Onyia faults America's call for trial of Charles Taylor
By Nkechi Nwosu
FORMER Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Chief Dubem Onyia has faulted the trenchant call by the United States (U.S.) for the trial of the former Liberian President, Mr. Charles Taylor.
According to Onyia, Nigeria must not be stampeded into what he described as forceful extradition of Taylor for trial as being championed by the U.S.
In a statement made available to The Guardian, Onyia, one of the architects of the deal that brought Taylor to Nigeria, said any forceful extradition of the former Liberia leader would amount to betrayal of Nigeria's leadership by other partners in the agreement.
He said that Nigeria's decision to offer Taylor asylum was "in the interest of the peace process in Liberia and had the blessings of all, including the government of the United States."
Onyia specifically recalled that while the negotiation for Taylor to step down lasted, "the U.S. government mounted pressure on President Olusegun Obasanjo to speed up the asylum option."
He noted that President Obasanjo agreed to bring in Taylor "after receiving assurances from various quarters that Nigeria will not be stampeded into handing over Taylor to anybody or any court for trial, except the people of Liberia."
"It would amount to betrayal, if the same American government should now spear-head the campaign for the handing over of Taylor to the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Sierra-Leone to face war crimes trial.
"If Nigeria had not waded into the imbroglio, the former Liberian president may have defied all international pressures to remain in office and such a situation would have created more problems not just for Liberia but the West African sub-region," Onyia said.
According to him, Taylor was convinced by Obasanjo to agree to the asylum option so that peace might reign in Liberia.
He stressed that only few sitting presidents would dump their mandates under similar conditions.
He commended Obasanjo's commitment to restoring peace and stability to the region, saying that the U.S. and its allies should support him, as only such would enhance efforts at poverty alleviation and economic development in Africa.
The former minister warned that if the Taylor saga is not tactically tackled, it could backfire and consume the entire peace process in the continent.
He took a swipe at the proposal by some U.S. Congressmen for sanction against Nigeria over the Taylor issue.
Such proposal, he said, is "uncalled for and in bad taste because Nigeria rather deserves commendation for halting the carnage in Liberia."
U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, this week in Kano said although the U.S. supported ECOWAS initiatives by which Taylor left Liberia for Nigeria, America is of the view that he must answer for war crimes.
Campbell said Taylor was accused of "breath-taking" crimes and must answer for those crimes, dismissing false the allegation that the U.S. is warning Nigeria on Taylor's issue.
