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December 06, 2003

Nigerian opposition leader, Chief Don Obot Etiebet has hit out at Commonwealth aid to poor countries and suggested his country's human rights record is little better than Zimbabwe's, in an interview with Daily Summit.

The Chief is national chairman of the conservative All Nigeria People's Party, which has links with the Abacha regime and is currently Nigeria's second party behind the ruling People's Democratic Party.

"It is baffling to see the Commonwealth is treating Nigeria differently from Zimbabwe," the Chief told us. "As noted by international observers in our last general elections in April and May, the scale of rigging far surpassed that of Zimbabwe."

He also called for an end to development aid to countries like Nigeria. "The developed countries of the Commonwealth should realise by now that no amount of hand outs from them to underdeveloped countries have made them change or prosper over all these years.

"In fact, in Nigeria we do not believe that development or democracy will change anything if the abuses of the electoral system in the country are not put in check".

Chief Etiebet accused the Obasanjo government of multiple breaches of human rights, including the assassination of Chief Bola Ige, the former Minister of Justice. Why, he asked, has Commonwealth chosen to come to Nigeria, when it continues to exclude Zimbabwe?
Mick Fealty @ December 6, 2003 10:19 AM | TrackBack

Comments (4)
Yeah Mick, you got him at last.By the way, the opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP)is not any more conservative than the ruling People's Democratic Party (ANPP. What chief Etiebet must realise however, is that electora malpractices are not the only "sins" to be commited to attract sanctions fro the commonwealth.Moreover, it is necessary to avoid a direct confrontation with the developed member-nations of the Commonwealth as Zimbabwe's president Mugabe did. But surely,many political observers are pretty disappointed by the way President Obasanjo's administration has been alegedly haunting down opposition party leaders.Last week, the ANPP's vice presidential candidate in the last general elections Dr. Chuba Okadigbo was burried in his home town,Ogbunike. He died shortly after returning from a political rally in the northern Nigrian city of Kano. He was believed to have inhaled harmful gaseous substances sprayed at him by the police from hand-held canisters.-Oghogho
Oghogho @ December 7, 2003 01:09 PM
i do wish to study at uk. i will appreciate if you send me more information. thanks
esigbemi @ December 8, 2003 12:27 PM
i do wish to study at uk. i will appreciate if you send me more information. thanks
esigbemi @ December 8, 2003 12:35 PM
Goes to show that there are no level playing fields in the world, anyway no white landowners are losing their land in Nigeria, so akuna matata...
Chike Nwagwu @ December 8, 2003 06:19 PM


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