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Nigeria: FG Considers Anyaoku, Kukah
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This Day (Lagos)
9 July 2008
Posted to the web 9 July 2008
Ike Abonyi
Abuja
Following staunch opposition to the choice of Prof. Ibrahim Gambari as head of the steering committee of the proposed Niger Delta Summit of Stakeholders, the search for a replacement may have been narrowed down to four persons.
THISDAY gathered that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who is insisting that the summit should take place in the face of mounting criticism, has directed a search for an immediate replacement.
Those being considered include two foremost African diplomats, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, ex-Commo-nwealth Secretary General, and Mr. Kofi Annan, immediate past Secretary General of the United Nations who is a Ghanaian.
Anyaoku, one of the most respected statesmen in Nigeria, was Secretary General of the Commo-nwealth between 1989 and 1998.
His lack of involvement in partisan politics and his international stature are also said to count in his favour.
Annan, in addition to his credential as former UN scribe, was central to the resolution of the Kenyan crisis after the acrimonious elections led to violence and an estimated 1000 deaths.
The crisis was eventually resolved with the formation of a government of national unity to accommodate the opposition party in a power-sharing arrangement.
The Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Kaduna, Monsignor Matthew Hassan Kukah, is said to be getting a favourable consideration.
The Catholic priest, who was the Co-Secretary of the defunct National Political Conference, is being mentioned because of his previous involvement in the reconciliation of Shell and the Ogoni in Rivers State after a protracted animosity. He is seen as very familiar with the terrain.
Ex-US President, Mr. Jimmy Carter, who is held in high esteem by some militant groups, is also being considered for some involvement.
The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) had earlier in the year announced that Carter, who has been very familiar with the political terrain of Nigeria for decades, had agreed to mediate in the crisis - a claim swiftly denied by Carter.
THISDAY gathered that many Niger Delta leaders, including the militants, are now disposed to Annan but officials of the Federal Government planning the summit want a Nigerian, thereby narrowing the choice down to either Anyaoku or Kukah.
Yar'Adua had himself told a foreign news agency that the Niger Delta crisis was a Nigerian challenge which should be handled by Nigerians - effectively ruling out Carter and Annan, although they may still play some role.
THISDAY's source could not confirm last night if any of these persons had been definitely pencilled down for the job or if any contact had been made with them.
Meanwhile, the role of some Niger Delta governors in frustrating the choice of Gambari may not have gone down well with the Presidency.
THISDAY gathered that the attitude of the governors in not supporting Vice-President Goodluck Jon-athan to push through the first choice displeased the Presidency.
The Vice-President had nominated Gambari and had personally written to the UN, where Gambari is Special Envoy, seeking his release.
Opposition to Gambari is based on his past actions and pronouncements on the Niger Delta, some dating back to 1995 when Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged by the then government of Gen. Sani Abacha.
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Gambari was then Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the UN, a position he held at the instance of the Nigerian government.
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