs Initiative is a citizen-driven governance initiative that enhances public awareness on critical issues of service quality in Nigeria. It encourages citizens to proactively seek higher standards from governments and service providers and further establishes new discussions in communities about the standards that citizens should expect and deserve from those they have given their mandates. Jeff is the Managing Director of SetFron Limited, a multimedia development company that is focused on creative and results-driven web, mobile app, and ERP software solutions. He is the co-founder of the African Youths Advancement and Support Initiative (AfriYasi), a non-governmental not-for-profit organisation that provides tertiary education scholarship for young people from low-income homes in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Young African Leaders Initiative and the United Nations World Summit Awards. A Strategic Team member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, and a member of the National Technical Committee on the Establishment and Management of Missing Persons Database in Nigeria. Jeff holds a Bachelor and Postgraduate diploma degrees in Computer Science, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA.

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