Nigerian living in Lahti Simon Ekpa said on Twitter on Tuesday that he has been awarded the “Peace Ambassador Award”.
The award was handed out at the Africa Day event celebrating the anniversary of the African Union at the Kulttuurikeskus Caisa in Helsinki last Thursday. The African Union is an organization of African countries that aims to increase political and economic cooperation between the countries.
Ekpa is known in Finland as a businessman who incites Nigerians to revolt. He supports the independence of the Biafra region from Nigeria.
He claims to be leading the activities of IPOB and its armed wing of the Biafra independence movement while the leader of the movement is in prison.
The meaning of the award is contradictory
The African Day event was coordinated by Afaes, a multicultural association of Africans and African-Europeans. 17 other non-governmental organizations participated in the event.
The Peace Ambassador award is given by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF). Its background is a new religious movement originating from Korea, Moonism. It is also known as the United Church.
The prize received last year former Member of Parliament Sultan Said Ahmed.
The fact that the award went to Simon Ekpa this year caused controversy, even shock, at the event. This is what an online publication that writes about multicultural issues in Finland says Diaspora Glitz. According to the publication, some of the organizers of the event were not aware of the award.
It is hard to fathom what Ekpa’s real influence is in Nigeria. In the video below, you can see what it looks like in Ekpa’s catchment area in the city of Enugu in southeastern Nigeria.
When ‘s reporter visited the city at the beginning of the year, it turned out that the curfews imposed by the bay businessman were really feared.
Now Ekpa says with the help of the award he received that he is in the cause of peace.
reached the chairman of Afaes by Fatima Usmanbut he did not want to comment on Ekpa’s awarding, but directed the inquiries to UPF, i.e. the religious organization that distributes the award.
UPF’s general secretary for Finland is Keijo Mikkanen. He also serves as Afaes’ secretary.
Mikkanen says that he gave the award to Ekpa, because he believes that Ekpa is trying to make peace.
According to Mikkanen, the award is given to a person who “promotes universal moral values, strong family ties, cooperation between religions, international harmony, reforming the UN, responsible media and building a culture of peace”.
Mikkanen says that he met Ekpa in September of last year. He compares Christianity to Ekpa To Jesus and to the former president of South Africa to Nelson Mandela.
– Persons who have been contradictory persons are also persons who have been able to make good history, says Mikkanen.
Mikkanen says that he guessed that the award would lead to a deal. He also wanted to warn ‘s editor about possible misinterpretations regarding his organization.
At the African Day event in the cultural center Caisa, there were a number of prestigious guests, such as a representative of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jukka Pajarinen as well as Finnish ambassadors of various African countries.
At the event, a group of diplomats participated in a panel discussion by the Think Africa organization, which dealt with the Africa-wide free trade area.
is told by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there is no knowledge of the award Ekpa received or the entity giving it, and that the ministry has nothing to comment on the matter. also reached out to the representatives of the organizer of the panel discussion, the Think Africa organization, without success.
Nigeria contacted Finland’s ambassador to Nigeria at the beginning of the year regarding Ekpa’s activities, but there has been no contact recently, says the head of the West and Central Africa team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jussi Nummelin To .
The suspected money collection crime is still being investigated
The police arrested Simon Ekpa, who lives in Lahti, last February. The neighbor confirmed that the events in Lahti were related to Ekpa.
KRP crime inspector Tommi Reen tells now that the criminal investigation related to the events in Lahti is still ongoing. Reen did not release the suspect’s name. According to him, the matter is being investigated as a suspected money-collecting crime.
– There is quite a lot of going through the data, which takes time. It’s hard to say how much longer it will take, says Reen.
In the investigation, the suspect and another person who is not suspected of a crime have been questioned.