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Impose Sanctions on Buhari, Others for Undermining Democracy, Shehu Sani Tells UN, EU
Human rights activist and pro-democracy crusader, Senator Shehu Sani, has urged the United Nations and the European Union (EU) to immediately impose visa sanction and other restrictions against President Muhammadu Buhari and elements under his government for undermining democracy in the country. According to him, if the current trend is allowed to continue it would mar the conduct of 2023 general elections.
Sani explained that unless the international community rises up to its responsibility to save democracy in Nigeria, the subsequent conduct of elections in the country after the outcome of the recent governorship polls in Kogi and Bayelsa States might lead to chaos and erode democracy. He was reacting to the violence, the use of firearms against voters, the killings and general malpractices that were recorded during the elections in Kogi and Bayesa States. He said unless the international community responds appropriately to sanction the anti-democratic elements in Nigeria the country’s future stands endangered.
According to him, “The only way to address the problems of elections in Nigeria, apart from implementing electoral reforms, is through sanctions on individuals that are fully involved in electoral malpractices. The European Union should not sit down and simply fold its arms and allow only the United States to carry out the responsibility of sanctioning individuals that are involved in election fraud or violence.
“The EU must join other democratic nations of the world. A no-fly sanction must be declared against elements in the army, police, INEC and the political sphere that are involved in violence, killings and other malpractices internationally.
“They cannot fly to any country. The African Union (AU) must also be serious about this political problem. Visa restrictions should not only be limited to people going to the United States. The EU and other democratic nations of the world who are not part of the EU must impose sanctions. The airline companies of these countries must apply sanctions against anti-democratic elements”.
Also, Sani blamed President Buhari for allowing the country’s democracy to nose-dive, saying that if former President Goodluck Jonathan had followed Buhari’s antecedent, he would not have been in office as incumbent president.
According to him, “The former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has been consistently drawing the attention of the country to the new reality as far as elections in Nigeria are concerned. There is general consensus that the 2015 elections were free, fair and credible. Most of those who lost elections did not go to court to challenge the results. The president at that time, Jonathan, warmly and heartedly congratulated Buhari.
“Buhari promised the country that he would leave behind a legacy of fair, transparent and credible elections in the country. But the 2019 elections and subsequent elections have clearly demonstrated that the president rather has drown us back to pre-2015, particularly the military era. Our elections are now characterized by violence, thuggery, ballot stuffing and ballot snatching; the use of arms, killings and outright manipulations. This is not what Nigerians bargained for. The two elections in Bayelsa and Kogi are an eye-opener.
“The government of Buhari has lost the moral ground to organize elections that the world can see as free and credible. We have never had it so bad in this country where the international, domestic observers, the media and Nigerians will unanimously condemn elections such as the ones in Kogi and Bayelsa. I have said it many times that President Buhari should be concerned about his role in Nigeria’s history.
“What kind of legacy does he want to leave behind when the elections that brought him to power is more credible than the ones he is organizing? So, as far as I am concerned, this present INEC, as it is today, and the conduct of elections show that we have gone backward to the dark and stone ages where election results are simply written and announced”.
Sani excoriated the electoral umpire for taking the country’s democracy backwards just as he insisted that most of those in elective positions today would not have been elected if the electoral umpire did its good job properly.
“When you see a political leader using violence, thugs, manipulations, fire arms to secure votes, he knows very well that he has lost the moral high ground and he does not have the support of the people. So, we cannot call this a democracy if the method and processes of getting elected into office is through violence, bloodshed and manipulation of votes, ballot snatching and ballot stuffing.
“You can’t build honesty in a foundation of fraud. The assessment of the UN, the EU, and international and domestic observers said they have never seen anything like this.“With subsequent elections in the country, especially the 2023 general elections, I think the message has been sent clearly to everybody that the means of assuming power is not through a peaceful, credible and transparent elections. It is the ability to gather and garner an equivalent force that may likely play out to counter the other side. And I am very sorry to say that the judiciary and the National Assembly, as they are today, are not in a good position to address the problems of elections in the country”.
The Guardian
President Donald Trump vowed on Sunday that the United States would take Greenland “one way or the other,” warning that Russia and China would “take over” if Washington fails to act.
Trump says controlling the mineral-rich Danish territory is crucial for US national security given increased Russian and Chinese military activity in the Arctic.
“If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will, and I’m not letting that happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, despite neither country laying claim to the vast island.
Trump said he would be open to making a deal with the Danish self-governing territory “but one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
Denmark and other European allies have voiced shock at Trump’s threats over the island, which plays a strategic role between North America and the Arctic, and where the United States has had a military base since World War II.
A Danish colony until 1953, Greenland gained home rule 26 years later and is contemplating eventually loosening its ties with Denmark.
The vast majority of its population and political parties have said they do not want to be under US control and insist Greenlanders must decide their own future — a viewpoint continuously challenged by Trump.
“Greenland should make the deal, because Greenland does not want to see Russia or China take over,” Trump warned, as he mocked its defenses.
“You know what their defense is, two dog sleds,” he said, while Russia and China have “destroyers and submarines all over the place.”
Denmark’s prime minister warned last week that any US move to take Greenland by force would destroy 80 years of transatlantic security links.
Trump waved off the comment saying: “If it affects NATO, it affects NATO. But you know, (Greenland) need us much more than we need them.”
AFP
Iran has warned the United States against any military action, saying it would retaliate if the U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on threats to intervene as Tehran continues its crackdown on nationwide protests.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued the warning during a parliamentary session broadcast live on Iranian State television.
Qalibaf praised the country’s military response to the protests and cautioned that both the U.S. military and Israel are considered “legitimate targets” in the event of an attack on Iran.
Referring to Israel as “the occupied territory,” Qalibaf said Iran would not rule out launching a preemptive strike against either country if it perceives a threat.
“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said.
“We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat,” he added.
The warning came amid scenes of heightened tension in the chamber, as hardline lawmakers rushed the dais and chanted, “Death to America!”
Iran has been rocked by widespread protests challenging the country’s theocratic system over the past few weeks, prompting a sustained security crackdown by authorities.
Activists estimated that at least 116 people have died in connection with the demonstrations, while about 2,600 others have been detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Right Activists News Agency. Exact figures remain unclear due to internet shutdowns and disrupted phone services across the country.
Trump has warned that the United States is prepared to act if Iranian authorities kill protesters.
“If Iran (shoots) and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump said earlier this month.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready tohelp!!!” he added on his Truth Social platform.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that Trump has been briefed on possible military strike options against Iran but has yet to make a final decision.
