It's Time To Reevaluate Our Relationship With Israel

[Suyuti]

One Suraya Dadoo, writing from South Africa, began his piece in Businessday on October 30, 2024, titled "Is Nigeria fuelling Israel's genocide against Palestinians?" by quoting our Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, my friend and brother, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, to whom he attributed the following statements.

"The slaughter occurring in Gaza and the utter disregard for the proportionality of force being applied to defenceless civilians have no justification. This slaughter is simply unacceptable and out of control. The double standards must end; there is no justification for them.

He went one step further by referencing Vice President Kashim Shettima, our country's second-ranking citizen, who made the following statement during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September.

Retaliation is the opposite of justice. No one can be denied freedom because it is an unalienable right and a natural entitlement. The independence of the Palestinian people is what they deserve.

The Tinubu administration represents the thoughts and feelings of the vast majority of Nigerians, and they have chosen to follow the correct course when it comes to the tragic events in Gaza and the pathetic plight of the Palestinian people. The Minister and the Vice President have both made us proud with their brave words and bold stand.

Dadoo went one step farther and wrote, "The Nigerian government has been vocally against Israel since October 7 and has continuously denounced Israel's military occupation of Palestine. Nigeria has long been a fervent advocate for the freedom of the Palestinian people, and it played a key role in the campaign to prevent Israel from being given observer status at the African Union (AU).

Nigeria's then-foreign minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, led the opposition to Israel's accreditation and urged other member states to follow suit, according to sources who attended the AU executive council meeting of Africa's foreign ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in October 2021.