Former Interior Minister and Honourary President of the Nigeria Movement of Solidarity with Cuba, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has called on Africans to show solidarity to Cubans who are being asphyxiated by the United States of America.

 He raised the alarm that children and the elderly in the country are facing death-like situation following the blockage of Cuban fuel and energy supplies by the US leaving hospitals and laboratories without needed power supply.

It would be recalled that the revolution by the Cuban led to nationalisation and a trade war with the U.S, that prompted seizure of American economic assets, including oil refineries. The U.S. retaliated with a total embargo on Cuban trade especially oxygen, with exceptions for food and medicine.

Aregbesola during a conference on Nigeria Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (NMSC) with the theme: ‘Cuba and all countries have the right to live’ in Abuja said countries like Venezuela and Mexico are being punished or threatened with severe sanctions for trading with Cuba or even offering it emergency humanitarian needs.

“This is the time Cuba needs solidarity from all peoples of the world. It is in the enlightened self-interest of humanity to stand by Cuba not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because unless we show solidarity and stand together, powerful countries like the US will also dictate to us the God we must worship.

“We Africans ally with the Cuban people not just because they have a right like all other peoples to live, but also because it aligns with our belief in universal peace and social justice. Besides, Cubans have taught the world how to love each other and be ready to sacrifice,” he said.

The President General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Comrade Engr. Festus Osifo said the TUC of Nigeria firmly believes that no nation should be subjected to external interference, coercive measures, or economic blockades that undermine its sovereignty and the welfare of its people.

” We therefore reject the continued interference of the United States of America in the internal affairs of Cuba, as well as policies that impose hardship on Cuban workers and citizens.

“As trade unionists, our concern is always for the working class and the vulnerable. Sanctions and external pressures often impact ordinary workers the most — limiting access to essential goods, services, and opportunities.

“The TUC reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the workers and people of Cuba in their legitimate aspirations for peace, economic stability, and national development,” he said.

The Senior Assistant General Secretary in the Research Department of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) James Imoyera condemned the continued, unjustified inclusion of Cuba on the U.S. “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list—a spurious designation that chokes the island’s economy and prevents access to vital financial systems describing it as not just a policy; but a collective punishment.

“We demand the immediate and unconditional lifting of the U.S. blockade. We call for an end to the smear campaigns against Cuba’s international medical brigades, who have saved countless lives across the globe”.

He also called for removal of Cuba from the terrorism list. Lastly, we highlight and recognize the bravery of the Cuban people in overcoming economic hardship.

Also, the Cuban Ambassador Miriam Morales Palmero appealed to multiply and widen the actions in favor of Cuba in all possible platforms: in the trade unions, academic, youth, community and media circles.

She laued Nigeria stating that Nigerians  all demonstrate that Africa and the Caribbean share not only a history of resistance, but a struggling present for an international order more just and equitable.

“We want you also to know that Cuba will never renounce to its independence, to its social model sovereignly elected, neither to its solidarity vocation with the peoples of the world,” she said.