MURIC knocks Goodluck Jonathan for the 2014 decision to abstain from voting for a Palestinian state
Nigerian Muslims under the aegis of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), MURIC have a grouse with Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan over the escalating tension in the Gaza strip where Israel has fired no fewer than 1,000 rockets over the past week and killed no fewer than 65 Palestinians.
MURIC has many to blame including the UN, United States President Joe Biden for their silence in the escalating conflict.
JONATHAN’S ROLE IN THE CONFLICT
In 2014, Palestine was on the cusp on the becoming an independent nation state. Just nine votes were mandatory for Palestine to secure the status it needed and eight had been obtained from countries such as Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan, China, France and Russia who voted Yes to a Palestinian State.
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Palestine was counting on Nigeria to get the much needed 9 votes, but Nigeria under the then President Goodluck Jonathan instead voted to abstain. This shattered Palestine’s dream of becoming a nation state, and MURIC blames Jonathan now as a fresh conflict unravels in the region.
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“It was the day Nigeria shamefully turned its back on its principles of justice, liberty, and humanity, no thanks to ex-President Jonathan’s love for anything that may hurt Muslims and favour Christians. Jonathan cannot wash his hands off that diplomatic misadventure. He allowed his religious sentiment to get the better of him,” MURIC lamented in a statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola to the media on Monday.
The fresh conflict between Israel and Palestine has resulted in the deaths of no fewer than 65 Palestinians and 6 Israelis. The United Nations fears it could escalate into a full blown war as Israel has fired no fewer than 1,000 rockets into the Gaza strip.
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The group further berated Israel for the ongoing bombardment of Palestine, describing the attacks as crimes against humanity.
The group wondered why the United Nations and other world powers watch on while Israel destroys Palestine, a people, according to the group, “that does not possess a single war plane or a standing army.”
“The United Nations has failed to stop Israel’s aggression because America and other Western powers are always there to veto UN resolutions. The UN had never been fair in its dealings with Palestine,” MURIC added.
The Islamic rights group said it was particularly disenchanted with the role of the US in the ongoing crisis, noting that America allows Israel to build a nuclear weapon but hypocritically breathes down the neck of Israel’s neighbours on the issue of nuclear energy, adding that the US has the power to stop Israel’s aggression against Palestine.