The Academic Staff Union of Universities have called on President Buhari and all other leaders of African countries to severe economic ties with Morocco in a bid to end the country’s colonization of Western Sahara.
In a communique signed by Dr. Dipo Fashina at a 3-day international conference themed Towards the Liberation of Africa’s Last Colony” organised by ASUU, condemned the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, describing it as a crime against humanity in the 21st century.”
It was stated in the communique that the United Nations to hold the referendum for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara in accordance with the relevant UN and OAU resolutions. ASUU also condenmed the role play by France at the Security Council in supporting Morocco’s hold on Western Sahara.
“The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the last Colony in Africa forcibly being controlled, raped and exploited by Morocco, another African country.
“Morocco has refused to allow the independence of the Western Sahara people since 1975 when it took it over shortly after Spain left the territory. In doing this, Morocco has refused to honour declarations of International organisations such United Nations and African Union to the effect of conducting a referendum and determining the fate of the people. Western Sahara, a mainly desert territory in Northwest Africa is the subject of a decades-long dispute between Morocco and the Polisario Front. The territory is phosphate-rich and believed to have offshore oil deposits, and most of it has been under Moroccan control since 1975.
“Morocco presently occupies 80percent of the territory containing ‘juicy’ resources while leaving 20 per cent desert portion for the owners who have been exiled.”
ASUU called on other African countries to use their bilateral relations to act individually and collectively to force Morocco out of the Western Sahara. They called on Nigeria to distance herself to African Union by withdrawing her membership.
It called for the establishment of Nigeria-SADR bi-national commission to reinforce cooperation between the two countries.
