By Adeola Aderounmu

I would like to make a humble request that Nigerian Bloggers Worldwide set aside 4 days, June 27-30 2008, as special days for one line of publication. Can we all dedicate these 4 days in June to Osamuyia Aikpitanhi? That young man was murdered on June 9 2007 by the Spanish Police while being cruelly deported on a notorious Iberia Flight.

The story was featured prominently on the

Nigeria Village Square

and Concerned Nigerians Worldwide (CNW) organized a global demonstration to protest the brutal killing of Osamuyia. These four days will coincide with the same time last year (2007) when protest marches were organized to Spanish embassies across the globe.

It may interest you dear fellow bloggers that Osamuyia is still lying in the cold somewhere in racist Spain and his killers are walking tall and free. Our Nigerian government is bad and wicked and this is one of the pieces of evidence that we need to know that our lives remain in our hands. Being our brothers’ keeper is a moral that we should never throw away. Without that principle, millions of people in Nigeria will slip from poverty zone into the zone of extinction.

Many of us have impacted our world with our blog messages and we have teeming readership. If we dedicate those 4 days to Osamuyia, we may succeed where our government has failed woefully. The government failed to build on the Momentum gathered by CNW Some of us have no faith in governance in Nigeria. How else can one express the shocking revelation that the Federal Government of Nigeria cannot secure the release of Osamuyia’s corpse one year after he was murdered in Spain by the Spanish Police?

The Aikpitanhi Family is still in agony and pain as shown by the investigative report of Ahaoma Kanu. They are yet to get the opportunity to bury their son and brother. Osamuyia needs a proper resting place and his family would like to have him back. Let us direct parts of our publications / messages along that line.

While doing that, we must also condemn the racism involved in this entire unfortunate episode. Let us condemn racism in Spain as well as the lack of proper prosecution for the erring murderers in police uniform.

Our message will not be complete if we do not direct more of our energy towards the government at home. Let us condemn in strong terms the handling of this matter by the Nigerian Government. We can call for the sacking of the Minister of External Affairs. Maybe, just maybe we may sensitize someone who has the solution to this shameful act. We can also request for the re-call of Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain. He may be neglecting his duties.

In calling for the sack of the Minister, we can raise questions regarding the investigations that have been carried out and what has stalled the process of demanding for justice for Osamuyia. As Nigerians we deserve to know why a brother has been left in the cold for more than one year.

I hope that we can heed this call to dedicate 96 hours to our late brother and friend. He had dreams like the rest of us in the Diaspora but his was cut short very prematurely. His death has implications for our world: racism, bad governance, irresponsible public servants, police brutality, murder and negligence of duties.

By speaking out and writing boldly on June 27-30 2008, we can one way or the other change the world we live in for the better. We must also hope that Osamuyia’s body will finally arrive in Nigeria at the end of the blog dedication. This is a task started by NVS/ CNW but it is a solidarity call for all of us wherever we are on planet earth.

Suggestions for Blogging

June 27: Condemn the Spanish Government for not releasing the body of late Osamuyia one year after its agent murdered him.

June 28: Condemn the Nigerian Government for not caring for one of its own, even in death.

June 29: Comment further on the situations above and ask for the resignation or sacking of Nigeria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs for negligence of duty and incompetence. Please request the recall of Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain for not acting effectively to send Osamuyia’s corpse to Nigeria.

June 30: Condemn the Spanish government for not prosecuting murderers in its ranks and make a final call for JUSTICE and the release of Osamuyia’s body to his family one year after he was murdered by the Spanish police.

This is how I will blog these four days in addition to what I have written about this case in the past/present.