A former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has appealed to US President Donald Trump to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to allow ethnic groups in Nigeria exercise their right to self-determination.
Fani-Kayode made this known in a reaction to a tweet by Trump declaring support for #Brexit, the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the European Union (EU).
The decision for #Brexit was taken in a referendum on June 23, 2016, after a majority of British voters supported leaving the EU.
The UK government on March 29, 2017, invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union and the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 declared “exit day” to be March 29, 2019.
Trump had tweeted on Friday morning: “Self-determination is the sacred right of all free people’s, and the people of the UK have exercised that right for all the world to see.”
See tweet:
Self-determination is the sacred right of all free people's, and the people of the UK have exercised that right for all the world to see.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2016
Reacting to Trump’s tweet, Fani-Kayode hailed President Trump’s position on #Brexit and urged him and the UK government to persuade the Nigerian government to allow same in the country.
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He tweeted, “True! Pl tell @MBuhari and the UK to allow the ethnic groups of Nigeria to exercise that right too. Self-determination is the life-force of freedom and democracy. It made America great and western civilisation what it is today. It serves humanity well. We deserve it in Nigeria!”
See tweet:
True! Pl tell @MBuhari and the UK to allow the ethnic groups of Nigeria to exercise that right too. Self-determination is the life-force of freedom and democracy. It made America great and western civilisation what it is today. It serves humanity well. We deserve it in Nigeria! https://t.co/08buu51Baz
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) August 16, 2018
Groups such as the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have continued to push for a referendum to determine if ethnic nationalities in the country want to remain in a united Nigeria.
However, the leaders of the groups have faced state-sponsored harassment and intimidation, including arbitrary arrest and detention.
The leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has disappeared since soldiers raided his father’s home in Afaraukwu, Abia State in September 2017.
Kanu was facing terrorism-related charges and had been granted bail by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja before his disappearance.
His fate remains unknown and the IPOB has since been proscribed.