Deputy Labour Party leader Harriet Harman has expressed sympathies with the Nigerian UK community over the recent abduction of 234 schoolgirls in Borno State and given her backing to the planned Nigerian Centenary Awards UK as a way of showing solidarity.
Speaking on Tuesday at a special interactive session the Labour Party held for members of Britain’s ethnic minority, Ms Harman expressed full support for the campaign to secure the girls release. Praising the Nigerian community in the UK for its resilience and industrious nature, Ms Harman added that she was supportive of plans to organise the Nigerian Centenary Awards UK on June 27.
Due to take place at Waltham Forest Town Hall on June 27, the event will involve the honouring of 100 outstanding Nigerians in the UK over the last 100 years. Ms Harman said Labour was the only political party in the UK that stood by ethnic minorities and had equality at the centre of its policies.
Ms Harman added: “What has made this country great over the years is not only the contribution of people born within it but also the contributions of people who have come to it. As a party we believe in Britain’s ethnic minorities and have granting them full equality as a central part of our politics.
“We in the Labour Party stand shoulder to shoulder with the Nigerian community in their quest to get back those schoolgirls who were recently abducted. We equally support all our other ethnic minorities with the various unique difficulties they go through.”
Ayo Akinfe, the chairman of the Nigerian Centenary Awards UK organising committee added: “Unfortunately, this is a trying time for Nigeria as our thoughts are all with those kidnapped girls. Our event is designed to honour Nigerians who have excelled over the last 100 years and I am in no doubt that among those Chibok students are some great achievers who will go on to unbelievable heights.
“It is my sincere belief that they will be released and what I would love is for them to be set free unharmed very soon. We would actually love to bring them to London in time for our event to parade them to the whole world as icons and symbols of resistance to the dark ways of terrorist organisations like Boko Haram.”
Other senior Labour Party figures present at the event who expressed similar opinions to Ms Harman included shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan, Diane Abbott, the member of parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee. Ms Abbott has promised to make a personal statement, expressing her support for the kidnapped girls.
Ronke Udofia, the chair of the Nigerian Centenary Awards UK awards sub-committee, urged everyone willing to make the event a success to www.nigeriancentenaryawardsuk.com to nominate their candidates as a way of showing their resilience and opposition to terrorism. She added that doing this despite the terror of Boko Haram is a way of refusing to be cowed and intimidated by terrorism.
