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Former presidential aide, Babafemi Ojudu, has criticized the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, over her recent conduct in an Ethiopian prison.
A video clip that went viral on Friday showed the minister celebrating with Nigerian inmates at AbaSamuel Prison in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The inmates were expressing excitement following the signing of a bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement between Ethiopia and Nigeria.
They sang praises to President Bola Tinubu for facilitating the agreement.
Reacting to the trending video, Ojudu in a statement he posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday, wondered if the minister was celebrating criminality.
Ojudu questioned the rationale behind the video, insinuating that the footage portrays a negative image of the country and sends a bad message to Nigerians struggling to earn money legitimately.
“What message are we sending to ourselves and to the world? If the objective was to negotiate the transfer of Nigerian prisoners back home, could that not have been done with dignity, sobriety, and a clear sense of the gravity of the situation? Must compassion be expressed in a manner that appears to celebrate criminality?
“Prison is not a place of celebration. It is a place of punishment, reflection, remorse, and, hopefully, rehabilitation. Public officials must be careful not to blur those distinctions. What has befallen us as a people?
“What does it say to those who have obeyed the law, endured hardship, and resisted the temptation to seek prosperity through crime?
“What does it say to the victims of fraud, trafficking, and other transnational crimes for which many Nigerians have found themselves imprisoned abroad?
“It is a troubling image. And it should trouble both the rulers and the ruled. What a shame,” Ojudu said.
