As President Muhammadu Buhari visits the American President, Donald Trump, today, Nigerians have placed numerous requests before him.
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) President, Legborsi Pyagbara, has urged the United States to prevail on President Muhammad Buhari to show adequate commitment towards the clean up of Ogoni devastated environment as recommended by the United Nations.
Pyagbara urged the United States to prevail on President Buhari to prosecute an anti-corruption war that is devoid of sectarian and political coloration.
The Ijaw Youth Council President, Eric Omare, said President Buhari should seek the United States support to tackle the menace of marauding Boko Haram terrorists, herdsmen and other security challenges that are threatening the peace and stability of the country.
Considering United States centuries of democratic experience, Omare urged Buhari to solicit support for the 2019 general elections, which according to him, there are already earlier warning signs that the polls will be fiercely contested.
On his part, the national coordinator, Ogoni Solidarity Forum, Celestine Akpobari, urged Trump to press for Nigeria to ensure that oil multinationals operating in the Niger Delta adhere to all environmental standards in their home country during their operations in Nigeria.
Akpobari also urged President Trump to enact a policy that deny corrupt Nigerians visas to the United States even under the guise of seeking medical treatment in America. He suggested that the U.S. should help Nigeria repatriate all stolen funds back to Nigeria to help revive the ailing economy.
Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Trump requesting him to demand from President Buhari the list of looters of Nigeria’s money and ban them from entering U.S.
In a statement by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the commission urged President Trump to exercise the constitutional powers under the Presidential Proclamation 7750 to instruct the US Secretary of State to temporarily ban those named on the list and their family members from entering the U.S., pending the final determination of the cases against them.
Also, BudgIT, a Nigeria Civic organisation urged President Buhari to layout his anti-corruption agenda with transparency and system reformation anchoring decisions.
Similarly, Secretary of the Northern Leaders and Stakeholders Assembly, Dr. Umar Ardo, has asked Trump to ask President Buhari why he jailed an American citizen for 95 years in 1984.
Ardo alleged that the military regime of President Buhari jailed Mahmet Ben Chembi without any evidence against her in 1984.
He further alleged that President Buhari was not new to taking extra judicial means to deal with perceived enemies even when there was no evidence against them.
He said, “There was this case of the wealthy American lady, Mahmet Ben Chembi, who brought in $17 million from the U.S. to invest in plumbing in the building of Abuja, but was framed of defrauding the Nigerian State and taken to Buhari’s Military Tribunal and jailed for 95 years without a shred of evidence adduced against her by the government.
“On top of it, she was fined N500 million. It was the regime of another military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida that set up a judicial review panel that reviewed the case and released her from jail.
“President Donald Trump should ask his guest, President Muhammadu Buhari why he did that to his (Trump) citizen.
