A Civil Rights organization, the Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET) has said the declaration by the French Envoy to Nigeria, Mr Denys Gauer, that France will not back the Biafra separatists and insurrectionists has reaffirmed the global commitment to Nigeria’s indivisibility
CESJET Executive Secretary, Comrade Joyce Adamu while addressing journalists in Abuja also said Nigerians are committed to the country’s indivisibility.
She described the open stance by France Stance against Biafran Secession as a welcome development and the beginning of the world’s awakening to reality and a befitting end to the recent distraction to our national life.
She further called on other world powers to recommit to Nigeria’s unity and make it clear that they do not support criminal elements that continue to threaten the unity and peace of the African continent by hiding under the cover of nationalist agitation, to perpetuate crimes.
Adamu said, though Nigeria does not necessarily need this declaration by other nations to maintain its territorial integrity but rather, the call is an opportunity for these nations to remedy their errors of fifty years ago. When some of them gave support to the short lived Biafra republic, stressing the necessity, since several misguided youths are still counting on this past in the delusion that they will again get the backing of these nations.
The CESJET boss said the timely response by the French authorities to the Biafra issue should also be repeated with the Boko Haram situation. That France should redeem the commitment it has made to Nigeria in terms of providing hardware to the military and to support humanitarian services, which would both go a long way to cement the long standing relationship between the two nations especially in the face of global threats posed by fanatics, insurgents and terrorists that have no respect for human life and rights as enshrined in the various UN protocols.
She said, many of those being deceived to commit crimes in the name of Biafra are younger than 45 years of age and were not born at the time of the unfortunate Nigerian Civil War.
According to her, history and records show that France at that time recognized the short lived Republic of Biafra.
She said, “It is fifty years now and France’s most senior diplomat to Nigeria in the person of Ambassador Denys Gauer has made an assertion that is a pathway to correcting the error his nation made five decades ago. France that we know takes it time to analyse options before striking for the one that best satisfies its strategic national interests.”
“That these interests have morphed in the intervening years to recognize that the future lies in the unity of Nigeria deserves recognition and commendation.”
She said further, “CESJET further called on other world powers to rally behind the bold statement stance of the US, UK and now France to disown all insurgent or separatist groups or organizations that commit criminality against the Nigerian state under the guise of campaigning for self-rule.”
“We are aware that these groups go out to call the Queen of England, the President of the US, with the French Ambassador being a new addition, all manners of unprintable names. Such belligerent attitude is proof that members of these groups are the aggressors while the majority of Nigerians are victims of their extremism.”
Adamu further charged these nations to deploy teams of cyber experts to check the menace of fake news that is driven in large part by Biafran separatists.
According to her, this act may appear harmless on the surface but is one of the tools the separatists agitators are using to recruit and brainwash more youths whom they promise asylum in the US, UK and France on the strength of fake news that proclaim that these countries endorse Biafra when the reverse is the case.
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