Deputy Speaker, Wase under fire for calling Benue people useless

The Speaker of the House of Reps, Idris Wase, is currently under fire for stopping a petition from natives of Benue in oversea.

IDOMA VOICE reports that there was a mild drama at the green chamber of the national assembly last Thursday when the Speaker of the House of Representatives rejected a petition by Hon. Mark Gbillah from Mzough U Tiv Amerika (MUTA) on the IDP situations in Benue, Nasarawa, and Taraba States.

Gbillah had wanted to present the petition to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the plight of those displaced by Fulani herdsmen who are currently going through hell in various IDPs camps.

However, when the lawmaker mentioned the name of the association, Ahmed Idris Wase, who sat for the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, go infuriated and said those in America don’t know what is happening in Nigeria and as such, have no right to present such case.

Wase said, “Hon. Gbillah, did you say Tivs in America? What do they know about Nigeria? What is their business. They can’t sit in their comfort zones and know what is happening in Nigeria.”

When reminded that they are Nigerians and have every right to air their views, the Speaker said the petition doesn’t make any sense. He stopped the lawmaker from presenting it.

Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Diaspora Movement (NDM) described Wase as an embarrassment to the legislature.

The group in a statement called on the Deputy Speaker to tender an unreserved apology to the people of Benue State for staying their citizens abroad are useless.

The group said, “The Deputy Speaker caused an international stir when he impugned the rights of Nigerians in Diaspora. Hon Gbillah was making a submission about a petition by the Mutual Union of Tiv in America thAUTA, over the deplorable plight of Tiv people displaced from their ancestral homes by Fulani herdsmen, and who are still living in refugee campus. Embarrassingly, the Deputy Speaker, Hon Was, refused to allow Hon GbIllah to even finish his submission beforehe shut him up.

Hon Wase degenerated all Nigerians in Diaspora and argued that they have no right to make submissions to the house. His warped reasoning being that Nigerians living in America do not know what’s happening Nigeria.”

That since they have dual citizenship they are not entitled to speak for Nigerians living in the country, and that since “they live In faraway America,” they do not have the right to be speaking for or about Nigeria.

This was a sad day for Nigeria and its Diaspora. It shows the quality of lawmakers who craft laws for the land. More significantly, it displayed the Ignorance of Hon Wase and a host of other lawmakers who were quietly sitting there, with none coming to the defense of Ghillah, and allowing the deputy speaker to denigrate Nigerians.

“We demand that a disclaimer by the National Assembly to calm the nerves ruffled by Hon Wase over unguarded and uninformed diatribes against Nigerians In Diaspora.

“Nigerians In Diaspora love our country and that’s why we speak up when necessary and celebrate Nigeria whenever we should.