By JKNewsMedia Reporter
UNWAVERING SOLIDARITY with the people and government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela formed the centre of a renewed statement issued by the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign in Nigeria (VSCN), as the coalition moved to counter what it described as misleading social media content and restate its position on recent global developments.
The group said it remained fully aligned with the people and government of Venezuela and rejected any form of military invasion, regime change operations or economic warfare directed at the South American nation.
It also recalled that during the second week of November last year, members of the coalition paid a solidarity visit to the Embassy of Venezuela in Nigeria. The group described the visit as peaceful and principled diplomatic engagement carried out in opposition to threats of military invasion and destabilisation allegedly orchestrated by the United States government against Venezuela.
The VSCN coalition stated that its position during that visit remained unchanged adding that sovereign nations must not be invaded, destabilised or coerced under any guise.
Also, it added that dialogue, diplomacy and respect for international law must take precedence over military occupation and what it described as imperial aggression.
VSCN further noted it had warned during the visit and continued to warn that recurring narratives centred on fighting drugs and arms smuggling had often been used to justify political abductions, foreign interventions and the plunder of national resources.
Saying that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and strategic green lands remained the real target, the VSCN group further said recent speeches by United States President Donald Trump showed that the abduction and bombing of Venezuela were about multinational corporations returning to run the oil industry in Venezuela.
In their statement, the VSCN said the campaign stood with the positions of the people in rejecting US imperialism and added that any attempt to impose leadership on Venezuela from outside its borders amounted to a grave violation of international norms and set a dangerous precedent for countries of the Global South.
The coalition also condemned what it described as renewed threats to invade Greenland and other countries including Iran and Nigeria. It said such actions were aimed at stealing oil and other mineral resources from those nations.
Addressing recent criticism, the group’s statement, signed by Gerald O. Katchy, National Secretary of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), said it was neither moved nor shaken by threats and attacks on its coalition following the now trending Solidarity Walk to the Venezuelan Embassy.
They described their walk as a foreshadowing of what it called horrible invasions by the US, calling on all Nigerians inspired by global peace and justice to join in solidarity by conducting marches and mass actions to reject all forms of imperialist attacks on sovereignty and democratic rights of nations.
Furthermore, they condemned attempts by certain political actors who it said were driven by hostility toward the President Bola Tinubu’s-led government, and accusing such actors of aligning with United States imperial interests and advancing narratives that could justify foreign interference in Nigeria.
The coalition also described the politicisation of alleged historical forfeiture claims from the early 1990s as reckless and dangerous and said such actions exposed the country to external destabilisation.
Drawing on historical references, the group stated that Nigeria had a history of standing in solidarity with oppressed people around the world citing the period of apartheid in South Africa, noting that youth in Nigeria formed Youth Solidarity with Southern Africa and raised funds to fight apartheid in South Africa and to oppose colonisation in other Southern African countries such as Namibia.
They also used their campaign to caution that what Venezuela was facing today could confront Nigeria tomorrow if vigilance was abandoned.
Issuing a series of demands and reaffirmations, the VSCN called for the immediate release of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who it said were illegally abducted by the regime of Donald Trump.
Reaffirming its total and unwavering solidarity with the people and government of Venezuela, the VSCN called for an immediate end to US interference in Venezuelan affairs and demanded respect for Venezuela’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and democratic institutions.
The campaign also urged the Nigerian people to remain alert, proactive and people centred and called for the strengthening of pro-masses policies, national unity and social justice, describing these as the first line of defence against imperial aggression; whilst it ended with a warning that nations which failed to protect their people and sovereignty invited foreign intrusion and destabilisation, citing Sudan and Congo as examples.
Other VSCN statement signatories include Blessing Yusuf, FCT Chairperson of the Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FIWN), Omole Ibukun, Director of the Creative Change Centre (CCC), Abiodun Emmanuel Fayemi, Head of African Farmers and Agricultural Practitioners (AFAP), and Kunle Wizeman Ajayi, Deputy National Secretary of the African Action Congress (AAC) as well as General Secretary of the United Actions for Democracy (UAD).
