Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are all very concerned about the conflict in northern Nigeria and the Boko Haram atrocities. We were all shocked to hear that a female suicide bomber had blown herself up in the northern Nigerian city of Gombe minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan left a campaign rally there. According to police and hospital reports, at least one person was killed and 18 were injured in the blast. With regard to the elections next week on 14 February, does the ambassador think that the polling stations will be safe from violence? Does she expect attacks to spread from northern to southern Nigeria? This is based on what has happened previously. In her introduction, the ambassador mentioned people displaced by violence. We know that hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the violence. Will the ambassador explain what provisions have been put in place to try to allow these people to vote? Will she expand on this issue? As an aside, do Nigerian diaspora have a vote? For instance, do Nigerian people living in Ireland have a vote in the elections?

The attack on Baga, which has been raised in the Houses on many occasions, is one of the worst tragedies in Nigeria's recent history. While many of us in Europe were occupied with what was happening in Paris and its fallout, Boko Haram invaded Baga on the same day and brutally murdered, according to the ambassador, approximately 1,500 people. The media spoke of a possible 2,000 deaths. The government at the time were playing it down, stating the number of deaths was possibly 200. It is a huge death toll and the city was flattened. President Goodluck Jonathan expressed his condolences for the victims of France. This is according to reports in the media. However, he stayed very silent on the Boko Haram attack on Baga. I am asking the reasonable question of why. Perhaps he did issue a statement but it was not picked up on in the media. People were saying that he was downplaying the attack.

Boko Haram has now taken control of this city and effectively controls Borno State. It has moved from being a regular insurgency group to a de factostate. There are refugees in Chad. The Chair mentioned that there was talk of the army dropping weapons and running when the fighting got bad. Why was this strategic border town with a large population so unprepared for the Boko Haram attack? The Boko Haram has spoken about supporting ISIS and international fundamentalism. How far do these connections go? We are told that it is being armed by Libya and so on. From where is it getting its funding? Is it getting support and training overseas? It has been reported Chadian reports have entered Nigeria. Is this part of an agreement between Chad and Nigeria?

The counter-insurgency is the last area I wish to address. The ambassador mentioned this herself. Analysts have stated that corruption inside the Nigerian army, unpaid wages and mutinies among troops have facilitated Boko Haram's rise. It has been reported by the media that since 2009 the security forces have waged an anti-insurgency campaign. Other speakers will probably also refer to this. It has been characterised, according to Human Rights Watch, by massacres, extra-judicial killings and arrests without trial. The question is whether this is happening in tandem. The ambassador is saying there is a strategy on trying to invest and so on. We know that, for instance, the onslaught has alienated many civilians and driven out communities and it is believed this is why it has support. It has reportedly moved from having 4,000 members in 2009 to maybe 6,000 or 8,000 or God knows how many at this stage. There is very little in the plan. The ambassador mentioned inequality and corruption and using the natural resources of a country to improve the socio-economic conditions for ordinary people. We know Nigeria has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with an average GDP growth of 7% over a period of five years. However, at the same time, 60% of Nigerians are living in absolute poverty. Transparency International are stating that Nigeria ranks 136 out of 175 in its corruption perception index. Does the ambassador agree that inequality and corruption need to be a central part of any strategy to tackle not just Boko Haram but other insurgents and other expressions of dissatisfaction, dissent and revolt within the country?