By Rev Fr Gerald Nwafor
According to United States Congressman Scott Perry, in one of the United States subcommittees on delivering on government efficiency, about USAID, “Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps.
That’s what it’s funding.”In the law, a statement that a person makes that goes against the speaker’s own best interest is usually thought to be very trustworthy.
There are four elements in evidence that the judge will not overlook when a party of interest makes a statement against him/herself. One of the elements is a statement that indicts himself adversely about money (pecuniary), penal (punishment), proprietary (property), and crime.
Senator Perry has been in the US House for over 10 years so he cannot be making some flimsy statements to win an election or impress someone. He is just being real. It is a very serious allegation because Perry was a brigadier general himself so he must have experienced firsthand the behavior of USAID agents during his military duty.USAID was formed in 1961 by the government of John F. Kennedy.
That is to say, USAID is over sixty years of age. If USAID were an Igbo man our people would say that USAID aburo mgbada taa (no longer a kid). Why are we hearing about their activities for the first time now, one may ask. Simply because the python killed by the greedy brothers has become a source of problems for the brothers. Thanks to Donald Trump who wanted to know for real what all these AIDS are doing.
They call themselves NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) but the money comes from the government and the government dictates how the money would be used. Why are they crying now that the government of Donald Trump wants to know what USAID is doing with the government money?Anyways, that is not the topic for now, since the hidden truth has been revealed by Scott Perry, we want names of those people taking the money to Boko Haram.
If you look deep into the other NGOs like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps, why do they stay even when the war they came to assist has ended? Nwanyi bira iku nwa, nwa abira iku nwuo, nwanyi ga-anabazi (When the in-law shows up to help the nursing mother raise the newborn and the sad incident of death of the newborn occurs, it is expected that the mother-in-law should go back to her home.)NGOs like USAID would come into a country in the name that they came to broker peace and help the displaced in the warring nations.
After a while the warring nations will come back to their senses, end the war amicably, and start to live in peace and harmony. Why is it that NGOs like the Red Cross, USAID, and Peace Corps would remain in those countries and open a big office? I do not know the reasons but if Scott Perry is shouting from the top of his voice that the activities of the so-called NGOs are full of evil, Africa should wake up.
Although he did not elaborate on how this funding gets to Boko Haram in the case of Nigeria, his explanation about what goes on in Afghanistan and Pakistan is an eye-opener to what these agencies do in Africa and Asia.Thanks to Senator Ali Ndume who has taken the Nigerian senator to task to know what USAID has been doing with Boko Haram in the Northeast of Nigeria since 2014.
How can the whole world say that Boko Haram is a terrorist group, but USAID calls them non-state actors and has free passage to them in the name of treatment and duty of care? I cannot understand how the Nigerian government, who said that hunger is a weapon of war during the civil war in Nigeria 50 years, ago now allows passage of food to a terrorist organization trying to destabilize the whole country.
The USAID has some of the blame, but I think the Nigerian government has most of the blame. How can we be playing the ostrich by hiding our heads in the sand? I have never seen any organization supporting terrorists.
If USAID supported ISIS and Boko Haram in any way or form, they should be disbanded, and the USA should pay compensation. On another note, the NGOs should go back to their countries when the so-called conflict that they created must have ended. No country should allow them to overstay their welcome.
The more they stay the more cancerous they become in that country.The Nigerian senate said that their hearing on this issue about USAID and Boko Haram will be behind closed doors. I do not know the reason why it would be behind closed doors, since we are the victims of USAID. I hope the finding will see the light of day because if it is the children of the political class, Emirs, Alhajis, Igwes, Obas, Kabiyesis, Olus and so on, I can assure you that those names will not escape the doors of that meeting, and the case will die a natural death.
Remember that President Buhari told us twice that he has the names of the people sponsoring Boko Haram. He makes the bold claim that he would publish it for everyone to see, but till today we have not seen anything.
Therefore, just to remind ourselves that we have seen this movie before where all noise did not produce a single result. Senator Ali Ndume was almost crying reading the motion on the floor of the senate because his state (Borno) was the epicenter of the Boko Haram activities, and he also knew that USAID has been there behaving like a senior brother to Boko Haram in the name of sending food and drugs to Boko Haram.
I did not see the logic myself that Boko Haram should be rendered help in any way. Remember that the Nigerian Civil War ended over 50 years ago, but the Red Cross is still in Nigeria waxing strong. This new group called USAID should be helping us if they can just leave Nigeria and allow the government to deal with Boko Haram decisively. USAID, your time is up in Nigeria, please go away.
