Former presidential aide, Babafemi Ojudu has criticized the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, over her recent conduct in an Ethiopian prison.
A video clip that went viral on Friday showed the minister
celebrating with Nigerian inmates at AbaSamuel Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The inmates were expressing excitement following the signing
of a bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement between Ethiopia and Nigeria.
They sang praises to President Bola Tinubu for facilitating
the agreement.
Reacting to the trending video, Ojudu in a statement he
posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday, wondered if the minister was
celebrating criminality.
Ojudu questioned the rationale behind the video, insinuating
that the footage portrays a negative image of the country and sends a bad
message to Nigerians struggling to earn money legitimately.
“What message are we sending to ourselves and to the world?
If the objective was to negotiate the transfer of Nigerian prisoners back home,
could that not have been done with dignity, sobriety, and a clear sense of the
gravity of the situation? Must compassion be expressed in a manner that appears
to celebrate criminality?
“Prison is not a place of celebration. It is a place of
punishment, reflection, remorse, and, hopefully, rehabilitation. Public
officials must be careful not to blur those distinctions. What has befallen us
as a people?
“What does it say to those who have obeyed the law, endured
hardship, and resisted the temptation to seek prosperity through crime?
“What does it say to the victims of fraud, trafficking, and
other transnational crimes for which many Nigerians have found themselves
imprisoned abroad?
“It is a troubling image. And it should trouble both the
rulers and the ruled. What a shame,” Ojudu said.
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