Racism: Reps want review of foreign policy to liberate blacks

The House of Representatives is to review Nigeria’s foreign policy to liberate the black people from racial oppression and discrimination across the world.

This followed a unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent public importance on the need to save black people from racial discrimination.

Presenting the motion, Garba Dati-Muhammad a member from Kaduna State expressed concern over the continuing and increasing dehumanisation of Nigerians, other Africans and black people across the world particularly in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

While stressing the need for the review of the Nigerian Africa centric foreign policy, Datti-Muhammad explained that if this trend of discrimination; annihilation, genocide and “racial cleansing” being perpetrated against Nigerians; Africans and black people all over the world is not halted, ‘there will cease to be a black population on earth in due course of time.

“Further distressed that this incessant dehumanisation of black people across the world has compelled helpless black communities to start looking inwards towards resolving their challenges and that this has led to the groundbreaking movement “Black Lives Matter” in the United States and that with the recent police killing of the black man, Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the resultant protests, the “Black Lives Matter” protests are slowly spreading, even if its hindered by the Covid-l9 pandemic, across continents,” the lawmaker added.

Datti-Muhammad who described foreign policy as dynamic stressed that the time has come to focus on Nigeria’s foreign policy towards its original goals of Afro centrism as well as justice for all people particularly all black people.

He said; “Equally conscious of our foretasted history of intense agitation against apartheid and injustice in which ours and our parents, uncles and brothers’ massive resources were invested.

”Determined that the time has come to put an end to the culture of discrimination, annihilation, genocide and “racial cleansing” being perpetrated against Nigerians, Africans and black people all over the world; that the Black race must secure the same level of protection of which the Jewish precedent is an example; and that Nigeria must once again take the lead towards this objective if eternal shame is to be avoided.”

Adopting the motion the House mandated its committees on ‘Foreign Affairs and Diaspora to collaborate to organise a conference of local and international stakeholders towards fashioning comprehensive approaches to the festering challenge of discrimination, annihilation, genocide and racial cleansing being perpetrated against Nigerians, Africans, and black people all over the world. (VON)