₦airaland Forum

Open Letter to All Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS Member States - Yakubu Gowon

I have noted with deep concern and sadness, the past and recent developments unfolding in the West African sub-region, particularly the pronouncement by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger of their intention to exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

As one of the founders of our regional economic community, it is incumbent upon me to speak on behalf of the 14 Heads of State and Government who joined me in Lagos, on 27th May, 1975, to establish ECOWAS. Since its inception, the regional bloc has made a number of major accomplishments, including trade liberalisation, right of West Africans to live legitimately in any country within the Community, as well as successful peacekeeping operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS, despite its shortcomings, has become an example of regional integration for the wider continent.

Having achieved all of the above, it saddens me to learn that ECOWAS is threatened with disunity following the announcement by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, 3 important Member States of their intention to leave the Community. The impact of such a decision will have far-reaching implications for the ordinary citizens who have been the major beneficiaries of regional integration.

Therefore, on behalf of all the founding fathers of the Community and myself, I urge ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, including the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, to put aside their differences and reunite for the peace, stability and prosperity of our sub-region. I call on all West Africar. leaders to immediately consider the implementation of the following:

1. Lifting of all sanctions that have been imposed on Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger;

2. Withdrawal by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger of their notices to leave ECOWAS; and

3. Participation of all 15 ECOWAS Heads of State in a Summit to discuss the future of the community, regional security and stability, as well as the role of the international community given the current geopolitical context.

I wish to once more reiterate to regional leaders that ECOWAS is more than a coalition of States, it is a community established for the good of our peoples, based on shared history, culture and tradition. Neither my generation, nor present or future generations will understand or forgive the breakup of our Community.

I thank you all for giving due consideration to this appeal, which has been made with sincerity and a deep sense of moral responsibility. I urge all other elders in the sub­region to join me in this campaign to immediately restore unity and shared purpose within ECOWAS. Let me assure all parties that I am ready for further engagements to ensure that our Community remains united.

Long live ECOWAS and God Bless the Citizens of the Community!

General Dr. Yakubu Gowon GCFR

Former Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Surviving Founding Leader of ECOWAS

On behalf of the Founding Leaders of ECOWAS.

https://www.reubenabati.com.ng/opinion/opinion-open-letter-to-all-heads-of-state-and-government-of-ecowas-member-states-yakubu-gowon

Pictures 3 and 4: General Gowon hands the letter over to the President of the Ecowas Commission Dr. Omar Alieu Touray.

timay1:
Straight up committing fouls is not physicality. You dont need muscles for that.

The cameroonians were just commiting fouls up and down the pitch. They lost most of their duels against us, so they arent physical at all. If the referee did her job,thgey would have ended up with a shit load of fouls

Straight up running into your opponents and kicking them aint physicality, its just dangerous play

That reminds me of the 2004 AWCON. The Cameroonians came to fight wrestling, not to play football. Thank God we had a better referee that time.

yinkeys:
Come on now. You can’t compare or mention Ashleigh to Ohale. Ashleigh on the run gets beaten way too easily by African girls on the flanks
Ohale is rock solid and the most important defender in the team
Even Demehin doesn’t come close

OK

yinkeys:
Can Nigeria find a replacement for Ohale incase anything happens to her because she seems irreplaceable in the team

Remember that Ashleigh is originally a centre-back.

The thing is that Ohale is the most experienced (and reliable) in the defence and that's why she must always start, but there are other options.

Gentlemen, please, if any troll comes to this thread to derail it or insult members, simply use the report button and report him to the moderators

Ishilove:
Is it that comprehension has become a problem with the average Nigerian, going by the comments on the first page? I read the OP and the explanation was very clear, so I am scratching my head at the comments. People no longer read to understand; their brains seem to filter out common sense. They now read to reaffirm their already preconceived notions on a subject, and when what they reading doesn't conform to those notions, they start typing rubbish.

Ishilove! Ishilove! Ishilove!

I'm surprised! Did you really expect anything sensible from them? I didn't.

I created this thread for 3 main reasons.

1) To set the record straight for sensible people. That's easy to do because the facts speak for themselves.

2) To laugh at people that are desperately trying to spin a narrative, even though there's no substance in that narrative.

3) To catch trolls.

As I said, the facts speak for themselves and are incontrovertible. People that try to contradict the facts will only be mocking themselves.


1) They said that the NTA tried to force General Gowon to speak Hausa. It is obvious that it was Ecowas that asked him to speak Hausa and no sensible person can argue about this fact.

2) This is the funniest claim. They said that General Gowon can't speak Hausa because he is not Hausa and so it was wrong to ask him to speak Hausa. Even a child in primary school knows that you don't have to be Hausa to speak Hausa. In fact I posted a clip of General Gowon speaking Hausa in a BBC Hausa interview many years ago.

3) They said that General Gowon did not want to speak Hausa because he did not want to speak the language of the people that were killing his people. That's so much nonsense.

General Gowon actually spoke Hausa right there at that event. One of the people that asked him to translate the letter spoke to him in Hausa and he responded in Hausa.

General Gowon explained why he didn't want to translate the letter. He said that he only spoke English for the past 8 or 9 years and he has forgotten how to speak Hausa perfectly. He said that it would have been OK if he was just conversing with them, they would accept any mistake he makes, but for such an important letter and such an important broadcast that was going out across West Africa, his Hausa wasn't good enough.

4) When they tried all arguments and failed, they started grasping at straws. They asked why the NTA ended the live telecast.

What is the big deal if the NTA ended the telecast? This was not an NTA programme, it was an Ecowas world press conference! The NTA is not the only media house in West Africa. The press conference was covered by media houses from across West Africa (you should see the number of journalists and cameramen in the room), so once again, what is the big deal if the NTA ended its live telecast?


5) They cooked up some nonsense story about northern domination, a story that has no facts except the fantasy in their heads. Hausa is the most spoken language in West Africa. It is the most spoke language in Niger (one of the countries that wants to break away), it is spoken in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and even in non-West African countries like Cameroon, Sudan and Chad. General Gowon also speaks Hausa and this is why Ecowas asked him to speak it.

6) They also insinuated that General Gowon was angry, but you can see him in the video for yourself . Was he angry?

Anyone that tries to contradict the facts above will simply be making a mockery of himself. As for the trolls, those are for the mods to handle.


The other joke is that the thread represents something that Gowon mentioned in the video about his visit to Aso Rock. That is, fake news.

They lied that he was dead, they lied that he didn't want to do the press conference and now they are lying about the actual press conference.

So this thread was created for my entertainment and it expired when the Super Falcons match began.

Interview with Ashleigh Plumptre after the match.

🗣️ Our returning solid defender Ashleigh Plumptre speaks after the 0-0 draw against Cameroon 🇨🇲 in Douala

📱#SoarSuperFalcons #CAFWOQ    #CAMNGA #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/GC5hkN67X8

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) February 23, 2024

Photos

All the results of yesterday's matches.

Were Esther Okoronkwo's goals good goals?

(I think the Super Falcons handler was confused by the hairstyles, it was Esther Ijeoma Okoronkwo that scored the goals, not Jennifer Onyi Echegini).

Lineup.

Two goals by Esther Okoronkwo were disallowed by the referee.

Highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O2eJIdUsgI

Paris 2024 Qualifiers: S/Falcons Hold Cameroon To Away Draw In First Leg

February 23, 2024.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons held Cameroon to a 0-0 draw in Douala, in the first leg, third round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers on Friday.

It was a game that saw the return of head coach Randy Waldrum back to the side after the 2023 FIFA women’s World Cup.

Also back in the team was Ashleigh Plumptre, whose last outing with the former African champions was at the World Cup tournament.

The Falcons are seeking a first Olympic qualification since the 2008 games in Beijing.

Since appearing at the 2008 games, the Falcons have missed out in three consecutive editions (2012, 2016, 2020).

Cameroon denied the Falcons the ticket for the London 2012 games after winning on penalty shootout in the final round of the qualifiers.

In Friday’s tie, it was the Cameroonians who went close in the 11th minute but Chiamaka Nnadozie stopped them from taking the lead.

In the 28th minute Toni Payne made a brilliant run-in but could not set up Asisat Oshoala for the our opener.

The Falcons thought they had opened the scoring on 54 minutes only for substitute Jennifer Echegini’s effort ruled out for offside.

On 64 minutes Echegini then set up Oshoala on the edge of the box but her effort was well saved by the Cameroonian keeper.

The two teams will meet on Monday, 26 February in Abuja for the second leg.

Winner between the Falcons and Cameroon will face either South Africa or Tanzania in the final qualifying round.

The South Africans look good to progress into the final round after recording a 3-0 away win against Tanzania also played on Friday.

https://www.completesports.com/paris-2024-qualifiers-s-falcons-hold-cameroon-to-away-draw-in-first-leg/

naptu2:
I will stop responding to questions on this thread when the football starts. You can save your questions till the next thread on this subject.

Sorry, time up.

There are rumours that Barcelona and Bay FC are going to collaborate to create youth academies across the US.

I will stop responding to questions on this thread when the football starts. You can save your questions till the next thread on this subject.

Aha! I'll add one more thing.

The video on yesterday's thread was very short and it aided a certain narrative. I posted the full video on this thread and it destroys that narrative.

1) General Gowon was not angry at all. Instead he was laughing and joking that they have staged a coup and an ambush.

2) Some funny people claimed that General Gowon does not want to speak Hausa because he doesn't want to speak the language of the killers of his people. Yet he spoke Hausa right there!

He said that his Hausa is not good enough to be able to translate what was written. He said that if he is just talking to them conversationally, then it would be OK. One of the people began speaking to him in Hausa and he replied.

So it's just as I said, an occassion like that deserved a better form of translation and it's not that General Gowon cannot speak Hausa, but his Hausa is not good enough for that kind of occasion. Watch the video (this is the full video, not that short thing that was posted yesterday).

Start from the 8:45 minute mark.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnzX6bsMRgQ

ivolt:
There would be nothing wrong if NTA asked an Hausa speaker and not insist on it when told otherwise.
I have seen several interviews in Hausa, but none of the guest were pressured into speaking it.
Defending a wrong even if theoretical is wrong.

1) The NTA did not ask anybody to speak in Hausa.

2) General Gowon previously spoke Hausa, but as he said, he hasn't for 8 or 9 years.

3) Nobody insisted or pressured anything. The full video is on the first post. The MC said that the letter will be translated to Hausa and General Gowon said nobody told him that he will translate it into Hausa and that he has spoken only English for 8 or 9 years. Omar Touray asked Gowon what was happening and the General explained that the MC said that he would translate the letter to Hausa.

If you want to know my views on Ecowas asking Gowon to speak Hausa without first informing him, simply go through the thread, I can't repeat myself.

If you want to hear General Gowon speaking Hausa, simply check the first post, I can't post it again.

Goodlady:
Uncle people can see nothernisation handwriting clearly. It's part of it. Those that are saying Gowon should translate to Hausa are not doing enough to educate those Hausa speakers that English is global and French sef na the official language of Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea.

It's the feeling of northernisation naa! Privileges enjoyed to the extent of religious radicalization made a nitwit to say such about wife of president of his country. See evil guts!

Is it northernisation in Niger Republic, Benin, Togo and Ghana? How do you even know that the person that asked Gowon to translate is Nigerian?

What is the most spoken language in Niger (one of the countries that is pulling out of Ecowas)?

Let me just try to humour you for one post only.

J3susFr3ak:
Yeah Naptu...I know you created the thread to emphasize that it was the ECOWAS dude that asked Gowon to speak Hausa and not NTA.

Even if it was the ECOWAS initiating the sudden strange foray into Hausa....it certainly made things a lot more awkward for NTA to cut off the live broadcast instantly there ...am I right.

1) NTA ending the live transmission (if that's what really happened, because I no longer trust these people) did not make a damn thing more awkward.

2) There is absolutely nothing strange about NTA ending the live transmission. That's what they often do when things get rowdy

3) What on earth is this strange obsession with NTA ending the live transmission and what on earth has it got to do with the topic of the thread (I seriously suspect that it is just an attempt to derail the thread because the allegation that NTA tried to force Gowon to speak Hausa has been proven to be false)

I thought it was bad before, but there is absolutely no sense and logic in the last one up there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w_xojxPBIY?si=YGnBAHG6ADazzO-I

Deltamani:
Cameroon have always been one Opponent we hardly don’t get in any major tournaments in Africa, South Africa is next before Ghana.. But the rival with Ghana was the strongest back in the days because of the rivalry in all aspects.. Now South Africa have taken over as the No.1 that can upset us among the trio.
Equatorial Guinea was only in the picture then because of their use of Male Players which gave them the edge to balance us..

Exactly

GeneralDae:
But Cameroon is no arch rival to the falcons judging by records alone. It is even debatable to say South Africa is a rival or maybe I'm missing something.

Well, we have 3 main rivals (Cameroon, South Africa and Ghana) and it's difficult to separate the three.

A rival simply means someone that you often compete against for the same object. In this case, someone that you often play high profile or major matches against.

We played against Cameroon in the final stage of World Cup qualifying in 1991 and in the finals of the 2004, 2014 and 2016 Nations Cup. We have also met them in major quarter and semi finals (remember 2018).

If you check, virtually all AFCON finals and many final stages of World Cup and Olympic Games qualifiers have been between Nigeria and either Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa or Equatorial Guinea.

ufotunang:
So how does this solve nigeria problems

Simple, create a thread about solving Nigeria's problems. This thread is not about solving Nigeria's problem, it is about whether the NTA asked General Gowon to speak Hausa.

Anyone that wants to ask me any question should read through the thread very well and make sure that I have not already answered the question