Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
A former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Buhari Bala, has decried Nigeria’s alleged indifference to the trial of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in the United Kingdom.
Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, are currently being prosecuted in the United Kingdom over an “alleged conspiracy to harvest the organs of a child”. However, the former minister, in a statement, said: “It is disgusting that both the government and informed citizens at all levels have not exerted their best in solidarity with the senator that has hitherto served the nation in different key positions.” He maintained that Ekweremadu had positively touched the lives of many Nigerians across the length and breadth of the country. Part of the statement read: “The inspired role of the government so far is leaving much to be desired notwithstanding the generally accepted position that the matter is legal and not political; since at diplomatic level almost every issue is political.” Bala stated that he expected more sympathy and positive actions on Ekwemaradu’s issue, because he got involved in the matter fighting to save life of his daughter, an action every proud and responsible parent would do.
The former foreign minister added that he expected the federal government and Enugu State in particular and the South-eastern states to show more than passing interest in the matter. He said: “It says a lot in our reward system to allow somebody who has served this country diligently at various levels both in the state and the federal government to be so humiliated without reasonable interest and cause of action from the public and government.” He then charged the federal government to exert more pressure on the British government in respect of Ekweremadu’s matter since the incident and even when found guilty is of the head and not of the heart.
According to him, “The fact that Senator Ekweremadu informed the British High Commission in Abuja of his intentions shows that he was not dubious but pushed by the desperate urge to save his daughter which any reasonable and responsible parent would do. “If we watch and allow Senator Ekweremadu to go down like this in a foreign land, it would send very dangerous signal about the value we place on patriotism in our country, because prior to this incident the senator was outstandingly patriotic.”
The former minister also called on prominent Nigerians and groups to put more pressure on the British government to see reason why the human angle, rather than extreme legality should guide their actions on Ekweremadu. “One had also expected the National Assembly particularly the Senate where Senator Ekweremadu had shone like a star to bring to bear more influence on their counterparts in the United Kingdom while the Foreign Affairs Ministry should do likewise at the diplomatic level, at the earliest possible time,” Bala said. He emphasised that Ekweremadu is a serving ranking senator, holder of one of the highest national honours (CFR) and holder of a diplomatic passport and a recipient of Rotary Club’s outstanding Citizen of the World award.. Bala charged all concerned to rise up and save the former deputy Senate president, because his offence is not shameful but out of ignorance and the natural urge to save the life of a beloved daughter.
