The United Nations (UN) said yesterday that it has adopted a new strategy for assisting Nigeria in tackling the menace constituted by the Boko Haram sect.
This was disclosed by the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general for West Africa, Mr Said Djinnit, at the opening of the 45th ordinary session of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and a two-day summit in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.
President Goodluck Jonathan left Abuja on Wednesday evening to Accra where he is also attending the ECOWAS summit.
Djinnit, who said the support of the sub-regional body to the counter-terrorism efforts of the federal government in tackling the Boko Haram scourge was satisfactory, noted that the strategy known as integrated support package was targeted at complementing ongoing efforts by Nigeria which can only achieve results through a multi-dimensional approach.
According to him, the current support from ECOWAS was also a reflection of the solidarity of the countries of the region and their legitimate concern about the spread of violent extremism.
The UN Envoy said, “The United Nations has adopted an integrated support package to complement Nigeria’s efforts, since we are convinced that only a multi-dimensional approach can bring lasting solution to the crisis.
“Our primary and immediate concern is the plight of children including in particular those that are being held in captivity by the terrorists, Boko Haram group, as well as the fate of the civilian population in the north-east where human rights and humanitarian conditions are distressing.”
Also, the heads of state and governments of the ECOWAS have promised that they would not rest on their oars in supporting Nigeria to combat the excesses of members of the sect.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who is currently chairman of the authority of heads of state and government of ECOWAS region, commended the establishment of peace operations in Cameroon and Chad to defeat the Boko Haram sect in north-eastern Nigeria.
He said great opportunities lie ahead of the region for creating prosperous life for citizens but only when its leaders can achieve peace and security.
He said, “Less than two months ago, precisely on 30th May, 2014, we met at this same venue for an extraordinary summit. The main purpose of that gathering was to review the security situation in our sub-region, specifically in northern Mali and some parts of northern Nigeria.
“Let me take the opportunity to thank all who are involved in the efforts to bring peace to our sub-region. We welcome the role of Algeria and Mauritania and others to bring peace to Mali. We acknowledge the peace operation from Cameroon and Chad to defeat the Boko Haram in north-eastern Nigeria.”
On the Ebola threats in the sub-region, Mahama expressed concern over the spread of the virus and stressed the need for concerted efforts to tackle it.
He said, “I wish to express our deep concern about the unprecedented outbreak of the Ebola in three member states if our community. Evidence has shown that, in less than six months, the disease has claimed the lives of almost 500 people.
“I want to call for the contribution of urgently needed resources to see that we sustain these efforts. We must scale up efforts to defeat the deadly disease. We must exercise vigilance and avoid any panic on misinformation.”
He challenged medical and research centres in the ECOWAS region to assist in the development of vaccines and cure for the disease.
Other issues discussed at the opening session of the meeting included the proposed biometric identity cards for ECOWAS citizens to aid easy identification and movement for trade purposes.
The lingering difficulty in doing business by citizens in the region was one of the concerns raised by the leaders.
At the meeting, they identified Illegal checkpoints, unnecessary documentation requirements, substantial informal payments at borders and transit fees as some of the huddles inhibiting free trade.
Boko Haram: Western Media Misleading The World – Adefuye
Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States Professor Adebowale Adefuye on Thursday said that the western media were misleading the world with false and unfair reports about the security condition in Nigeria.
Testifying before the United States Congress during a panel hearing tagged “Instability In Northern Nigeria and Ongoing Threat of Boko Haram” at the Cannon Congress Building in Washington, DC, Ambassador Adefuye noted that the western media were blowing the situation out of proportion. He pressed further that the federal government of Nigeria had been very unfairly treated by the foreign media.
Saying that Nigeria believed in the freedom of the press, the Nigerian envoy noted that this did not mean that the western media should hide under the indulgence to create an atmosphere that was making the entire world believe that Nigeria was totally unsafe.
He said: “All the reports from the foreign media are very untrue and unfair to the Nigerian government, and, for this reason, I challenge everybody here to go to Nigeria and you will discover that the situation is not as bad as portrayed by the international media organizations. The Chibok girls are there and we have located where they are, and we shall get them out very soon. I must say that we are making progress in our search and rescue mission.
“The western media are misinforming the world that the entire Nigeria is unsafe but I have to say it clearly that it is only three states out of the 36 in the entire federation that are experiencing Boko Haram’s attacks. How can you say that the entire United States is unsafe when you only have crisis in just three states?
“There is a domestic factor in the issue of Boko Haram and Chibok kidnapping. We are having our elections next year and some people have been saying that they will create problems in the country if power goes to President Goodluck Jonathan again. These people are very happy each time there is an attack on innocent Nigerians. They are enjoying the crisis because it is embarrassing the federal government but we are trying our best to ensure an end to the whole thing.”
Adefuye also made it known that most of the suicide bombers that had been arrested in Nigeria so far were not Nigerians but foreigners, stressing that he could not imagine any Nigerian killing himself for no just cause. He however challenged everybody to mention what ought to have been done that the Nigerian government had not done to ensure the release of the over 270 kidnapped Chibok students.
Also speaking at the event which was moderated by Ambassador Robin Sanders, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, the representative of the Department of State, Ambassador Robert Jackson, said that the United States government understood that the federal government had been doing all that were supposed to be done to tackle insurgency and to as well rescue the kidnapped Chibok students.
Promising that the US would not relent in its efforts to create further support for the Nigerian government in its rescue mission, Ambassador Jackson urged the federal government to initiate a move to quickly prosecute those that had been arrested in connection with Boko Haram’s attack in the north-east so as to serve as a deterrent to other perpetrators.
Stating that the government must intensify its efforts so that current insurgence would not have negative effects on the forthcoming 2015 general elections, the US officials urged Nigerians to come together and give their support to the government as their support was very critical towards ending insurgence in the country at this stage.
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