The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has applauded the sack, today, of the ministers for education, Professor (Mrs.) Ruquat Rufai; environment, Mrs. Hadiza Mailafia; foreign affairs, Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru, and six others. The group, however, demanded that “the Presidency must carry out further surgical overhaul of the Executive Council of the Federation to weed out other lazy and incompetent persons currently constituting grave cog in the wheel of progress of Nigeria.”

In a statement jointly signed by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and National Media Affairs Director, Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said it was “incomprehensible that the minister of police affairs was left on the job even when it is clear that the Nigeria Police Force as currently constituted has failed in the simple constitutional duty of protecting lives and property of Nigerians thereby exposing the lives and property of ordinary citizenry and global citizens in the country to avoidable risks of being whisked away by armed kidnappers who now constitute serious security threats to Nigeria’s internal security.” HURIWA called for “swift police reform to save Nigeria from impending doom.”

The rights group also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to use the opportunity of the ongoing cabinet change to bring in a competent and skilled technocrat from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial Zone of Kaduna State “to address and redress the seemingly systemic imbalance suffered by the People of Southern Kaduna since the unfortunate demise in a plane disaster of the first ever Southern Kaduna-born civilian governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Patrick Yakowa.”

HURIWA said it would be wrong for the Federal Government to continue the wrong practice of scheming out the Southern Kaduna people even when northern segment of Kaduna State produced the current Vice President and the serving governor of Kaduna State who succeeded his boss from Southern Kaduna after the unfortunate aeroplane disaster of last year. HURIWA faulted the continued retention of the now sacked environment minister by President Jonathan after it emerged that the death of the former Kaduna governor created a political void for the Southern Kaduna people.

HURIWA stated thus: “We are happy with the reported cabinet change even though it is piecemeal approach to a bigger institutional problem. The sacking of the Nigeria’s education minister who could not end the incessant strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a good step and we hope that the next minister of education must endeavor to right the wrongs done to the education sector because of the sensitive nature of this delicate ministry and the role it plays in preparing and sufficiently equipping our younger persons with requisite skills to compete favourably with their peers globally. The minister of foreign affairs is another failure in that he did very little to protect the fundamental human rights of Nigerians living abroad from unwarranted attacks by their host nations. President Jonathan must bring in egg heads and patriotic Nigerian statesmen and women to move Nigeria forward.”

•Photo shows President Jonathan.

Update news