The Muslim Rights Concern has blamed ex-President Goodluck Jomathan for the failure of Nigeria to join other countries in the United Nations to vote that Palestine be recognised as a state.
MURIC said this in a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola , which condemned the ongoing bombardment of Palestine by Israel’s war planes and artillery.
The religious group lamented that the nine votes required to recognise Palestine fell short of one which could have been given by Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Even Nigeria under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan played an ignoble role in the Palestinian question. The request to officially recognize Palestine as a state within the 1967 boarders with full UN member benefits and state status throughout the international community was presented by Jordan on 30th December 2014. While justice-seeking countries like Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan, China, France and Russia voted ‘Yes’ to a Palestinian State, Nigeria dashed the hope of Palestine by abstaining.
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“Just nine votes were mandatory for Palestine to secure the status it needed and eight had been obtained. Only one more vote was needed but Nigeria reneged on its well-known anti-apartheid stance. It was a shocking, conservative and reactionary shift from anti-apartheid champion status for which the country was known to a pro-zionist entity. It was the coup de grace. It was the day Nigeria shamefully turned its back on its principles of justice, liberty and humanity, no thanks to ex-President Jonathan’s love for anything that may hurt Muslims and favour Christians. Jonathan cannot wash his hands off that diplomatic misadventure. He allowed his religious sentiment to get the better of him,” MURIC alleged.
The group called on the Nigerian government to condemn what it called Israel’s crime against humanity.
“We call on the Nigerian government to condemn Israel’s crime against humanity. Nigeria has always been known for its principled stand on international issues. This great African country confronted the apartheid regime of South Africa until it was brought to its knees. Nigeria was also at the forefront of the struggle to liberate Rhodesia, Zimbabwe and Angola from the clutches of apartheid and colonialism. This country must rise again to its traditional role of being the voice of the voiceless on the African continent before it loses its respect in the comity of nations,” it said.
