Col. Tony Nyiam rtd
In a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan dated November 3, he explained that he had taken up the appointment “with great enthusiasm and dedication.”
But following “several meetings and wide consultations with the progressives, self-determination and civil society movements and in order not to [be] cast as a distraction or be used as an excuse to destabilize the noble cause” of Mr. Jonathan, he said he had decided to withdraw from the committee.
He traced the background of his decision to the incident in Benin City last week in which Governor Adams Oshiomhole was involved in two incidents with the committee, in the second of which he was booed at a public event.
“What became troubling was the Governor’s talking down on the people gathered; amongst who were former governors, senators, retired armed forces generals and judges,” Nyiam wrote. “What was equally disturbing was the Governor’s insensitiveness to the ethno-nationalities yearning for self-determination,” adding that they expressed their feelings by openly boo-ing the Governor.
“Noticing the increasing protests against the Governor, I stood up and walked to the chairman, to remind him of the need to moderate, to remind the Governor that he has gone well over the time allowed for a speaker. I went back to my seat, which was on the other, far side of where the Chief Executive of Edo State was speaking from.”
While the letter does not specifically say why he has chosen to abandon the work of the committee, he apologized to whoever may have been disappointed by his over-reaction to the provocation, presumably the Benin City incident. The concession suggests he may have been forced out of the committee.
“I will be leaving the Committee believing that equity fairness and justice will continue to be guiding principles of its deliberations,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment