Nigeria Wins 2005 Coventry International Peace Prize

Organisers of the Coventry International Prize for Peace and Reconciliation chose to honour President Obasanjo for his "outstanding and sustained contributions towards peace and reconciliation in Africa".

Speaking after receiving the prize, President Obasanjo said that there could be no substitute for peace and reconciliation in the world and that the quest for peace would always remain relevant especially in a country like Nigeria with about 350 ethnic groups.

"This ceremony, this award and this honour are most touching in a number of ways and very humbly, I accept the honour that the Cathedral and the city of Coventry have done me, my family, Nigeria and Africa," he said.

I decided to say Nigeria wins the 2005 Coventry International Peace Prize, because the credit should go to Nigeria for sacrificing so much in peace keeping operations in Africa, notably in Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Congo and Sudan. And Nigeria lost over 1,000 soldiers in peace keeping operations.

President Olusegun Obasanjo cannot claim the credit for the achievements of Nigeria. Because, Nigeria has been playing vital roles in World Peace since Nigeria became Independent from the British Empire on October 1st, 1960. Even the military junta of the late tyranical dictator Gen. Sani Abacha sent thousands of Nigerian soldiers to Liberia and Sierra Leone when even the UN and the US were scared of daring the devils on rampage like the late Samuel Doe, the wanted fugitive Charles Taylor who is still in the protective custody of President Olusegun Obasanjo in Nigeria and Yommie Johnson. So, President Olusegun Obasanjo is not the one who initiated our costly peace keeping operations in West Africa and other regions of Africa.

In fact, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo is guilty of the violations of the human rights of millions of Nigerians in the Niger Delta region and in other parts of Nigeria where the storm troopers of the Nigerian Armed Forces have invaded many rural communities and left them in ruins. More cases of extra-judicial killings have been recorded since 1999 when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as the President to date than all the years of the tyranny of the late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. So, President Olusegun Obasanjo does not deserve any prize for peace and reconciliation until he has improved the human rights records of his government.

The presentation of the 2005 Coventry International Peace Prize took place last Monday on the anniversary of 1940 Blitz that destroyed the old Cathedral and much of the city.