The Nigerian Government has told the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union to focus on their respective issues and avoid addressing affairs in Nigeria as the country is sovereign one.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, stated this while responding to a question on the allegations of human rights abuses by the Federal Government with a focus on those in detention, including the convener of #RevolutionNow movement, Mr Omoyele Sowore.
Adesina said the countries and organisations should rather address the issues in their respective domains.
“We are not answerable to either the U.S. or the UK or the EU; we are Nigeria, a sovereign country,” Adesina told Channels TV.
He added, “Those countries and entities have issues of their own; let them deal with their issues. Let Nigeria also deal with her internal issues. We are not answerable to them.”
In his reaction to agitations concerning the re-arrest of Omoyele Sowore, Adesina insisted that the criticism was from those he described as a minority compared to the large population in the country.
He stressed, “The President knows the truth about what is happening in the country, so there is no need for any worry or agitation.
“But the question is who are these Nigerians and how many are they among about 200 million people?
“Who are they? A tiny but vocal minority who will always complain. If they mistakenly get to heaven they will complain about conditions in heaven.”
On Professor Soyinka’s comments, the President’s spokesman said, “If there are genuine issues, they would always be looked into.”
“We respect Professor Soyinka. You don’t have too many of them in the country nor even on the continent.
“Professor Soyinka is an avatar, he is well respected but do you know one thing, Professor Soyinka’s opinion will still be his opinion. It will be considered and if there are things to act on, they will be acted on,” he added.
