Posted by on
True to their promise, pro-democracy activists in New York embarked on a protest that stampeded Prof. Gambari and the Medgar Evers College President, Mr. Edison Jackson at the Founders Auditorium of the Medgar Evers College campus in Brooklyn, New York.
True to their promise, pro-democracy activists in New York embarked on a protest that stampeded Prof. Gambari and the Medgar Evers College President, Mr. Edison Jackson at the Founders Auditorium of the Medgar Evers College campus in Brooklyn, New York.
The June 12 lecture, which was part of a film screening, featured Professor Gambari was organized by Medgar Evers College authorities as part of the annual event to remember the late civil rights activist Medgar W. Evers who was assassinated 42 years ago in Mississipi as the clampdown of black activists reached its peak in the United States of America.
Nigerians abroad, angered by hints that Gambari, opponent of the popular June 12 elections that would have seen Chief Moshood Abiola emerging president, and the defender-in-chief of late General Sani Abacha's extra judicial murder of the Ogoni civil rights campaigner, Ken Saro Wiwa had vowed they would not allow the professor to deliver the lecture.
Pro-democracy activists in New York started arriving the college from 3:00pm, acting on a tip off that the former Ambassador of Nigeria to the UN under General Sani Abacha was going to make it to the lecture.
This was despite repeated denials by the Medgar Evers college authorities that Prof Gambari was being invited.
They had told many Nigerians who called the college to protest Gambari's invitation that they did no include his name as one of the participants.
Incidentally, his name was also omitted from the public information released by the college according to what we have heard.
Instead, the school authorities included the name of the Rwanda Ambassador to the UN as a decoy to beat protesters.
When he arrived, Prof. Gambari was received by Chief Chika Onyeani, President of Celebrate Africa Foundation, who sources said was the front that Professor Gambari used to get the Medgar Evers College authorities to invite him to speak at the college.
The Professor has been doing image remodeling by engaging in speaking to Nigerian groups all over the US as part of his plan to run for the presidency.
He arrived the venue at about 4:00pm and was immediately heckled by the activists.
He was palpably jittery and quickly moved inside the auditorium as his explanations to the activists that he did not support the repressions carried out by the Abacha regime fell on deaf ears.
After entering the Auditorium, the activists led by Omoyele Sowore of the Nigeria Liberty Forum (NLF-USA) who equally contributes to the Telegraph group from abroad tried to gain entrance into the auditorium but were denied entry by the police.
Later, they sneaked inside during the showing of the movie, HOTEL RWANDA and soon as the movie wound up and the college president stood up to speak they embarked upon singing and shouting.
The group of Nigerians accused the college president of betraying Medgar Evers by inviting Prof Gambari who they said supported and defended the killing of environmentalist, Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni 8, the detention and eventual death of Chief M. K. O. Abiola and the annulment of June 12 elections.