Nothing saddens me than those who boldly say "Nigeria is a sovereign state, and so no sub-regional group or regional group can talk about their internal affairs".

Incredibly unfortunate. And yet, African leaders quickly commiserate when Trump gets covid. [Thread]

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They quickly speak when Notre Dame burns. They are 1st to offer support when injustice occurs further afield. I was one of those in support of Ghana govt& #39;s decision to support those holding funerals for G Floyd. Bcos injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.

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Yes, we& #39;ve all gone to school. And yes, we& #39;re all very aware of the layers of diplomacy that exist. But yes, we& #39;re also aware that there& #39;s a point when back-door channeling ends! That point comes immediately when death tolls increase.

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4/... That point comes when civilians protesting for better governance start getting killed.
You can insult me for my view. Don& #39;t care. You can ask me to shut up became I am just a sports journalist. Don& #39;t care.

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What I am convicted about is that the silence of our leaders in (West) Africa has gone beyond the pale.
At the very least, they must speak. Is it not embarrassing that someone as far away as Hillary Clinton is speaking on behalf of civilians?

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6/...But our leaders in the sub-region cannot even call for something as basic as calm?
Nobody is asking our leaders to fly soldiers into Nigeria - that will be silly. The human thing to do will be identify with the oppressed. Speak to the pain of the protestors.

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As a student of history, if I do not know anything at all, it is that those who identify with the oppressor always lose in the end. Always.
Do our leaders want to be on the wrong side of history?

I don& #39;t think so.

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Finally, let& #39;s not forget: It is not only the old who are wise, and it is not only the aged who understand what is right.

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