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Tag: United Nations

  • Boko Haram Insurgency: President Buhari heads to Chad

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday departed Abuja for N’Djamena, Chad, to preside over the Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Buhari, in his capacity as Chairman of the Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), summoned the meeting meant to find lasting solution to the menace of Boko Haram insurgency.

    Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement in Abuja said the meeting of the Heads of States and Governments of the LCBC would take place in N’Djamena, Chad on Thursday.

    Also, the President of Benin Republic, a troops-contributing country, has also been invited to attend the meeting.

    The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), and national operations of the affected countries have appreciably degraded the capacity of Boko Haram terrorists, although the insurgents still retain the capacity to attack isolated targets in desperate search for supplies.

    According to Adesina, the one-day meeting will review the security situation in the areas affected by Boko Haram insurgency.

    He said it would also adopt measures to enhance the capacity of the MNJTF to meet the challenges of securing the areas.

    Read Also: Metele Attack: 23 soldiers killed, Boko Haram uses drones-Buratai

    “The presidents of the LCBC member countries of Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and the Central African Republic have been invited to attend the meeting.

    “The President of Benin Republic, a troops-contributing country has also been invited to attend.

    “The MNJTF and the national operations of the affected countries have appreciably degraded the capacity of Boko Haram terrorists, although the insurgents still retain the capacity to attack isolated targets in desperate search for supplies,’’ Adesina said.

    Millions of people in Africa’s Lake Chad region (north-east Nigeria and parts of Niger, Chad and Cameroon) are facing a profound and protracted crisis driven by extreme poverty, climate change and violent conflicts according to the UN.

    The crisis, the world body added has led to the internal displacement of 2.4 million people, the destruction of livelihoods, human rights abuses, and the disruption of health, education and other basic services.

    More than 10 million vulnerable people need life-saving assistance and protection today. Women and children are particularly hard hit.

    In Feb. 2017, a conference on the Lake Chad region, co-hosted by Germany, Nigeria, Norway, and the United Nations took place in Oslo where donors pledged 672 million dollars to emergency assistance and support in 2017 and beyond.

  • Why children are now leaders of today, not tomorrow

    In the spirit of the international children day, an event that is celebrated every 20th of November, it is important to note that children are no longer leaders of tomorrow, but leaders of today

    With the 2018 theme “Children are taking over and turning the world blue” , the United Nations encourages that children on this day “take over” key roles in media, politics, business, sport and entertainment to voice their support for millions of their peers who are unschooled, unprotected and uprooted.

    The Children of today look forward to a great and awesome future that they have not gotten.  Despite their hard work to achieve greatness, the society is left with a generation that has little or nothing to show for their hard work

    All that occurs today are excuses and complains about the government, physical barriers, financial problems and societal limitations.

    It is important as leaders and parents to help bring out the giant in children through education, training, giving them responsibilities and others. Let there be no more excuses and regrets because all opportunities for a better life is open.

    As the cases of violence against children is becoming  rampant in the society, with unending defilement and brutal murder of children, our hearts bleed for victims as the society needs to take a stand to fight for the children.

    Silence will make no difference and indifference itself will make us eternal slaves to the unjust.

     

    Olusegun Esther is a student of Kwara State Polytechnic.

  • UN, Nigeria’s private sector launch Humanitarian Fund

    Nigeria’s business leaders will make history in Lagos on Thursday  15th November 2018 when they partner with the United Nations to launch the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund Private Sector Initiative (the NHF-PSI).

    This was disclosed in a statement by the organizers.

    According to the statement, the bold platform is a global first that will serve as a blueprint for private sector engagement in humanitarian action around the world through a UN country-based pooled fund.

    The launch will be attended by leaders of Nigeria’s private sector, senior UN representatives, ambassadors of donor countries, and civil society heads.

    Read Also: How to diversify Nigeria’s economy, by NAPE

    Zenith Bank founder Mr Jim Ovia and Oando Chief Executive Officer  Mr Wale Tinubu are among several of Nigeria’s top business leaders who will pledge to support the fund .

    Many other major companies that have a stake in the future of all Nigerians have indicated their support for the fund, and others are encouraged to join this collaborative, accountable and measurable platform for humanitarian action.

  • UN begins road safety advocacy to reduce crashes

    Dr Sydney Ibeanusi, Country Director, United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention in Nigeria has said that the UN has started the coordination of road safety advocacy to reduce road crashes.

    Ibeanusi said this in an interview on Friday with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

    He said that it was collaborating with the government and relevant authorities to ensure that traffic rules and regulations were obeyed.

    Ibeanusi said that road users must adhere by the rules guiding the road, stating that over 70 per cent of crashes are caused by road user’s behaviour.

    He said that road users can also be enforcers of the rule by reporting to relevant authorities anyone found breaking the law.

    According to him, the issue of road crashes is not only a national issue but a global one, not only caused by quality of road but also by recklessness of road users.

    Read Also: Man docked over theft of cell phone worth N20,000

    “As we stand, we think every Nigerian, as long as you are a road user, is a stakeholder in what we are doing. Part of our mandate is to carry out wide advocacy across the country.

    “To bring it to the consciousness of every Nigerian, at a tender age to make sure that road safety continues to move in the activity of the country.

    “There should be widespread advocacy to bring everybody onboard and as it stands the united nations are taking road safety issue as a fundamental human right. So its not just a Nigeria thing but a global thing.

    “Injury prevention, which is the mandate of the United Nations, was signed by various countries including Nigeria in 2010 and it was launched in the country in 2011; it has been running since then.

    “The United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention Nigeria is a multi-sectorial stakeholder’s forum involving all the key relevant stakeholders involved in road safety issues.”

  • Buhari at the United Nations plenary

    I have been travelling through Europe and North America for the past few weeks so it was with pleasure that I watched our president deliver his speech at this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). I have some sentimental memories of my being a member of Nigeria’s delegation to UNGA beginning from 1988 to 1993 and again in 2005 before finally bowing out.

    I remember those years we spent under our foreign minister, General Ike Nwachukwu (retired) crafting our statements at the United Nations. When the late General Joseph Garba was our our ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, we used to debate every word in the president’s speech before a final text was given to the president, vice president or foreign minister for delivery at the podium of the UN. It was usually a lively scene of arguments sometimes deteriorating into rude retorts before we settled down to a clean text. Even after that, someone close to the leader of the delegation may sneak in a sentence or two even after the advance copy had gone to the UN secretariat. This was why every UN speech had at the back – “check against delivery”.

    By the time I stopped going to the UN, it was no longer customary for speeches to be printed since this was made available on UN website. It was also customary for the president to host a reception for other delegates on the day of the national statement at the UN. The Nigerian delegation was always bloated. No amount of effort made by the ministry of foreign affairs to control the size of the delegation worked.  People came from every ministry tangentially related to UN affairs wanting to be delegates. The people in the ministry of finance who had to provide the money for the operations and their colleagues in the Central Bank would insist on attending. The various line ministries, cabinet office or the presidency as it is now called would have its own list. The ministry of foreign affairs always had a long list. The media also had to be invited so that one would have adequate coverage.

    During civilian administrations of Shehu Shagari and since 1999 post-military civilian regime, members of parliament and even state governors showed up as delegates in what had by then become a charade. The effect of this was that Nigeria’s delegation was usually embarrassingly large. But the work was done by only a few who were the best brains available or shall I say, who were invited. I hope Nigeria under Buhari will ensure that the size of its delegation is not too large and that people will not continue to show up until Christmas carrying letters from home to the permanent mission wanting to be registered as delegates.

    One also hopes that the Nigeria House in New York will continue to be maintained so that several of its floors can be rented out to service our diplomatic operations in North America and elsewhere. That was the purpose of building the imposing edifice in the first place. I say so because I was involved.

    President Muhammadu Buhari acquitted himself well in his performance at the UN. He was confident and had poise in his carriage and delivered a well crafted speech clearly. He covered all areas of the world where there are problems such as the Middle East particularly Palestine and Israel. He called for a just settlement of the Palestinian problem on the basis of a two states solution and according to the innumerable UN resolutions going back decades. Any one waiting for condemnation of the USA’s movement of its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv would be disappointed. Nigeria cannot be expected to face an approaching train of Trump’s America. The president spoke sympathetically on Syria calling for peaceful solution to the civil war while praising Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Germany for taking in Syrian refugees. He also called for peace in Yemen without getting involved in the struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East. He then spent an unnecessarily long time on the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar praising Bangladesh for its humanitarian assistance to the refugees.  One wonders whether the time spent on the perennial problems of the Middle East could not have been better spent on African and Nigerian problems while just mentioning the Middle East in one or two sentences.

    The president paid adequate and encouraging tribute to Eritrea and Ethiopia for signing a peace treaty between the two countries and ending the state of belligerency which had unhappily existed between the two countries for decades. He said South Sudan and Djibouti had also resolved their internal problems that have led to the loss of lives and displacement of their people. He said no problem was too deep-rooted that it cannot be solved. He mentioned the situation in the Sahel and the threat posed by terrorists to West Africa following the collapse of Libya. He linked the proliferation of weapons and light arms in our sub region with the collapse of Libya but said nothing about those who killed Ghadafi to contribute to the solution.

    His call on the international community to help us restore the waters of Lake Chad and thereby the livelihood to 45 million people is likely to fall on deaf ears. His acknowledgement of the help of France, Germany, the USA and Norway in this regard is spot on. Boko Haram and the rehabilitation of our people in the northeast of Nigeria can only be resolved within bilateral relations with friendly nations. I will like discrete moves made to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the states in the Gulf where our rich people carry our money to for assistance in our situation of desperation. The president also linked the desiccation of Lake Chad to climate change and its deleterious effect in the bitter and deadly struggle for land between farmers and herders in Nigeria indirectly calling for all countries including the United States to take the issue of climate change seriously. He did not say this but it is implied. He finally called for international effort to stamp out corruption and illegal transfer of billions of dollars by nationals of under developed countries to the developed countries. He added that without repatriation of such funds, resources available to government will be considerably reduced. He said we will not have the resources to provide employment for our youths at home instead of their dying miserably in the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea.

    The president should have mentioned what his government was doing to tackle all these problems.

    On the whole it was a good speech which also was well delivered. Unfortunately it was delivered to a virtually empty chamber. Nigeria has no control who listens to its president’s speech at the UN. Thank God, we were not laughed at. But the lack of audience is a manifestation of how far down Africa and Nigeria has sunk in international reckoning. Our continent has become a synonym for disease, poverty underdevelopment and civil strife and there is no glimmer of hope that our continent will soon join the rest of humanity in the march for development. This is the challenge before all of us and particularly before Nigeria’s leaders ruling over a country that the UN says by 2050 will harbour 40% of the poorest people in the world.

  • Celebrating World Food Day 2018 – Amid rising global hunger

    The United Nations World Food Day, celebrated every year on October 16, is a day of action dedicated to tackling global hunger.

    Nigeria joined the rest of the world in celebrating the UN World Food Day on October 16, 2018 – amid growing concerns of rising global hunger, and mounting evidence of the links between conflict, poverty and food insecurity.

    The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) Country Office in Nigeria joined hands to mark the World Food Day with a series of activities spread through one full week.

    The events included a 5km road-walk; a symposium on Zero Hunger; a book / photo exhibition, and on the actual day itself an agricultural fair. The road-walk, on October 9, turned out to be a truly fun-filled event, and attracted scores of farmers displaying their agricultural produce; directors and staff members of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; WFP and FAO staff members; journalists and hundreds of men and women – some with their children.

    The road-walk was an opportunity to salute the courage of Nigerian farmers who produce most of the food for a population of nearly 200 million people.

    At a symposium on October 12 titled: “Our Actions are Our Future: A Zero Hunger World by 2030 is Possible,” the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Nigeria to achieving Zero Hunger within the next few years. “In the next 12 years, Nigeria will join the league of nations who would be able to feed the world,” Senator Lokpobiri said.

    For the World Food Programme Country Office in Nigeria, the World Food Day is a renewed commitment to fighting hunger. Within two years of establishing its presence in Nigeria as a full-fledged Country Office, the World Food Programme has shown its commitment to working with the government and people of Nigeria in line with its mission of “Saving Lives, Changing Lives”.

    Since the summer of 2016, WFP has been providing life-saving assistance to families affected by the conflict in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. An average of 1.1 million people have relied on WFP food trucks to arrive in their area, or on cash distributions enabling them to purchase basic foods. Tens of thousands of pregnant or breastfeeding women as well as children under the age of five have received preventive nutritious foods as a supplement to avoid malnutrition. Families in the northeast appreciate the efforts of the WFP. As Mr Kalli Ali, a displaced person in Borno State, summed it up recently, “Yes, I know WFP; they are the people giving us food and money”.

    In 2018, while continuing to meet emergency needs, the WFP Country Office is increasing its focus on resilience, self-reliance, protection, and the empowerment of women and girls.

    “Relying on food aid for survival is not a long-term solution for anyone. We all need to work together to find ways for people to support themselves”, said Mrs. Myrta Kaulard, WFP Country Director for Nigeria.

    In the strategic plans for the next four years, WFP will therefore re-focus its efforts. WFP has started a transition journey addressing both humanitarian and development needs. This means working hand in hand with relevant government entities and other partners, supporting the overall efforts of Nigeria to produce more and higher quality food. The goal is to meet food needs of the entire and rapidly growing population in a way that equally benefits men and women. WFP strategies are in full alignment with the consensus on the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and the Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

    Although the number of people estimated to be facing food insecurity in the three most conflict-affected states in the northeast of Nigeria has reduced considerably in the last one year, the food security and nutrition situation remain very fragile. A full return to peace in the northeast will, no doubt, go a long way in ameliorating the situation.

    The Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, David Beasley said in his 2018 World Food Day address, “Affordable food and peaceful societies go hand in hand. But millions of our brothers and sisters enjoy neither; the presence of near-constant conflict makes it almost impossible to cook the simplest meal. We must do everything in our power to reduce conflict and rebuild economies, so markets can thrive and communities can prosper.”

    The United Nations World Food Programme – saving lives in emergencies and changing lives
    for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

  • 700m people unable to meet basic daily needs – UN

    No fewer than 700 million people are still being left behind and are unable to meet their basic daily needs, the United Nations has said.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated this in his message commemorating the 2018 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

    Guterres highlighted that eliminating poverty in all its forms remained one of the greatest global challenges and priorities.

    “Let us remember that ending poverty is not a matter of charity but a question of justice,” he said.

    “On this International day for the Eradication of Poverty,” the UN Chief added, “let us commit to uphold the core pledge of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind”.

    The UN chief stressed the fundamental connection between eradicating poverty and upholding equal rights for all.

    He said that since the day was first marked 25 years ago, “nearly one billion people have escaped poverty, thanks to political leadership, inclusive economic development and international cooperation”.

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    The 2018 theme is: ‘Coming together with those furthest behind to build an inclusive world of universal respect for human rights and dignity.

    Guterres said the theme underscored the connection between extreme poverty and human rights, specifically, emphasising that people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by many human rights violations.

    Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions is embodied in Goal 1 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to foster social protection systems for all.

    The UN will host the 25th Commemoration of the International Day at the headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

  • Edo upholding dignity of girl child – Obaseki

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the ongoing fight against human trafficking in Edo State is in recognition of the dignity of the girl child and her capacity to contribute to the growth and development of society.

    Obaseki said this in Benin City, in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child celebrated by the United Nations and its global partners on October 11, each year.

    He noted that “The fight against human trafficking and illegal migration requires the support of everyone as the menace debases the essence of our common humanity.”

    The governor further said that his administration has demonstrated the readiness to attend to the peculiar challenges faced by girls and women in the state with the appointment of 19 female aides on gender issues, who have been enriching government policies and programmes with the needs of girls and women.

    “We are empowering our girls and their male counterparts through the new basic education sector transformation (Edo-BEST) initiative of our administration; the various skills acquisition and job creation programmes of EdoJobs, an agency of the state government and we are committed to protecting our young girls in schools with the Child’s Rights Act, amongst other initiatives,” he said.

    He added that the landmark judgements secured against child molesters in the state is a testament to the commitment to protecting the girl child from social vices, noting that even more policy measures will be adopted to give the girl child a broader space to realise her potential.

    Obaseki described as apt, the theme of the 2018 International Day of the Girl Child, With Her: A Skilled GirlForce, and in consonance with the underlying philosophy of his administration’s well thought out programmes for the girl child.

    According to the United Nations, October 11 has been marked as the International Day of the Girl, since 2012, to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

    Read Also: I am not stingy, says Obaseki

    “Today’s generation of girls are preparing to enter a world of work that is being transformed by innovation and automation. Educated and skilled workers are in great demand, but roughly a quarter of young people – most of them female – are currently neither employed or in education or training.

    “Of the 1 billion young people – including 600 million adolescent girls – that will enter the workforce in the next decade, more than 90% of those living in developing countries will work in the informal sector, where low or no pay, abuse and exploitation are common,” the UN said.  

    The global body explained that it is using the day to “work alongside all girls to expand existing learning opportunities, chart new pathways and calling on the global community to rethink how to prepare them for a successful transition into the world of work.”

  • UN assembly: Nigerian youths call for action on global education

    Two Nigerian education campaigners Omotoke Olowo and Gideon Olanrewaju have canvassed for actions on global education, asking world leaders on their plans to get the world’s 260 million out of school children in to education.

    Olowo, CEO of Autism Awareness, and Olanrewaju, founder of Aid for Rural Education Access, made the call at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, where they attended the UNGA as part of education charity Theirworld’s #WritetheWrongCampaign.

    The duo attended high-level meetings alongside business executives and dignitaries such as Amina Mohammed, Gordon Brown and Graca Machel. At a meeting hosted by the Global Business Coalition for Education, Olanrewaju warned world leaders that: “young people would hold them accountable for concrete actions to move education forward.”

    Olowo on her part praised Gordon and Sarah Brown for being passionate about helping children and young people get the education they need to live independent lives.

    “What impressed me most was their commitment to marginalised children and those with learning disabilities who have previously been forgotten in the global education debate,” she said.

    She went further to say that the higher costs involved in supporting children with special educational needs is a barrier for many governments.

    “I hope the increased funding for global education that charities such as Theirworldand Save the Childrenare calling for will be used to support every child to get an education,” Olowo submitted.

    According to UNESCO, increased financing is essential to close the annual funding gap needed to support global education that low and middle-income countries face. The proposed International Finance Facility for Education (IFFED) aims to generate $10 billion dollars for education by using donor guarantees to leverage lending from multilateral banks.

    Despite significant advances in education across the globe, experts argue that over a quarter of a billion of children are out of school – 1 in 5 children don’t have a basic education.

    Sarah Brown, Theirworld President, said: “Many people are simply not aware of the scale of this crisis. Children out of school face a dire future of exploitation, child labour and early marriage. If leaders fail to act now an entire generation will miss out on an education.”

    The #WritetheWrong campaign aims to tackle the growing global education crisis, The Nation learnt.

  • Buhari faults slow pace of nuclear disarmament

    President Muhammadu Buhari has faulted the slow pace of progress by nuclear-weapon states towards achieving the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

    Buhari spoke in New York at an occasion to commemorate and promote the international day for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

    The President also reminded the world of its shared responsibility and collective resolve in the pursuit of peace, justice, prosperity and equal opportunities for all humanity.

    Urging for complete denuclearization in accordance with legal obligations and undertakings under Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Buhari said: “In this regard, we stress that the universalization of the Non-Proliferation Treaty is dependent upon strict compliance with its three pillars: disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”

    Buhari, who was represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, observed that over seven decades have passed since the world witnessed the first ever devastating and catastrophic impact of the use of nuclear weapons.

    He said “Yet today, the pains afflicted by that singular act continue to be borne by not only the direct victims of that attack, but also by many all around the world.”

    He also noted that the continued existence of nuclear weapons remains an existential threat to all humankind.

    “The cost of maintenance and modernization of these weapons are both outrageous and inexcusable when compared to resources allocated by States for more useful and productive ventures that could further the growth and peaceful development of societies.

    “My delegation reiterates the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that could result from either a deliberate use and/or unintentional explosion of nuclear weapons.

    “It is in this light that Nigeria calls on all States, particularly nuclear weapons States, to take into consideration, the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of these weapons on human health, the environment and vital economic resources among others, and to take necessary measures aimed at the dismantling and renunciation of these weapons.

    “Nuclear weapons remain the ultimate agents of mass destruction, and their total elimination should be the final objective of all disarmament processes within the broad spectrum of goals being pursued by the United Nations.

    Read Also: FG will win war against corruption – Buhari

    “To this end, my delegation heartily recalls the adoption of the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

    “My delegation remains proud to have participated actively in the processes leading to its adoption, as well as being one of the first countries to sign it.

    “Our commitment was guided by Nigeria’s principled position on the denuclearization of the world.

    “In Africa, we have long acknowledged the existential threat posed to human existence by nuclear tests. It was to this end that African countries collectively adopted the Pelindaba Treaty renouncing the acquisition of nuclear weapons for military purposes, as well as declaring Africa as a nuclear-weapons-free zone to serve as a shield for the African territory, by, inter-alia, preventing the stationing of nuclear explosive devices on the continent and prohibiting the testing of those weapons in the entire space that constitutes the African continent.” he said

    The President commended the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its role in monitoring and inspecting nuclear facilities.

    He urged states to ensure compliance with IAEA safeguards and standards at all times

    “While there are no easy solutions when we confront the gravest existential threat to our survival as a human race, we must remain undeterred and committed to a world of safety and security, one without the dangers posed by Nuclear Weapons,” he stated.