Uk Parliament Discusses Boko Haram And Baga Massacre

In the aftermath of the deadly massacre of an estimated 2,000 civilians in Baga and neighbouring villages on Saturday 3/01/2015, the UK parliament held a special session on January 12, 2015 to discuss the genocide, and other matters relating to Boko Haram in Nigeria. The Nigerian government’s complicity in the insurgency, and its unwillingness to tackle the problems of corruption in the military was discussed in great detail. While Jonathan and his government have completely refused to even acknowledge that the Baga genocide happened, the UK Parliament is certainly leading the world in discussing the Baga genocide. This special session of Parliament has been transcribed into 12 pages. The twelve pages has been summarised into just 2 for readers. You can find the full report on CUPS Facebook page to download.

1. The  UK Parliament is shocked and outraged by reports that up to 2,000 people were killed in Baga Northern Nigeria last week, following a series of brutal and deadly attacks by Boko Haram extremists.
2. The UK Minister of State for Commonwealth and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Swire MP  believes that more than 4,000 people were killed by Boko Haram last year in North East Nigeria.
   3. The UK Parliament agrees with the United Nations estimates that more than 1.5 million people have been displaced, and at least 3 million have been affected by the insurgency.
   4. Parliament recognises that Boko Haram deliberately targets the weak and vulnerable, causing suffering in communities of different faiths and ethnicities.
3. Contrary to propaganda by the Nigerian government and some tribal and religious zealots  in Nigeria, the UK Parliament recognises that it is almost certainly the case that attacks by Boko Haram have killed more Muslims than Christians.
4. Minister of State for Commonwealth and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Swire MP said this: “Boko Haram  are extraordinarily brutal to their own Muslim brothers, as well as to Christians indeed, to anyone who seems to get in their way. The tales of what they leave behind when they move into these areas are too ghastly to rehearse here this afternoon. They are one of the most brutal organisations known to man.”
5. Members of Parliament agree that the world must not simply sit back and tolerate Boko Haram’s brutal campaign of violence in Northern Nigeria.
6. Parliamentarians also recognise that Jonathan’s fight against Boko Haram is only a lip service. They lamented about the 20% of budget spent on security with no results.
7. Dianne Abbot MP had this to say “Nigeria has the capacity to deal with Boko Haram if it so chose. After all, it has the largest GDP on the continent and spends huge amounts of money on arms and weaponry, and it was very effective in relation to Ebola. Does he (Mr. Swire MP) agree that people want to know what the British Government are doing to put maximum political pressure on the Nigerian Government to make them aware that people all over the world are watching them and want them to step up to this crisis?”
8. Jeremy Lefroy MP  had this to say “As the hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott MP) said, the Nigerian state showed a strong response to Ebola, yet its response to terrorism in the North has been extraordinarily weak, with soldiers reportedly not even having bullets for their weapons. How does the Minister of State (Mr. Swire MP) account for that enormous discrepancy in competence?”
9. “Millions turned out across Europe yesterday (11/01/2015), particularly in France, because of the atrocious killings in Paris; millions more need to turn out all over the world over the deaths of innocent people in Nigeria. Does the Minister not think that it is important for all Governments—and all Parliaments, for that matter—to send the message that a human life lost because of such atrocities is equally awful in France, Nigeria or anywhere else, and that every human life is a human life that should not be taken?” – Jeremy Corbyn MP.
10. “Members of the Nigerian armed forces have complained that one reason why they cannot defeat Boko Haram militarily is that money destined for equipment has been siphoned off by senior officials. To go back to a question that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather MP) asked, what specific action is my right honourable Friend, the Minister (Mr. Swire MP) taking to tackle corruption in Nigeria?” – Stephen Mosley MP.
11. “There are allegations of equipment going missing and money not reaching the right place, and unfortunately I believe that all those allegations are founded on truth. That is why we have training teams in Nigeria—to try to build better institutional capacity for a better, more accountable and more transparent military, so that such things do not go on happening.” – Mr. Swire MP.
12. “No one can have a sensible discussion about Nigeria unless they consider its exponential population growth. In 1950 there were 33 million Nigerians, and there are now 175 million. The UN’s central estimate for 2100 is that there will be 730 million. One in five Africans is Nigerian, and half the population is under the age of 14. Against the background of that huge demographic instability, is the Minister satisfied that the Foreign Office understands the potential catastrophe for Africa of a successful Islamic insurgency in that country?” – Mr. Phillip Hollobone MP.
13. The UK parliamentarians have concerns about violence during the election in February 2015, and about the feasibility of running a nationwide election when an area the size of Belgium is now under Boko Haram.
14. It was revealed during the debate that the UK government’s total annual budget for aid to Nigeria is one of the biggest in the world, at some £250 million – which translates to #75 Billion Naira (75,000,000,000). Due to the manifestly corrupt government of Jonathan, who said that stealing is not corruption, Nigerians hardly ever get to see most of this money.