Obi Ezekwesili says Nigerian army has committed human rights violations in the fight against Boko Haram | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Tuesday 28 April 2015

Obi Ezekwesili says Nigerian army has committed human rights violations in the fight against Boko Haram

Obiageli Ezekwesili, co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, former Nigerian Minister of Education, and former World Bank vice president for Africa, tells Al Jazeera’s Head to Head that Nigerian armed forces have committed human rights abuses in their fight against the violent group Boko Haram in the north of the country. “It clearly does have instances where human rights violations have happened,” she says. 


In this new episode of Head to Head, airing 1 May 2015 at 20.00 GMT  on Al Jazeera English, Oby, as she’s affectionately referred to in Nigeria, tells host Mehdi Hasan and an audience at the Oxford Union that, a year after over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Chibok, northern Nigeria, by Boko Haram, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign was not a failure. “No, I wouldn’t say that we have failed. I would say that we have not been able to move the elephant.”  

Oby blamed the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for its inaction and failure to rescue the young hostages, and said she thought it was still possible to defeat Boko Haram. 

Known as “Madam Due Process” for her fierce anti-corruption drive, Oby founded Transparency International in 1996, was an advisor to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and served in two of his cabinets as Minister of Education and Minister of Solid Minerals between 2003 and 2007. After leaving government, Oby moved on to become vice president of the World Bank for Africa, where she stayed until 2012.  More recently she coined the phrase “Bring Back Our Girls,” which turned into a world-famous Twitter-hashtag campaign.

Questioned by Hasan about endemic corruption in Nigeria, Oby said her country has a “political class problem,” but refused to condemn her former boss and mentor President Olusegun Obasanjo, who ruled between 1999 and 2007.

Under pressure by Hasan, she conceded Obasanjo was “aware of the elements of corruption, and it was his responsibility to tackle” them, but categorically denied he was corrupt himself. “Of course it [the government] was [corrupt]! [But] There was no way it could have been more corrupt than the government of Abacha,” she said, referring to the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha that preceded Obasanjo’s rule. Oby lamented that the government she was part of was not able to “succeed fully” in tackling corruption, and defended her own track record, saying she had not been “window dressing” for a corrupt regime and insisting - despite holding two ministerial positions in the Nigerian government, being an advisor to presidents and holding high office at the World Bank – that she was not a politician.

During the interview, Ezekwesili and Hasan discussed whether widespread poverty, inequality and corruption are at the root of the brutal Boko Haram insurgency, and debated whether World Bank policies have helped or hurt Africa’s development.

Challenged over the effects of Word Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities for African countries, Oby told Hasan she would “define an exit date” for both institutions. When pressed about setting the exit date, she said she stuck to her 2008 suggestion of a 25 year deadline by 2033. 

Hasan is joined by a panel of three experts:  Priscilla Nwikpo, a British-Nigerian broadcaster and commentator; Richard Itaman, a Nigerian economist and researcher at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies; and Richard Dowden, executive director of the Royal African Society in the UK and former correspondent for The Economist.

In each episode, Hasan goes head to head with a special guest, asking the probing and hard-hitting questions few dare to ask on the big issues such faith, foreign intervention, the Middle East, US foreign policy, and the economic crisis.

The interview with Ezekwesili is part of the fourth series of Head to Head, which is Al Jazeera’s forum for ideas, hosted by Mehdi Hasan. The fourth series saw Hasan interview former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former head of Pakistani Intelligence Agency ISI Gen. Asad Durrani, and Israeli historian and anti-Semitism expert Robert S. Wistrich.   


Nigeria: Failed state or African superpower? with Obiageli Ezekwesili will be broadcast on 1 May 2015 at 20.00 GMT and will be repeated on 2 May at 12.00 GMT, 3 May at 01.00 GMT and 4 May at 06.00 GMT

Watch and embed the promo at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQlpiEFj2vY

For more information on series four of Head to Head, visit http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/

Follow Head to Head on Twitter @AJHeadtoHead

113 comments:

Davido's driver said...

Not so true ma'am

Davido's driver said...

What does she know? Her opinion

Akwaugo said...

Hmmmmm I see


Lib ugegbe

Karlsson said...

Madam Oby won't go n take care of her family, thought U ll let us rest from ur noise after U n ur party APC ve won the election. Now, U re talking nonsense abt our soldiers that ve been fighting BH. Madam, what do U really want or what's ur end game?
Ubanagum

Unknown said...

Coming onye akpu obi.....oby the hercules...jee zuo ike biko

destinysweet said...

Dis OBJ daughter too like to dey news!see her face like her papa own


Anonymous said...

Haa! This is serious oo...

Unknown said...

She is gradually crossing her boundaries! Some fin is seriously wrong wif her! Udi and zaki biam massacre under her lover boy OBJ, was not an abuse right? APC human rights. GMB barred AIT from covering his activities, she and her co bring bak our girls, had said nofin about it. Mtcheew

ASAMPOKOTO said...

This woman is an idiot.
And now that her ties to Obasanjo is clearer than ever, I am proud to call her a certified idiot. Next!

Unknown said...

Talk talk talk! Why didn't you tell Obj he was corrupt while you were working with him? Or come out and tell the people of Nigeria he was corrupt

NaijaDeltaBabe said...

Bla bla bla

Unknown said...

Pls tell this bastard and traitor of a whore to shout her trap and go and lick APC anus, stupid woman

all hail biafra said...

O Pls oby or whatever u call your self Pls shut up. You are a shame to woman hood. Do u really have respect for yourself or u are bent on doing the bid of your father obasanjo. Shame on you. Loose woman

Unknown said...

Seriously





#Commenting thru Glo 4G LTE

all hail biafra said...

Your mates oby use their resources to build a nation but u are pulling down us. Fine what have u really contribute to benefit nigerians when u were a minister and in the world Bank. Your likes can only make noise in Nigeria because it's a zoological republic. Enough Pls. Respect yourself

Anonymous said...

Linda pls confirm: 293 women and girls rescued from Sambisa forest. Are the Chibok girls amongst them?.
Jesus take control

Unknown said...

This woman ain't afraid of anybody.
You can see it thru her words.

all hail biafra said...

Oby do u have respect for your husband or u have turned him to a goat. A woman of value watches her tongue

Anonymous said...

Obasanjo fucked the sense out of this ugly woman and left a fool of her. She's always talking rubbish, OBJ ran one of the most corrupt administration in Nigeria,yet this fool said OBJ is not corrupt. This woman needs to see a psychiatrist. Yeye de smell!!

all hail biafra said...

Oby you are a shame to woman hood. Don't worry your sins will catch up with u

all hail biafra said...

Bad woman with evil intention. You look so ugly like your father obasanjo. Shame same shame

all hail biafra said...

Bad woman with evil intention. You look so ugly like your father obasanjo. Shame same shame

all hail biafra said...

Bad woman with evil intention. You look so ugly like your father obasanjo. Shame same shame

all hail biafra said...

You oby will pay for all your deeds. Amen. Nwananuu akulakula

all hail biafra said...

You oby will pay for all your deeds. Amen. Nwananuu akulakula

all hail biafra said...

Nwanyi akulakula. Are u not tired of sleeping around. Shame shame shame shame

Unknown said...

Ofcourse she will blame jonathan rather than Shakau the devil himself.. Biased woman, you want to pay him back cos he removed you from bn minister of edu...now you av bn appointed the ministerial post you wanted, hope u can go get the girls urself ma'am?... Terrorist attacked kenyan students, the citizens joined hands together and try to fight the beasts, they neva faulted their president...bt my country hmmmm

Unknown said...

We will see wat ur saviour buhari will do

Anonymous said...

I see a desperado, wanting to be relevant. She has stopped protesting since GMB won. She has had the opportunity to make changes in the education sector, what does her report card say? U were part of a govt that failed let other ppl try.

Anonymous said...

Peper body...wats ur own madam?

Anonymous said...

IN AS MUCH AS I HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR EZEKWESILI, I THINK THIS IS REALLY PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF CRITICISM. WHAT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES? LET HER FIRST GO AND STAY IN THE FRONTLINE FOR JUST ONE WEEK THEN LET HER COME AND CRITICISE. PEOPLE SHOULD JUST TALK BECAUSE THEY CAN. DID BOKO HARAM CONSIDER HUMAN RIGHTS WHEN THEY WERE KILLING, MAIMING, RAPING, AND PLUNDERING? IN DEFENCE WHY SHOULD THE GOVT BE BOUND BY HUMAN RIGHTS?

Innocentia Annie said...

"Madam due process"
She says it the way
it is.........

switch Express said...

She Can now Take a Sit. CrapBag!

Unknown said...

Hian! Madam Oby welu ya nwayo. Linda take note!

Unknown said...

Your people don win election, wetin U dey find again???

Unknown said...

Madam, stop trying hard to exonerate yourself from crimes you were verymuch involved in. You were part of the government that failed the people. Stop painting yourself a saint you know you are not.








Busy Fingers.

Unknown said...

watching

DISCOVER THE SECRET OF LOOSING WEIGHT AND BURNING STURBORN BELLY FAT CLICK HERE

Anonymous said...

Oby's views are so biased that it is really shameful at times to hear her talk. You condemn past leaders and yet leave out obj because of "God knows what reason?" . Nigeria has degenerated to such a level now because of so many people with personal ambitions and vested interests. I feel very bad for GEJ at times because he is a gentle man. I wish he could respond to some of these accusations and i pray that the Niger Delta people get their "self determination" that they are crying out for now.

Unknown said...

Sometimes such abuses are necessary , Oby should wear a uniform , carry a gun and see if it's as easy as she thinks , all those in support of bringing boko haram members before a court etc should be shot if you ask me , they deserve no mercy and should be killed in the most brutal manner possible , human rights violations my left testicle

Nene said...

Abeg I don't have the strength to read this.

knowurway.com said...

Hmmm

Balogun Olalekan said...

Can this woman just shutUp.....since GMB won and she was penciled down as Minister of Education, her BBOG campaign against the Govt has stopped. Lousy woman, she can never be NOI #Hypocrite.

Anonymous said...

Stupid woman, sycophant.

Unknown said...

Selfish woman only good at town crying and bringing down institutions without any concrete suggestion for way forward. Busy demoralizing our military with her frequent shout of bring back our girls. She never sees anything gud only doom. Akpuobi the ugliest.

Anonymous said...

This woman get wahala oh, do u think its easy for anyone to go into combat? You sit on ur high horse and think warfare is exactly as u read in d novels or Hollywood movies. Madam, go there and u will see that u either kill someone or be killed. So until u try firing a jericho pistol withiut screaming, shut the hell up

eka said...

"Madam due process"
Obj is not corrupt & GEJ`s inactions are responsible for the non-return of chibok girls.....(l hear).
Ur aggressive stance against GEJ`s administration and d way u fail 2 address ur "boss`s" administration failures are really questionable!

Anonymous said...

I admired her courage initially until she became irritating with her ozodingba face seeking attention from every corner

AbokiDaWarriBoy said...

The truth is better, well said mam,kill dem wit no trigger! Jona government are so dame incompetent! GMB government have lot of work to do $ God will b their strength.

Anonymous said...

I hear you madam o. Please slitting the throats of innocent Nigerian citizens by BH, IS THAT ANIMAL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS! What suggestions have you so far given to help bring back those girls. YOU CAN'T BE IN RULING CABINET ALL THE TIME!

AbokiDaWarriBoy said...

The truth is better, well said mam,kill dem wit no trigger! Jona government are so dame incompetent! GMB government have lot of work to do $ God will b their strength.

Anonymous said...

This woman is a drama queen with nuisance value

Anonymous said...

This woman is a drama queen with nuisance value

Anonymous said...

foolish woman, trying to gain cheap popularity. She should go nd take care of her husband, enemy of Nigeria

APPLE said...

I beg mr man shut up, sorry woman.

mzchimdi said...

Dis woman should go and sit down biko...over sabi dey worry am..too self righteous

Diamond said...

Dis woman has to b mentally ill, can't find any other reason for dis kinda foolish statement.

Unknown said...

Madam close ur mouth

La said...

Lots of fish pepper soup brain on this platform. Jonothing has reduced our once vibrant military boys scout through corruption. If not for Obi, the Chibok girls would have been forgotten. Some miscreants should have their medula obloongata examined for insulting her. Awon Omo ale

Anonymous said...

FOOLISH TALK

Unknown said...

For goodness sake Obasanjo should shut up this his garrulous, loquacious, cantankerous and maliciously ugly illegitimate daughter.

Anonymous said...

Come this dinosaur has not stopped talking... how weird..

Anonymous said...

You are just so pathetic. All this woman does is complain.rubbish let her sign up to join the army. All she does is put down people, no word of encouragement leaves her mouth
Sick of her abeg

berry said...

This woman is somtin else though. Heish!

Anonymous said...

If the army violated human rights what did boko haram do? Or should the army fold their arms and watch while people are being massacred? Since she is such an advocate of human rights why didn't you stage a protest against the attacks in South Africa? Or is the xenophobic attack not a good cause for you to fight.

Anonymous said...

Only if you were married with children you wouldn't have the time for this rubbish talks. Attention seeking baby.

Info System said...

Oby, na u want make Nigerians abuse u...Carry on.

#TomatoJos# said...

Easy sir! *whew*

Unknown said...

So this woman is still stupid?

Anonymous said...

Madam e don do abeg. APC will reward you with a cabinet position for your propaganda job.

Mr. monitor said...

Very useless woman, I wonder if her husband cannot caution her, so OBJ is not corrupt right? cos you are not in GEJ's cabinet that makes his administration the worst you have seen, you are a hypocrite that even the public knows better with this interview, you are talking rubbish woman....shame on you!!!

Unknown said...

Nwanyi ukwu

Anonymous said...

Madam talk crap, speaks again. so obj is innocent and a saint and boko haram are freedom fighters while the Nigerian army is guilty of genocide. madam u should be ashamed of urself. pls where is ur husband, cant he shut you up for once?

Anonymous said...

Oby ezekwesili you are a fool

Anonymous said...

Shut up Bitch Oby!!! You have been bought! Cheaply Whore!

Anonymous said...

ATTENTION SEEKER!!

Anonymous said...

I support APC but please this woman retire! Talk is cheap

Anonymous said...

Inasmuch as she's hiding under the umbrella of a good cause, I think this woman has a big mouth and only cried foul to get back at GEJ. The sorts in which she moves all have the same agenda, when money or power is given to them, they go silent. Yes, I'm calling out all her social media idiots, the one that celebrated his 30th birthday recently. Shey chudi or something ( can't be bothered with his name) and the one that gave GMB a makeover etc



*** mynameisSkelewu

Anonymous said...

Fighting hard to be relevant! She should enter Nollywood. Bloody irritant.

Anonymous said...

Oby d stupid whore accusing our galant military, maybe her son or husband should be killed by Bh then she would know how it feels.. disgrace to womanhood

Unknown said...

It is becoming clearer on daily basis that the likes of this woman orchestrated the fall of Jonathan's administration! They caused him more than he could handle and at the same time broadcast his areas of his shortcomings! They made our Nigeria turbulent for us all because they want to make our president irrelevant and also instigated the ruled against their ruler and, at the same time, butter-minted majority's mouth with series of slogans to the crumbling of GEJ's administration! Slogans like "we want change!" and "bring back our girls!" No wonder Buhari himself confessed "Boko Haram is a FRAUD!" One thing that is sure is that God rules! He will neither pay them less nor compromises His judgement on them all! We shall all be witnesses!

jebs said...

Omg can't stop laughing, she is a stupid woman sha..

Anonymous said...

For goodness sake this woman again!!

Anonymous said...

Yes she is annoying but leave her looks alone. That is too low

Anonymous said...

Woman shut up or go to the frontline of the battle.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why people are complaining about this woman. In every government you need an opposition, otherwise where would the checks and balance come from? She's not even really opposition, when innocent people are being killed, you speak up.

Subomi said...

she has a point. OBJ wont like this interview btw

Ofilispeaks.com said...

I am tired of the endless criticisms o. Glad they will be in power soon.

Anonymous said...

You can talk rubbish about politicians but don't ever talk trash about gallant soldiers who lay their lives each day to protect you bloody fool...

ary said...

Nice read, nice watch. Her loyalty to OBJ is unwavering.

Anonymous said...

Yeah they are wrong to insult her and she has good work to her credit .She also needs to make accusations based on the terrain she is dealing with .Would she rather they bring back these girls by begging Boko Haram? We are in a war with people who use children as human bombs while they sit protected and watch . GEJ isn't at the front lines, the soldiers are.How about commending the recent rescues and providing encouragement rather than telling soldiers how to fight . If she wants to deal with the human right violations ,the Nigerian police does it everyday , she can start there.

Unchained said...

Madam, i like the general but with all due respect, shutup.

Anonymous said...

I beg make una tell Obi to go Sidon for dorty!!! Na only she get mouth to talk rubbish, one day she go cry foul say dem neva see the girls, another day she go say government kill people, mumu woman.

Anonymous said...

i dislike this woman for so many reason . If you are so upright, why was the government of obasanjo which she was a part of still corrupt. What did she do to reform the educational system in Nigeria, that is still messed up till date. What visible impact has she on her country Nigeria aside shout on twitter everyday BRING BACK OUR GIRLS. if she loves them so much , she should ve volunteered to go to sambisa forest to bring them back . Rather than go around on social media and news house criticizing your country, Think of something positive to do that would help change a Nigerian life.

Anonymous said...

Madam Oby is the most un patriotic Nigerian i have ever met, seen or heard about in my life time. Always so judgmental about her country. She sees nothing good in this nation and is quick to tell the whole world how rotten her country is, yet she served as a minister in this same country and had nothing to offer us. the educational system is no better, she should please shut her dirty mouth and face her family.

Unknown said...

@karlson its about winning elections its about fighting for the voiceless....Visits my blog on www.mohzeecliq.com

Anonymous said...

This woman na winch o..heavy one..and also corrupt.. very corrupt!.

Anonymous said...

But she is afraid to say that Obasanjo is corrupt.

lovette said...

This woman!! Pls u are no saint what did u do in ur time all u do is make noise and try to uplift ursef with dis unfortunate act. She is corrupt and what has she done apart frm talking and making noise these are d kind of people staged to just pull down other people na wa!

Unknown said...

Always talking rubbish

Anonymous said...

Fellow Nigerians remember that the person in question is somebody's mother, let mind what we say all in the name of posting comment on linda's blogg, she could be ur mother, ur wife or ur sister lets respect our elders and our nation, lets respect our selves.

OSINANL said...

Ugly woman

Unknown said...

this woman likes attention. i stopped liking her long ago. attention whore

Anonymous said...

So she should behave like someone's mother and stop doing selfish things to better he personal ambitions. How can she be so selective in her criticism. It speeks volumes of her intentions. God will judge all of the one by one. Those who overlook the interest of the people because of their personal ambitions.

Anonymous said...

This madam Oby is a very vindictive woman with a dark soul. Anyway, what do you expect from an ugly woman?

Anonymous said...

@ anos 10:30 oby welcome we know its u. Afta dis useless interview biase mind. Wicked witch. Obj girlfriend. We know u more dan u could ever imagine. Shameless woman. Am sure ur kids and husband are ashamed of u. Always wants to b relevant. Sorry ma we know u are a FOOL. That utters rubbish from ur dirty mouth. Wicked woman so u are happy bh are killing innocent pple, including children. Heartless woman who support d kidnap and killing of children. Imagine ur kids were also kidnap. U are a disgrace to this generation. Anofia

Unknown said...

Can dis woman pls shout up?wch madam due process is she? We demand to know why she ran out of Nigeria during d failed bank tribunal of d Abacha govt?why is her period stay in a finance firm as MD yanked out her CV? Where is d money her Hubby borrowed frm dat same firm and where is d business he claimed d money was invested in?Oby is a sick lady dat should jst go and sit down

Unknown said...

Are d men and women of Nigerian Military not someone's somebody too? Why is she big mouthed? Oby should be ashamed of herself. What a mistake and apology she is

Unknown said...

This woman self

Anonymous said...

I would tell my mother, wife or sister to give it a rest. I. Suggest you my friend do the same.

Anonymous said...

So one should allow our elders to talk nonsense on behalf of our nation. Forget it

Anonymous said...

Because she's talking trash about our soldiers who risk their lives fighting bh

Unknown said...

u guys shld jst liv her. lets kip watching how things wil unfold

Anonymous said...

Why does this woman scare me? Not even her look. Just her vibe. I sense no positive energy

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