Nigerians in Diaspora Movement (NDM), an organization of Nigerians living in the Diaspora has called on the National Assembly to sanction the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, for comments he made on the floor of the House that challenged the rights and status of Nigerians in Diaspora.
NDM, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Prof. Apollos O Nwauwa and General Secretary, Hon. Femi Alofe, also demanded a disclaimer and an apology from the National Assembly for the Deputy Speaker’s “disgraceful,” blunder.
Hon. Wase had stopped Hon. Mark Terseer Gbillah, representing Gwer-East/Gwer-West Federal Constituency of Benue State from making a submission about a petition by the Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA), over the plight of Tiv people displaced from their ancestral homes by Fulani herdsmen and who are still living in refugee camps, on the grounds that members of MUTA, since they are not resident in Nigeria and since some have dual citizenship have no right to be heard in the affairs of the country.
NDM, as a result of Wase’s “unguarded and uninformed diatribes against Nigerians in Diaspora,” further demanded “that the National Assembly institute an annual retreat to educate members suitably on the status/rights of Nigerian citizens living outside the shores of the country.”
Full text of the state reads:
NDM EMBARRASSED BY THE NAIVETY DISPLAYED BY THE DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The attention of the Nigerian Diaspora Movement (NDM) has been drawn to the disgraceful exchange in the National Assembly on Wednesday, March 10, on the status/rights of Nigerians in Diaspora to contribute to national affairs and discourses. In the exchange between the Deputy Speaker, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase and Hon Mark Terseer Gbillah, representing Gwer-East/Gwer-West Federal Constituency of Benue State, the Deputy Speaker caused an international stir when he impugned the rights of Nigerians in Diaspora. Hon Gbillah was making a submission about a petition by the Mutual Union of Tiv in America (MUTA) over the deplorable plight of Tiv people displaced from their ancestral homes by Fulani herdsmen, and who are still living in refugee campus.
Embarrassingly, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Wase, refused to allow Hon Gbillah to finish his submission as he shut him up and asked him to sit down. Mr Wase’s naïve incendiary lines of questioning have gone viral and Nigerians in Diaspora are so incensed by the ill-informed utterances that spewed out of the Deputy Speaker’s mouth. Hon Wase denigrated all Nigerians in Diaspora and argued that they have no right to make submissions to the House. His warped reasoning being that Nigerians living in America “do not know what’s happening in Nigeria,” that since they have dual citizenship, they are not entitled to speak for Nigerians living in the country, and that since “they live in faraway America,” they do not have the right to be speaking for or about Nigerians.
This was a sad day for Nigeria and its Diaspora. It shows the quality of lawmakers who craft laws for the land. More significantly, it displayed the ignorance of Hon Wase and a host of other lawmakers who were quietly sitting there, with none coming to the defense of Hon Ghillah, and allowing the deputy speaker to denigrate Nigerian Diasporans. From what one could glean from his body language, Mr Wase displayed a deep-seated resentment towards Nigerians living overseas. Sadly, leaders such as Mr Wase are only ready to revel on the high volume of remittances by Diaspora Nigerians, which subsidizes federal budget immensely, and not Nigerians in Diaspora who make this possible.
NDM demands that the National Assembly should sanction the deputy speaker and issue an apology to Hon Gbillah and MUTA. We also demand that the National Assembly institute an annual retreat to educate members suitably on the status/rights of Nigerian citizens living outside the shores of the country. We demand that a disclaimer by the National Assembly to calm the nerves ruffled by Hon Wase over unguarded and uninformed diatribes against Nigerians in Diaspora. NDM wants to state that Nigerians in Diaspora love our country, Nigeria, and that accounts for why we speak up when necessary and celebrate Nigeria whenever we should. Indeed, leaders such as Hon Wase should be courting the Diaspora, and not ostracizing them. Nigerians in Diaspora are Nigerians!
Signed: Prof Apollos O Nwauwa
Hon Femi Alofe Chairman, NDM General Secretary, NDM
