'We are not silent on Libya'- Ajumogobia

The immediate past Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, on Friday explained why the Nigerian government was yet to make public its position on the ongoing war in Libya, saying that the government was not silent on it as being speculated.


The former minister, who said this at the Annual Chambers Conference of the Gani Fawehinmi Students’ Chambers of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, in Lagos, maintained that Nigeria had been playing “back of the scene role” to ensure peace in the North African country.

Ajumogobia, an alumnus of the Faculty of Law in the university, gave the remark in response to a question asked by a journalist after he delivered a lecture, entitled, “The role of all in nation building: the Nigeria’s prospect in the world’s leadership,” at the event.

The former minister, who highlighted the leadership role Nigeria was playing in Africa and the world at large and the readiness of President Goodluck Jonathan to transform Nigeria, said that Nigeria deserved a permanent position in the United Nations Security Council.

He said, “I was in New York when the Security Council was debating the no-fly zone and a journalist came up to me and said, ‘Do you support the no-fly zone?” and I said, ‘Absolutely’, I said yes I did support the no-fly zone because of the massacre that was imminent.”

He said he was surprised later to learn that the AU had made a position against the no-fly zone.

He added, “I quickly called the journalist not to publish my interview because I didn’t want to contradict the African Union.

“African Union is completely divided. There are some people who are die-hard supporters, loyalists of Gadhafi, because he supports their economy and sometimes pays their salaries.

“They took the view that this is a civil war, and if it is a civil war, then he is entitled to use maximum force to defend himself and to keep the integrity of the country as one. On the other hand, if it’s a revolution as it was in Tunisia, it’s a different set of rule.

“So, basically, the African Union is divided. I came back home and this issue kept coming up. I called my South African counterpart and asked what he thought about the no-fly zone in Libya. His response was that, the AU had taken a position and I said who is the AU? “Nigeria certainly did not vote in that debate South Africa, from what you are telling me, hasn’t; Gabon is the third country and it did not vote.

“To cut the whole story short, we were able to get along South Africa and Gabon to vote along with us and everybody else, and we had the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to impose the no-fly zone.

“So, for those of you who said Nigeria is silent, we are not silent. We offer to mediate between the warring factions. Libya is like Nigeria unknown to most people. Libya too has many ethnic groups. So, while we were trying to offer mediation, the government is working behind the scene with the leadership of the various groups. I think a clearer statement will come out from the government.”

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Linkedin
• Pinterest

Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday


Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users

You Might Also Like

« PREV

NEXT »