In the last few days, the Umaru Yar’adua regime has mounted pressure on the authorities of London Metropolitan University (LMU) to cancel a May 29th 2009 symposium dedicated to the struggle for democratic governance in Nigeria.
Last week, LMU suddenly pulled out of an arrangement to cosponsor the event, leaving the Nigeria Liberty Forum organizers with a huge financial burden of paying for the event space and other logistics the university authorities had earlier agreed to shoulder. The university’s withdrawal came with no warning. The London Metropolitan University has already been paid by the NLF to use the Rocket Centre for the event.
Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, West African Bar Association president, Femi Falana, and former EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, are among those scheduled to speak at the one-day symposium. Other speakers include Okey Ndibe, Sowore Omoyele, and Sister Affiong L. Affiong. The organizers say the event has generated “extraordinary interest, to the point that participation is fully subscribed.”
Yesterday, the Nigerian high commissioner in London accused LMU officials of not doing enough to distance themselves from “disgruntled Nigerians dissidents” hell bent on destabilizing the government. Even the current EFCC chair, Mrs. Farida weighed in on the issue. Mrs Waziri, who wasat Governor Gbenga Daniel's owned Nigerian Compass newspapers yesterday accused Nuhu Ribadu, one of the confirmed speakers of going to the United Kingdom to hold seminars to blackmail or scandalise the commission and the Federal Government.
One source told our correspondent that some Nigerian authorities were using the leverage that their children attend LMU. The source told Saharareporters that many rich Nigerians “like to send their children to LMU.”
As the Yar’adua regime is pressuring LMU to undermine the symposium, Saharareporters has also learnt that some Nigerian businessmen with ties to Yar’adua were trying to persuade Nuhu Ribadu to disengage from the event as well. The Yar’adua regime is reportedly using the businessmen to make overtures to the former EFCC chairman to return to Nigeria for “a negotiated settlement over the shoddy treatment meted to him as the EFCC chairman.” He was tossed from the chairmanship of the commission and his police career was ended unceremoniously.
Contacted for comments, Kayode Ogundamisi said that the subterranean efforts by the Nigerian regime to sabotage the event had only boosted interest in the symposium. He stated that registration had surpassed expectations. He said the real acts of defiance against a visionless and unpopular regime will start on May 29th in London.
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