Connect with us

Featured

Nigeria Decides 2023: Another Visit to The Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda

Published

on

By Dolapo Aina

On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, I visited Kigali Genocide Memorial with a family member who came to Kigali. During this particular trip in May 2023, I saw a young couple of Northern extraction and a lot of Nigerian women of Eastern extraction, who were in several groups (more like a whole family: nuclear and extended family members). I also saw Nigerians in Diaspora. I had visited the Memorial located in Gisozi just some weeks earlier in March 2023 and I recollected I had composed an epistle of an article. Do read the piece.

I try to forget but it is useless. I can’t forget even a small part of it – words of a Genocide survivor found at the Kigali Genocide Memorial

Dear Nigerians. This piece is a long article, as there was no other way to get the message across. What you are about to read, dictates you need to have the patience of a Tibetan Monk to read (not peruse) through the epistle-like article.

Office on Genocide Prevention and The Responsibility to Protect

United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect has on its’ website a plethora of links which are easy to read and understand.

Prevention

To prevent atrocity crimes, it is critically important to understand the root causes of these crimes. Atrocities crimes, particularly genocide and crimes against humanity, are not spontaneous acts. Instead, they develop as a process over time, as a result of which it is possible to identify warning signs that they may occur. The Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect has developed a Framework of Analysis to identify some of the main risk factors for atrocity crimes. Preventing atrocity crimes means being aware of these risks and taking action to address and reduce them, or ideally, eradicate them.

Preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is an ongoing process that requires sustained effort over time to build the resilience of societies to atrocity crimes by ensuring that the rule of law is respected and that all human rights are protected, without discrimination; by establishing legitimate and accountable national institutions; by eliminating corruption; by managing diversity constructively; and by supporting a strong and diverse civil society and a pluralistic media.

According to international law, the primary obligation to prevent atrocious crimes lies with individual States. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and overall international human rights law treaties contain provisions that oblige Member States to prevent those crimes or violations, including by ensuring the respect for the norms in them contained.

In the 2005 World Summit, Member States adopted the principle of the Responsibility to Protect, which reaffirms the primary responsibility of the State to protect its population from atrocity crimes, as well as their incitement. However, that principle also underlines the responsibility of the international community to prevent atrocity crimes by helping States to build capacity to protect their populations and assisting States under stress “before crises and conflicts break out”.

Preventing atrocity crimes should be a priority for everyone. First and foremost, prevention is the only way to avoid the loss of human life, trauma and physical injury. However, there are also other significant reasons to focus on prevention. The United Nations Security Council has stated in several of its resolutions that serious and gross breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law constitute threats to international peace and security. Therefore, prevention not only contributes to national peace and stability, it also serves the broader regional and international peace and stability agenda. Prevention of atrocity crimes is also much less costly than intervening to halt these crimes, or dealing with their aftermath. Finally, by taking measures to prevent atrocity crimes and fulfilling their primary responsibility to protect, States reinforce their sovereignty and reduce the need for more intrusive forms of response from other States or international actors.

Response

Although preventing atrocity crimes is far preferable to responding when the crimes are ongoing or after they have been committed, there are times when prevention has failed. The brutal legacy of the twentieth century, marred as it was by the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the genocide Against The Tutsi in Rwanda and in Srebrenica and other events, underlined the profound failure of individual States to live up to their responsibilities and obligations under international law, as well as the collective inadequacies of international institutions. These tragedies pressed the need for a collective response that would protect populations by either stopping the escalation of on-going atrocities, or accelerating or prompting their termination.

Though the responsibility to protect populations against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity lies primarily with individual States, the principle also underlines the responsibility of the international community to take collective action, in a “timely and decisive manner”, to protect populations from those crimes when States “manifestly fail” in their responsibilities. In these cases, responses to atrocity crimes can take the form of peaceful means under Chapters VI ad VIII of the United Nations Charter, or take the form of coercive means, including those foreseen in Chapter VII of the Charter.

Accountability

The links between justice and peace are strong. Properly pursued, accountability for atrocity crimes can serve not only as a strong deterrent, it is also key to successful reconciliation processes and the consolidation of peace in post-conflict societies. Impunity destroys the social fabric of societies and perpetuates mistrust among communities or towards the State, consequently undermining a lasting peace. The confidence that justice has been served and that those responsible for serious crimes are being held accountable helps prevent feelings of frustration, bitterness and the possible desire for revenge of victims, their families and those who share ethnic, religious, racial or national origins, which could lead to further violence and atrocities. In this way, justice and peace promote and sustain one another.

Just as States have the primary responsibility to protect their populations from atrocity crimes, they also have the obligation under international conventional and customary law to see that those responsible for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes are made accountable and that victims have a right to an effective remedy. Alongside other transitional justice mechanisms, prosecutions give recognition to the suffering of the victims and their families and contribute to the restoration of some of the dignity or integrity that they lost or was severely damaged.

Knowing what happened in the past, who was responsible and why it happened, paves the way to preventing a recurrence of violence, to putting in place early warning mechanisms and in general, to developing strategies for prevention. In this regard, the work developed in the pursuit of justice by national jurisdiction as well as international jurisdictions such as the International Criminal Court, the ad hoc international tribunals and the hybrid courts, has been instrumental in creating a culture of accountability throughout the world and in educating societies and influencing future generations on the importance of the respect for human rights norms and principles, as well as on the lessons we can learn from past crime.

Mandate of United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect

Just in case, you don’t understand what the mandate of United Nations’ Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect is all about, you need to know these important facts.

The Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect supports two Special Advisers who report directly to the United Nations Secretary-General:

The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, who acts as a catalyst to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide, and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action.

The Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, who leads the conceptual, political, institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect. The mandates of the two Special Advisers are distinct but complementary. In order to maximise efficiency and resources, the Secretary-General decided to institutionalize the collaboration between the Special Advisers through the establishment of a joint office. As far as possible, the two Advisers share a common methodology for early warning, assessment, convening, learning, and advocacy, as well as a common office and staff based in New York.

Saturday’s Sad Sights and Sounds

Though, I am not labouring under a misapprehension, I am still trying to process what I watched, like every other Nigerian, online on Saturday, 18th of March 2023 during the gubernatorial elections in Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria and by extension; West Africa. It is safe to also state that Africa was watching with keen interest. I can state so, because of the questions I got from Rwandan and African friends and acquittances.

Acquitting yourself with the sordid macabre dance that occurred on Saturday, 18th of March 2023 would be practically impossible. It was not a movie set with actors and extras shooting several takes. The hate speech moments and attacks have two ingredients: targeted and coordinated. Unnerving precedents if you have read these books on Rwanda by Linda Melvern (a renowned British investigative journalist) which are: The Ultimate Crime: Who Betrayed the UN and Why?; A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide (2000); Conspiracy to Murder: The Rwandan Genocide (2004); Intent to Deceive: Denying the Genocide of the Tutsi (2020). And also, Lieutenant-General Romeo Antonius Dallaire’s book titled: Hands with the devil. General Dallaire was the head of the United Nations blue-helmet soldiers here in Rwanda in 1994. General Dallaire served as force commander of UNAMIR, the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda between 1993 and 1994.

In 1994, something evil happened in Rwanda. The Genocide Against The Tutsi which took place within 100 days. I have written about this several times from 2014 when I first visited Rwanda for the first time. That first visit was in April 2014. What you should realise is that from April 7th and for the next 100 days, there is a commemoration of the Genocide Against The Tutsi called Kwibuka (Remember, Unite, Renew) and during this period, you cannot miss the stories and tales told by people, media, institutions and parastatals. The more you grasp the enormity of what happened in Rwanda, the more you realise that Genocides have the templates. Rwanda, Namibia, Armenia, Cambodia and Israel have experienced Genocides and when you visit Genocide Memorials in these countries, you would understand that such heinous atrocities don’t just happen. According to all the Holocaust Memorial websites in the world, there are ten stages of a Genocide namely: classification, symbolisation, discrimination, dehumanisation, organisation, polarisation, preparation, persecution, extermination, denial. Observing events weeks before the Presidential elections, one could see some indicators but I brushed them off. Nigeria cannot go that path; I convinced myself. But now, I am not so sure. I am not sure.

Kigali Genocide Memorial: Another Visit

To be sure my analysis was still accurate. To be sure it was not a case of analysis paralysis. To be sure my years of visiting the Genocide Memorial in Kigali more than fifty times since 2014. To be sure my attendance at the Embassy of Israel in Rwanda’s Commemoration of Holocaust and Genocide every January 27 of every year were not in futility. To be sure my attendant interactions with two Holocaust survivors; Mr David Frankel in 2020 and Mr. Emil A. Fish in 2023 whose stories I touched on in my Guardian Nigeria pieces titled; International Holocaust Memorial Day: Tales from the Land of a Thousand Hills (January 2020) and From Kigali Genocide Memorial: Notes on International Day of Commemoration in Memory of Holocaust victims (January 2023) were no fluke. To sure what I observed online from Lagos, Nigeria was what I thought it was, I decided to visit Kigali Genocide Memorial.

On Wednesday 22nd of March 2023, I arrived at the Kigali Genocide Memorial at 13.10pm (some sections were having a facelift as painters were busy; all in preparation for the 29th commemoration of The Genocide Against The Tutsi from April 7th). I arrived at the Memorial and at 13.17pm, I walked into the entrance of the Memorial. I walked into the first room where you watch the visuals of testimonies of survivors and a survivor’s sentence jumped at me; ‘We still don’t know what happened in 1994. We got along just fine but they slaughtered our children.’

Passing through sections numbered 17: Divided societies, 18: Path to a final solution; 19: Propaganda (ranging from all forms of media to cartoons. It was evident that persecution was an early indication of what was to come) The section numbered 20 had machetes, clubs, guns and several blunt tools: A caption read 300,000 orphans and over 85,000 children who were heads of their households with younger siblings and relatives. Another read 1000s of widows, many had been the victims of rape and social abuse or had seen their own children murdered.

In another section, a caption read, ‘The genocidaires had been more successful in their evil aims than anyone would have dared to believe.’ Reading some stories, I realised and discovered yet again that the popular downtown Kigali, Kacyiru and Gisozi (the area where The Genocide Memorial is situated) also have tales with the history of Rwanda. In another room cum section, I saw skulls, rosary, a smoking pipe, wallet, left pair shoe for a baby girl. Other rooms had stories of The Genocides Against The Jews, The Genocide Against The Herero and Nama. The children’s room as always would leave you sober.

As I took pictures in the premises after the hour tour, I heard someone speak and the accent sounded Nigerian. I spoke in Nigerian pidgin English and he responded in pidgin English. Then, he asked; ‘Where are from in Nigeria?’. I replied; ‘With what happened in Lagos on Saturday, I would prefer to say, I am a Nigerian.’

Succinct Summary

What took place in Lagos State cannot be wished away or glossed over. The varied forms of attacks from physical, psychological and all forms of media; perpetrated by politicians, mouth pieces, aides, paid media personalities, custodians of age-long traditions who have finally demystified traditional myths and beliefs; handy men and their thugs and regular citizens who took part in the macabre dance should realise one thing. Ignorance of hate speech doesn’t negate it. And as long as you didn’t think it thoroughly before your comments were posted or recorded; the appropriate global institutes, do track hate speech instigators. The snide, chide, remark, cartoon, post made today, would be what might indict you when the time comes. A solution bordering on a must have conversation is paramount and peace cannot reign if justice is not meted out. Anything other than justice is just being unrealistic if not phantasmagorical. Who leads this conversation? Who heads this conversation? Surely, not anyone who has his or her hand (covertly or overtly) involved in the evil that befell Lagos State on March 18, 2023.

Residing in Rwanda, knowing, reading and learning from Genocide survivors (Rwandans and Jews), it would be almost impossible for a Nigerian who lives in Rwanda, not to understand the importance of what occurred in Lagos. The indicators all point to something sinister and downright evil and well-orchestrated. A day later, on Sunday, 19th, a Nigerian living in Kigali, stated whilst we spoke that, ‘Lagos wrote a love letter to genocide.’ I would rephrase the sentence thus, ‘Nigeria via Lagos State wrote an enticing and seductive love letter to woo genocide,’ C’est fini. My conscience is clear.

Dolapo Aina writes from Kigali, Rwanda

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured

The Travail of Tinubu’s Tourism Minister, Lola Ade-John

Published

on

By

By Eric Elezuo

Just weeks after her confirmation as the Minister of Tourism, seasoned banker and foreign-based tech investor, Lola Ade-John, has been hospitalised in Abuja following reports of acute poisoning she suffered from unknown origins, says a Peoples Gazette report. The medium added that her family members and immediate colleagues fear that time was running against their efforts to save her life.

The Boss learnt that Lola Ade-John, who is 60, was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, shortly after she started manifesting symptoms of her poisoning, according to family sources familiar with her ordeal. As the time of filing this report, a source says that the minister has spent five days at the facility as at Saturday morning.

The source further revealed that Ade-John, who is a career banker and tech expert, has been on a machine to aid her breathing. The specifics as to what substance she ingested and how could not be immediately established by The Gazette, which broke the news. The paper also revealed that the Police and the State Security Service did not immediately return a request on whether or not any investigations had been opened into the matter.

Her worsening situation has further set the family against the government, with the permanent secretary of her ministry said to be in disagreement as to whether she should continue receiving treatment at a public hospital or be moved to a better-equipped private facility downtown.

The permanent secretary, Ngozi Onwudike, it was further stated, was said to have insisted that the minister should not be transferred because the FMC is a public hospital and its services wouldn’t attract substantial charges to the government, a position her family rebuffed. But they remained with her as they could not raise funds to move her to a private hospital, our sources said. A phone number for the permanent secretary did not connect on Friday morning.

A spokesperson for the FMC did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette about Ms Ade-John’s condition.

Ms Ade-John was appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu in August. She was immediately touted as one of the few cabinet members appointed from outside the political beltway. She was based in London for years before she was asked to return to the country to serve by the president.

Stakeholders in the Tourism told The Boss that Ade-John was expected as a special guest software honour at the just concluded World Tourism Day held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, but she failed to turn up raising concerns as to her health.

A source from the Tourism sector, who craved anonymity lamented that it was a very healthy Ade-John that took over the ministry in August, but wondered why just a few weeks after, she is battling for her life over alleged poisoning.

“Though there is no available medical information, but it is heavily suspected to be poison,” a Tourism sector source told The Boss.

However, a family source, who also prefers to speak behind identity revelation, has revealed that the report of poisoning is true, but not the poisoning as most people know it, saying that it is a case of ‘food poisoning’, adding that the report of conventional poisoning in the media space is a product of ‘junk journalism’.

“She has had a bad case of food poisoning compounded by bad malaria. She hasn’t been poisoned by anybody at all. That’s junk journalism at work!

“Also, she’s in a private hospital not a government hospital and no problem at all about funding from her private resources. Further junk journalism! She is receiving treatment and on the way to recovery, no life threatening situation.

“Temi, her daughter, came into Nigeria yesterday because she was understandably concerned about her Mother,” the source exclusively revealed to The Boss.

But the Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Haruna Garba, has ordered the State Criminal Investigation Department to immediately take over from the Mabushi Police Division, on the ongoing investigation into the alleged poisoning.

The FCT Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, revealed the development on Saturday in an exclusive telephone interview with The Punch.

“The CP has ordered the Mabushi Police Division that was investigating the matter to immediately transfer it to the SCID,” SP Adeh was quoted as saying.

Lola Ade John is a 1984 B.Sc graduate of the University of Ibadan, who majored in Computer Science. Her exceptional performance in her academic sojourn earned her the honour of being the top graduate of her class that year.

Presently, Lola Ade John is the Principal Consultant at Novateur Business Technology Consultants, a company she founded in 2014. The firm specialises in providing technical management and consulting services to both private and public sector clients, helping them improve their operations and performance through the application of technology systems knowledge and operational techniques.

She was invited from her base in the United Kingdom to come and serve in the Tinubu-led government.

Continue Reading

Featured

Rotary Africa Donates $25k, Mobilizes Funds, Support for Morocco

Published

on

By

Rotary International Zone 22, which covers the whole of Africa, has made an initial donation of $25,000 to help the disaster relief effort going on in Morocco while also calling for more funds, donations and support for the people following a devastating earthquake.

According to statement by Rotary International Director, Patrick Chisanga, “Rotary stands in solidarity with the people of Morocco as we witnessed the unprecedented devastation caused by a catastrophic earthquake. Our hearts go out to the affected families, and we mourn the tragic loss of lives.

While the 5th All Africa Zone 22 Institute was ongoing in Lusaka, on 8th September, and with members from across Africa in attendance, we received the distressing news of this earthquake, and our immediate response was to offer support and comfort to those affected.

“Rotary clubs in Europe and Africa including in Morocco have raised funds and mobilised material support for the relief efforts. An initial $25,000 was approved by the Rotary Foundation to immediately go to the disaster relief efforts and more grants are being developed.

“Our partner organisation, Shelter Box and others have supported in raising support for shelter and related needs of affected individuals.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Morocco, particularly our fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors and their families who have endured immense suffering. We also wish a swift recovery to all those injured in this calamity.

In our commitment to making a difference in times of crisis, Rotary International is actively engaged in providing assistance and support to the relief efforts in Morocco. To this end, we have established direct communication channels for Rotary Districts willing to mobilize support in any form. Clubs and Districts can contact District Governor Saadia Aglif on +212 661 135750 for further information on how they can contribute to the relief efforts directly in Morocco.

Furthermore, the Rotary Foundation Trustees have set up the Morocco Earthquake Response Fund, a dedicated fund to provide immediate relief to those affected by the earthquake. Donors can contribute directly to this fund to aid the ongoing relief efforts. Contributions to this fund will be accepted until 31 December 2023. Districts are encouraged to apply for grants from this fund until 21 September 2024 or until the funds have been fully allocated. Any remaining contributions after 21 September 2024 will be directed to the general Disaster Response Fund, which supports disaster relief efforts worldwide.

· Rotarians can give online, by cheque or by transferring District Designated Funds through https://my.rotary.org/disaster-response-fund

· To give by check, make it payable to The Rotary Foundation or an associate foundation, and include a completed contribution form. In the DESIGNATION/PURPOSE section, choose “Other” and write the fund name (Morocco Earthquake Response Fund).

· To allocate District Designated Funds, district leaders can use the DDF contribution form.

· We also call upon individuals and organizations to join us in raising funds to support the Morocco Earthquake Response Fund. You can start a fundraiser on Raise for Rotary, a platform that currently accepts 12 currencies. Contributions made through fundraisers for this fund on Raise for Rotary will be credited and recognized and acknowledged as described on the Rotary website.

Rotary International Director (RID) for Africa, Patrick Chisanga urges everyone to come together in this time of crisis and demonstrate the true spirit of Rotary by providing much-needed relief and support to the people of Morocco. He said, “we believe that our collective efforts can make a significant difference in the lives of those affected by this tragedy”.

“The expertise of Rotarians and Rotaractors across Africa, will be available and essential in assisting clubs in Morocco respond effectively to the needs of their communities. RID Patrick has pledged the support of all Regional and Zone Coordinators’ in grants and projects development to support the clubs in Morocco during this crises”

Continue Reading

Featured

Tourism Minister, Lola John Allegedly Poisoned, Fighting for Life in Abuja Hospital

Published

on

By

The Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John, has been hospitalised in Abuja after suffering acute poisoning from unknown origins, says a Peoples Gazette report, adding that her family members fear time was running against their efforts to save her life.

Lola Ade-John, 60, was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, shortly after she started manifesting symptoms of her poisoning, according to family sources familiar with her ordeal. She has spent four days at the facility as of Friday morning, The Gazette heard.

Ms Ade-John, a career banker and tech investor, has been on a machine to aid her breathing, our sources said. The specifics as to what substance she ingested and how could not be immediately established by The Gazette. The police and the State Security Service did not immediately return a request on whether or not any investigations had been opened into the matter.

Her worsening situation has further set the family against the government, with the permanent secretary of her ministry said to be in disagreement as to whether she should continue receiving treatment at a public hospital or be moved to a better-equipped private facility downtown.

The permanent secretary, Ngozi Onwudike, was said to have insisted that the minister should not be transferred because the FMC is a public hospital and its services wouldn’t attract substantial charges to the government, a position her family rebuffed. But they remained with her as they could not raise funds to move her to a private hospital, our sources said. A phone number for the permanent secretary did not connect on Friday morning.

A spokesperson for the FMC did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette about Ms Ade-John’s condition.

Ms Ade-John was appointed as a minister by President Bola Tinubu in August. She was immediately touted as one of the few cabinet members appointed from outside the political beltway. She was based in London for years before she was asked to return to the country to serve by the president.

People’s Gazette

Continue Reading

Trending

%d bloggers like this: