Former presidential aide, Babafemi Ojudu, has criticised the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, over her recent conduct during a visit to a prison in Ethiopia.
Naijaonpoint reports that a viral video on Friday showed the minister celebrating with Nigerian inmates at AbaSamuel Prison in Addis Ababa.
The inmates were seen expressing excitement after the signing of a bilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement between Nigeria and Ethiopia.
They also sang praises of President Bola Tinubu for facilitating the agreement.
Reacting in a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday, Ojudu questioned the message conveyed by the video.
He wondered whether the minister was celebrating criminality and said the footage portrayed Nigeria in a negative light.
“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?” Ojudu said.
The former presidential aide said public officials must be careful not to blur the line between compassion and celebration.
“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?” he said.
Ojudu said the video could send the wrong message to Nigerians who obey the law despite hardship.
He asked, “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.”
