From YINKA FABOWALE, Ibadan
Tuesday, Nigeria can not afford to ignore the festering terrorist attacks by Boko Haram sect and other internal security threats, but had better tackle it headlong to prevent the nation going the way of war-torn Sudan and Darfur.
Former Nigeria permanent representative to the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, gave the advice yesterday as the guest speaker at a lecture organised by the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CEPACS), University of Ibadan (UI) to commemorate the World Refugee Day.
Gambari noted that recent events in the country such as the Boko Haram attacks, the bloody violence being perpetrated by members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers and militancy in the Niger-Delta region, among others were threats to national cohesion and economic development.
In his words: "They are pointers to the fact that ìthe nation is still far from being there."
Prof. Gambari, the current Special Representative of the Joint African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) especially observed that Nigeria shared so many affinities with Sudan, particularly in terms of plurality of religion and ethnicity, which made it susceptible to possible disintegration as the Central African country.
To this end, he said the situations must be critically studied for the country to learn how to prevent similar crisis.
The diplomat, who spoke on: The Challenges of Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons in Peace Processes and in Rapidly Changing Times: The Case of Darfur, said in as much as the nation’s intervention was needed in the war torn- Darfur, the Federal Government must put its house in order to prevent the country from suffering a similar fate.
His words: "There are seven million Sudanese of Nigeria origin in Sudan, the only country separating us is Chad, so Nigeria cannot ignore the conflicts in this area, we must study it and learn from it.
He tasked the Nigerian government to rise to the task and ensure that the human rights of the people and its democratic process were put in order.
He stressed the need for Nigerian leaders to prevent the normalisation of the seeming domestic abnormal situation as well as the abnormal situation in the crisis torn Darfur whereby huge numbers of internationally huge persons continue to live in camps and refugees reside abroad.
"Let us also remember that peace and security are prerequisites in the path to prosperity, therefore, Nigeria has a responsibility to contribute to the maintenance of peace and security in our region and continent. This country must work harder to establish internal cohesion, political stability and socio-economic development. This will enhance the credibility of its foreign policy.
He also lamented the increased number of refugees and internally displaced persons across the world, saying about 1.7 million people are currently displaced in Darfur while there were over 300 refugees in Chad.
Gambari said Nigeria had an obligatory leadership role in the region and must rise up to the challenge and prevent disintegration in the war ñtorn area.
He said, ìNigeria, with its immense human and natural resources has an obligatory leadership role in the region and the world. It is the strength of the Nigerian people and the strength of the institutions in the country that can translate this leadership into a force for good by strengthening our role in conflict prevention, peace keeping and peace building. I would like to reiterate that the nature of conflict has changed, Africa has changed and the Nigerian leadership is wanted, desired and needed. Today, Africa and the rest of the world expect us to lead our region in making the 21st century the African century.î
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, appealed to Nigerian leaders to steer the country away from degenerating into arefugee situation by promoting good governance.
ìThe current situation in Darfur, Rwanda, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan is not far from us, unless we retrace our steps and embrace dialogue, with our current population of over 150million we are capable of displacing the entire West African sub region and African continent and causing huge political, social and economic dislocations.î
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