The Nigerian Military has captured a dreaded bandits’ leader and cattle rustler, Alhaji Goma Sama’ila.
Samaila was arrested in Kaduna State on Friday evening.
Eyewitnesses’ reports indicated that Sama’ila was responsible for organising several thefts of cows in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and other North-West states of Nigeria.
He was said to have participated in several abductions across the states.
Kaduna State has been plagued with several high profile kidnappings, mass murder and cattle rustling by bandits.
A source said, “Nigerian troops arrested Goma Sama’ila, one of the “most wanted” and notorious bandits’ leaders terrorising Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and other north western states in Nigeria.”
The development comes amid military interventions in the region.
It had been reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission, in a letter to all telecom operators, suspended mobile communications in Zamfara and other states.
In the memo signed by the NCC and directed at the telecos, the suspension of services lasted between September 3 through September 17 in the first instance.
The commission had also said the directive was to enable relevant security agencies to carry out required activities towards addressing the security challenge in the state.
Katsina, despite being the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, has witnessed sporadic attacks by bandits and kidnappers that have claimed the lives of many.
Over 700 people have been reportedly killed by the gunmen in Jibia, Kankara, Dutsinma, Musawa, Danmusa and Safana LGAs of the state in the last five months.
Sokoto State Government had also shut down telecommunications networks in 14 of the 23 local government areas of the state as part of the efforts to check banditry.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started the nationwide display of details of newly registered voters in the first quarter of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
The commission on Friday started the display of details at local government offices across the country.
The display which would end on September 30 is to allow for claims and objections by Nigerians.
NAN correspondent who visited the INEC office in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Karu on Saturday, reports that the register had been displayed at the office.
Ndidi Okafor, Head, Voter Education and Publicity, INEC FCT, in an interview with NAN confirmed that the details were also being displayed at INEC offices in five other area councils of the FCT.
The INEC spokesman Festus Okoye had on Monday, in Abuja, said that Section 19(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), mandated INEC to publish the register of voters.
Okoye said the section mandated that the register must be displayed for a period of not less than five days and not more than 14 days.
This is to allow for public scrutiny during which citizens may make claims and objections.
“In compliance with the law, the register of new voters will be displayed in the local government offices of the commission nationwide from September 24 to September 30.
“The aim is to enable citizens to assist the commission by identifying ineligible registrants on the list ahead of the cleaning up of the register before adding the fresh registrants to the current register and the printing of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) for future elections.
“For clarity, ineligible registrants include foreigners and Nigerians below the age of 18.”
Mr Okoye urged Nigerians to assist INEC to identify multiple registrants and deceased persons so that they could be removed from the register.
The commission had announced that from the inception of the exercise on July 28, the number of fresh online pre-registrants now stood at 3,165,189 as of Monday 7:00 a.m.
It also disclosed that within the 12 weeks of the exercise, 1,457,766 Nigerians had applied for voter transfer, replacement of PVCs and update of their voter information records.
It also disclosed that 1,081,947 new registrants had completed their physical registration.
The National Commissioner stated that the second quarter of the exercise would begin on October 4, and end on December 20.
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Chukwuma Soludo
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the November 6 poll in Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has unveiled his manifesto.
The former Governor of the Central Bank, who presented his his contract with the people of the state if elected at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the state capital on Saturday, said no candidate in the race was his match.
He said his target was to meet the one million votes mark in the election.
He said, “I thank APGA for the ticket it gave me on June 23, and the over 50 support groups who for years continued to clamour for me to aspire for the governorship position.
“They have been demanding for me to come and run, some of them are people across party lines, and some who are not even politicians have been calling me and saying that after the tenure of Governor Willie Obiano, the best thing that can happen to Anambra is for me to come and continue. Anambra people want APGA to continue.
“We will compete and contest for every vote and we will not take your votes for granted. Our target is to reach the one million-vote mark. There are people who know that even if they carry a gun, Anambra people will not vote for them. They are carrying money around and buying expired politicians.
“Anambra is APGA, and APGA is Anambra. Anambra is not Imo. They say they want to connect us to the centre, and it is idiocy for them to talk about going to the centre because I’m already in the centre. I serve in this government (federal), so when they talk about going to centre, they are talking about coming to meet us. I’m already at the centre and I go in and out of Aso Rock, so when they talk about going to the centre, they are coming to meet me, because I’m there already.”
“I told Anambra people that on the day of the flag off, we will unveil and launch the Anambra manifesto. This manifesto is one that envisions Anambra as a five star destination to live, work and relax in. We want Anambra to be liveable. My manifesto with ndi Anambra is my contract with them.
“I’m not going to learn on the job. I will hit the ground running. We will build a land where no child born here will go out to look for better future in Lagos or Abuja.
“After this speech, my manifesto will be shared and uploaded online, and this is my contract with you. I have looked at the people contesting, and with every sense of humility, I don’t think they can match me.
“They can be governor because they are qualified and the constitution says if you have a school certificate, you can be governor, but for those who forged their certificates, I do not think they can be governor.
“We are not making empty promises, the things we have here (manifesto) have been thought over by me and they are achievable, not the people who contracted people to concoct something that looks like manifesto for them,” Soludo said.
Speaking, the state governor, Willie Obiano said Anambra people had two choices to make in the upcoming election; “To continue in the progress we are making or to go back to Egypt”.
“We have fake certificate holders, we have debtors, who are running for governor, but they can’t govern. You all must vote for qualified fellows like Soludo. He has the reach, contact and cerebral to lead Anambra. He knows where to find the money, much more than I do.
“I have no doubt that we will win with a landslide. We have no competition. We have done well, we have been able to deliver for Anambra. We have built 153 roads and 34 are ongoing. I know Soludo will do well, if he will not, I would not have brought him out. The former administration did well, I did better and the Soludo administration will be the best.”
A serving corps member of the National Youth Service Corps, Ezeiruaku Ifeyinwa Fidelia, brutalised by a female commissioned army officer, Lieutenant Chika Viola Anele, after an alleged argument between the duo, said she has not recovered from the incident.
Some days ago, Nigerian journalist and human rights’ activist, Agba Jalingo, shared a video on his Facebook page showing the officer pouring an unknown white substance on the kneeling corps member after which she hit her with a bowl.
“#JusticeForIfenyinwa. This is what a commissioned female Army officer, Lt. Chika Viola Anele, did to a youth corps member, Ezeiruaku Ifeyinwa Fidelia, serving at the 13 Brigade headquarters in Calabar after having an argument,” Jalingo had posted.
“We understand that the leadership in 13 Brigade are working to kill the matter. Let us make the officer very popular for all the wrong reasons. Share the video until it gets to the Chief of Army Staff and that Chika girl is brought to book.”
Following the publicity it received, Anele has since been arrested by the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police.
Fidelia, in a video, said she was glad she had finally returned to Lagos State.
She said, “I am thankful to God for coming out of Calabar. I have received calls from different people all over Nigeria saying they saw my pictures and the way I was maltreated but I thank God I am back and safe.”
When she was asked if she was threatened or intimidated by the military authorities, she answered in the negative but noted that the military personnel were not in support of what Anele had done to her.
She added: “Ever since the incident, I haven’t been myself, the trauma, each time I remember what the lady did to me, I feel embarrassed because she reduced me to nothing and the whole incident makes me feel bad.”
She also said she had nothing against the officer but would rather allow the law to take its course.
In a statement by Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director Army Public Relations, condemned the act describing it as “unprofessional.”
He urged members of the public to continue to report such infractions to the force while he apologised to the affected corps member, her family members, friends, National Youth Service Corps and to Nigerians in general for the unwholesome treatment while promising to ensure justice.
The Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, has declared 1st October, 2021 (the day of Nigeria’s independence celebration) as another sit-at-home protest day.
One of the IPOB executives, Chika Edoziem, stated this on Friday during a radio broadcast.
Edoziem noted that the separatist group would lock down the entire South-East region on October 1, while calling on its members to remove all Nigerian flags mounted in “Biafra land.”
He said, “The 1st of October declared total shutdown in Biafra land. There shall be no movement in Biafra land on 1st of October being Nigerian Independence day. Again from tonight, all Nigerian flags mounted anywhere in Biafra land must be brought down; banks exempted.
“IPOB leadership will communicate to banks directly and give them reason why they must peaceful bring down the flag. Otherwise, we do it ourselves in our own way.”
The leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has been in the detention of the Department of Security Services since the third week of June following his arrest in Kenya and repatriation to Nigeria.
A former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi ll, says Nigeria should stop deceiving itself with the appellation ‘Giant of Africa,’ saying the country is way behind many other African countries in developmental indices.
He also asserted that with the rate at which neighbouring Ghana was attracting industries, “Ghanaian President has become the leading President in Africa.”
Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said while Nigeria was stuck on crude oil, which is fast depleting and struggling to sell, the rest of the world was embracing technology.
He said except there was a paradigm shift in Nigeria’s economic focus from oil to knowledge, the nation’s economy risks imminent collapse.
Sanusi spoke at the closing session of the Kaduna Investment Summit, tagged, ‘KadInvest 6.0.’
He pointed out that while neigbouring Ghana with smaller economy invests more in education, Nigeria spends only seven per cent of its budget on that.
He said the current reality in Nigeria was that only eight out of every 100 primary school pupils go as far as the university level, while only a fraction of those would get a job upon graduation.
Sanusi said, “Globally, work is being redefined; 30 to 40 per cent of workers in developed economies will need to significantly upgrade their skills by 2030. And what are the major drivers of this redefinition? ICT and remote working, which we have seen even here with COVID-19.
“There is increased automation and Artificial Intelligence. Very soon, robot will take over work in most countries and those who have jobs are those who operate the robots or manufacture the robots or service the robots.
“For us in Nigeria, the enclave economy that we have, the so called goose that lays the golden egg is about to die. There will be no eggs. The future is not in the carbons.
“A few months ago, Germany was able to produce enough renewable energy for the entire country’s need. Today, we are having difficulties selling Nigerian oil. So, not only are we having problems to produce, even when we produce, the market is not there.
“So, this is forcing a change, and for us, a country that depends on oil, things need to change.
“Nigeria is ranked 114th in the global innovation index. We are lower than other African countries such as Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal. We are, in fact, ranked 14th in sub-saharan Africa. I think we should have this reality check and know where we are as a country. Let’s stop calling ourselves the Giant of Africa, because we are the giant with clay feet.
“Countries like Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal are ahead of us. I am not even talking about South Africa. Our expenditure on education is only seven per cent of the budget. We are spending less on education than Ghana; I am not talking about as per percentage of the budget; in absolute terms, even though the Ghanaian economy is much smaller than the Nigerian economy, even though the Ghanaian government revenue is less than Nigerian revenue, Ghana is spending more on education than Nigeria.
“And we are surprised that industries are moving to Ghana. We are surprised that the Ghanaian President has become the leading President in Africa? We are not investing in education and human capital.
“We have a 68 per cent missing job requirement and the major areas being IT, communication and decision making. And the completion rate between entry into primary one and completing university is eight per cent, meaning that out of every 100 pupil who go into primary school, only eight come out of university. And out of those eight, nine percent, which is one of the eight will get job.
“So, this is the reality in addition to what is happening globally. Now, digitisation to level the playing field is required, if we are deliberate and we shift from consumption to value creation. But part of our problem is that, even when we have the solution at our feet, we do not take it.”
Sanusi also stressed the need for skill creation for the young people to create an enabling environment for economic growth and development.
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said his administration believed that the future of job in the world today would be digital.
El-Rufai said the state would be introducing ICT skills in vocational institutes, as well as primary and secondary schools across the state.
He said, “We believe in planning, and thinking through what our state needs and we develop human capital capacity.”
Amina Mohammed, UN’s Deputy Secretary-General, has opposed the Taliban’s policies limiting the freedom of girls and women in Afghanistan.
Ensuring all Afghan girls can be educated must be “a zero condition” for the Taliban before international recognition of their de facto authority, the UN deputy secretary-general said on Friday.
Ms Mohammed said this during a panel discussion on supporting a future for girls’ education in Afghanistan, held on the margins of the ongoing UN General Assembly.
Prominent women advocates from Afghanistan and the international community also participated in the discussion, held online and in-person from the UN headquarters in New York.
Asked if international aid to Afghanistan could be conditional on education for women and girls, Ms Mohammed responded “absolutely,” stating that the issue “continues to remain upfront” in ongoing discussions with the de facto authorities.
“This is where we have to have resolved: that recognition comes with your ability to be part of a global family. That has a certain set of values and rights that must be adhered to. And education is upfront and centre, especially for girls and for women,” she added.
The deputy UN chief urged the international community to draw on Afghan women’s expertise and support them in preventing a reversal of two decades of gains in girls’ education.
Ms Mohammed also reminded Afghan women that the UN is still on the ground, delivering for the people.
“You can be assured that we will continue to amplify your voices and make it a zero condition that girls must have an education before the recognition of any government that comes in,” she said.
The Taliban seized power in August and recently confirmed that while secondary schools were reopening, only boys would be returning to the classroom. Women teachers in the country are also unable to return to work.
This week, the administration’s spokesperson said a “safe learning environment” would need to be established before girls could go back to high school, according to media reports.
A Boerboel dog, named Charlie, has been arrested by men of the Nigerian Police Force for biting the private parts of a student of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo State.
The dog was said to have bitten the student on Thursday evening at a popular off-campus hostel around the institution’s permanent site.
The dog owner was said to be training it with the aim of making it mate with another friend’s own.
It was in the process of training that Charlie got aggressive and aimed at the friend’s private part.
The victim was subsequently rushed to the hospital where doctors are currently battling to help him.
The Police were later called in to arrest dog.
A picture circulating on social media showed the dog being chained to a Police van.
The Taliban says it would revive punishments like executions in its new rule over Afghanistan, warning the world against interfering with the extremist groups new rule.
“Everyone criticised us for the punishments in the stadium, but we have never said anything about their laws and their punishments,” Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, one of the founders of the extremist group, told The Associated Press, “No one will tell us what our laws should be. We will follow Islam and we will make our laws on the Quran.”
Turabi added that judges, including women, would preside over cases, but the basis of Afghanistan’s laws will be the Quran.
His comments come amid the exclusion of women from the country’s interim government.
Turabi was the Minister of Justice and Head of the religious Police when the Taliban first ruled in the 1990s; he is now in charge of prisons.
Under initial Taliban rule, convicted murderers were killed by a single gunshot to the head. The killing of a murderer was carried out by the victim’s family, who could accept “blood money” and allow the culprit to live.
For convicted thieves, the punishment was amputation of a hand and for robbery convictions, the punishment was the dismemberment of a hand and a foot.
These punishments were carried out before large crowds at a stadium or mosque and the judiciary favoured Islamic clerics, whose knowledge of the law was limited to religious injunctions.
In August, the Taliban took control of Kabul and rapidly captured Afghanistan. In reconstructing the country, the extremist group has said it is ready to build relations that serves both United States and Afghan interests though countries like China have vocally supported the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan.
BEING THE ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE 76TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN NEW YORK, USA ON FRIDAY, 24TH SEPTEMBER, 2021
Protocols:
Mr. President,
Let me, on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria, congratulate you on your well-deserved election as President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. I would like to assure you of the full support and cooperation of the Nigerian delegation throughout your tenure.
2. I would like to commend your predecessor, His Excellency, Mr. Volkan Boskir, for the many remarkable achievements recorded during his tenure, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Permit me to congratulate the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on his re-election and commend his strong commitment to making the UN more alive to its responsibilities.
4. I also want to express my gratitude to him for re-appointing Ms. Amina Mohammed, as the Deputy Secretary General to assist him in discharging his heavy responsibilities.
Mr President,
5. The theme of this year’s General Assembly – “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of the people, and revitalise the United Nations, sums up our common desire to rescue our planet, recover our economies, and restore hope to all the peoples of the world.
6. In this regard, my delegation will continue to support the United Nations, as the indispensable forum for international cooperation and the cornerstone of the multilateral system, rooted in respect for international law, including international human rights law and predicated on a rules-based order.
Mr President,
7. I want to thank the international community for the concerted response to COVID-19. The solidarity and drive to contain the first truly global health emergency of our time is a pointer to the many things we can achieve if we work together.
8. On our part, Nigeria has made strenuous efforts to contain the virus and halt its deadly onslaught on our people. Our efforts have been rewarded with moderate success.
9. At the outset, we recognised detection and contact tracing to be important tools in combating the virus. In this connection, from a mere four laboratories with testing and detection capacities, we ramped up the facilities to over 140 centres today.
10. Similarly, we built isolation centres and emergency hospitals wards in record time all over the country. We carry out genomic sequencing in designated laboratories across the country with a view to detecting variants in circulation.
11. In addition, over 40,000 health care workers have recently been trained on Infection, Prevention and Control measures with the support of various partners. Through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, we have established 16 infectious disease treatment centres located within our teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centres.
12. Nigeria remains grateful for the assistance received from our partners and friends all over the world. Vaccination is the key to our safe emergence from the pandemic. We fully support the COVAX initiative from which we have benefitted. We also thank the United States of America, Turkey, India,China, European Union, and others for the vaccines provided.
13. Despite the acknowledgement however, I would like to reiterate my call for a fairer and more equitable distribution of vaccines to all countries so that, together, we can fight and contain the pandemic. The rising wave of newer and more contagious strains, makes this even more urgent. No country can afford the socio-economic implications of prolonged shutdown. It is imperative to underscore that no one is safe until everyone is safe.
Mr President,
14. Nigeria remains deeply concerned over the illicit trade, transfer, and circulation of small arms and light weapons. Their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled spread in many regions of the world are having devastating humanitarian and socio-economic consequences, especially on the continent of Africa.
15. It is on this note that my delegation calls for the world wide application of the Arms Trade Treaty to codify accountability in conventional arms trade, which is critical to the security of nations. This is in recognition of the need for a broad-based global partnership in the on-going battle against trans-border crimes, including terrorism and piracy.
Mr. President,
16. We must deal not only with the symptoms of conflict but also the immediate causes that fuel conflicts in the first place. These include poor and undemocratic governance, human rights abuses, poverty, ignorance, injustice and inequalities.
17. There are no easy solutions to these conditions. They require long term investments and more effective international cooperation. In this connection, my delegation underscores the importance of promoting peaceful, unfettered, and inclusive participation of states in global actions towards conflict prevention. This will facilitate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063.
18 In West Africa especially, our democratic gains of the past decades are now being eroded. The recent trend of unconstitutional takeover of power, sometimes in reaction to unilateral changes of constitutions by some leaders, must not be tolerated by the international community. Nigeria fully supports the efforts by ECOWAS to address this growing challenge and appreciates the support of both the African Union and the United Nations. In this regard, I would like to reiterate that as leaders of our individual Member-States need to adhere to the constitutional provisions of our countries, particularly on term limits. This is one area that generates crisis and political tension in our sub-region.
Mr President,
19. Nigeria is fully committed to nuclear non-proliferation and has always supported the view that it should involve all States.
20. Disarmament Conventions deserve the support of all states, small, large, nuclear or non-nuclear. 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.
21. In this regard, Nigeria would participate actively in the forthcoming Review Conference of the Nuclear Prohibition Treaty and also the First Meeting of states Parties to the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, scheduled to take place within the first quarter of 2022.
22. Nigeria regards these upcoming events as important steps towards the realisation of a world free of nuclear weapons. We are, therefore, supportive of any diplomatic efforts in this direction. We hope that the upcoming NPT review conference would lead to a successful outcome that would facilitate the denuclearisation of the world. We would do our part to ensure such an outcome.
Mr. President,
23. Terrorism continues to dominate security discourse worldwide. In Nigeria, Boko Haram terrorist group, though fragmented by internal strife and weakened by our defence forces, is still active and preying on soft targets. Nigeria will continue to work closely with UN Counter-Terrorism bodies and entities with a view to bringing this scourge to an end.
24. Nigeria has spared no effort in addressing the challenges of terrorism posed by the activities of Boko Haram in north-East Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, as well as banditry in the north-West and North-Central Nigeria. The Nigerian Security Forces have recorded considerable success in the fight against terrorism. As a result of the renewed vigour of our military, many terrorist fighters are voluntarily surrendering to our security forces.
25. I and three other Nigerian Heads of State served actively as peacekeepers and Nigeria continues to support peacekeeping efforts. We know the sacrifice involved, we also know how important peacekeeping is for those in vulnerable situations. Nigeria will continue to play its part fully in supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations within Africa and beyond.
Mr. President,
26. The impact of climate change is already with us in Nigeria, manifesting in various ways: conflicts trigger; food insecurity, drying up of lakes; loss of livelihood, and youth migration, among others. The trend is the same in many other countries that are threatened by forest fires, rising sea levels, drought and desertification.
27. In the circumstances, we intend to build a climate-resilient economy that effectively aligns with the SDGs and that has great potentials to unlocking the full opportunities in different sectors of the economy, while protecting the resources for present and future generations. I know, in several ways, this is also a familiar story in many countries.
28. As leaders, we must create inclusive and gender-sensitive policies that address all issues connected to climate action, from mitigation to resilience.
29. Nigeria believes that protecting our planet and its biodiversity and climate are important to our collective survival. That is why, we are working on a transition to low carbon economy, consistent with achieving the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. President,
30. Combating illicit financial flows and ensuring the recovery and return of illicitly acquired assets have the potential to provide resources in the immediate term for financing development in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
31. Similarly, corruption across national borders has huge negative impact on the stability, peace, and economic prospects of millions, particularly in developing countries.
32. It deprives national governments of resources needed to provide adequate and meaningful sources of livelihood for their citizens. The latter gives rise to more irregular migration patterns, with unwholesome consequences for inter-state and human relations.
33. I, therefore, call on all leaders to demonstrate the much-needed political will by supporting their commendations for systemic reforms made by the FACTI Panel.
34. We support establishing modalities for a global coordination mechanism at the United Nations Economic and Social Council to systematically monitor illicit financial flows and strengthen financial integrity for sustainable development, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.
Mr. President,
35. On the issue of debt, we have seen that developing countries have been faced with unsustainable debt burdens even before the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of new wave of deepening debt, where vital public financial resources are allocated to external debt servicing and repayments at the expense of domestic health and financing for critical developmental needs.
36. I must commend the current initiatives by the international financial institutions and the G20 aimed at significantly mitigating the economic situation of the indebted countries and urge for more efforts in this regard.
37. Therefore, there is an urgent need to consider expansion and extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative to include all Developing, Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States facing fiscal and liquidity challenges. In addition, a review of the eligibility criteria for debt suspension, including outright cancellation, is needed for countries facing the most severe challenges.
Mr. President,
38. Nigeriareaffirms that international trade is an engine for development and sustained economic growth, as well as the global eradication of poverty.
39. My delegation would like to reaffirm the critical role that a universal,rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system can play in stimulating economic growth and development.
40. Fair and equitable trade would eventually eliminate the need for aid. My country and indeed all African countries do not intend to stay indefinitely looking for aid. All we need is a fair and equitable system of international trade.
41. We, therefore, call for a reform agenda that will engender better recovery from this crisis, build resilience to future shocks and pursue transformative development strategies that can deliver the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Mr. President,
42. The global food system has, in recent times, been impacted by several factors such as population growth, availability and accessibility of arable land and water resources, climate change, and loss of biodiversity.
43. Increased competition for resources such as land, water, and energy, has affected food access and supply, particularly in developing countries. Climate change and unpredictable shocks, such as the current global pandemic, further exacerbate vulnerabilities in the global food system, requiring the UN’s urgent attention.
44. The Government of Nigeria remains determined to improve the productivity and incomes of small-scale farmers by promoting equal access to land, technology and markets, sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices.
45. At the heart of Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 response is the Economic Sustainability Plan, which hasa major component, called the Agriculture for Food and Jobs Programme where we seek to leverage suitable technologies to build a resilient food system for the country.
46. An integral part of our food systems’ transformation strategy is to create an enabling and supportive environment to implement these policies in a participatory manner.
47. Global efforts to mitigate and sustain food systems must involve key stakeholders, including governments, farmers, investors, multilateral organizations, regional bodies, international financial institutions, private partners and civil society organizations.
Mr. President,
48. Nigeria has been steadfast in safeguarding human rights, including the advancement of women, the protection of children, the protection of the rights of people living with disabilities, the treatment of migrants, refugees, returnees and displaced persons as well as, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through all legitimate means. In this regard, my delegation commends the positive example of leaders like Prime Minister Jacinda Arden of New Zealand.
49. In this context Nigeria calls for collective global action through a Treaty to end all forms of violence against women and girls of all ages.
50. Nigeria remains unwavering in its commitment to ensuring the advancement of human rights within its shores and beyond. This is so even in the context of a vicious decade-long onslaught by terrorists against Nigerians, quite contrary to unwholesome reports by some who hardly verify what they state against us.
51. The recent rise in hate related crimes globally underscores the urgent need to continue our engagement about racism, racial discrimination,xenophobia and other related intolerance. It is sad to note that the issue of racism remains alive globally.
52. We are beginning to forget our affirmation of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of every individual as enshrined in the UN Charter. No society can claim to be free or just if it deprive anyone of these rights.
53. Nigeria has long been a principled fighter against racism and all forms of discrimination inspired by its African experience. In the past, racism oiled the machine of slavery and colonialism. Today, racism drives hate crimes and institutional discrimination. In all this, Africans and people of African descent are among the major victims.
54. Cognizant of these, I commend Member States for adopting by consensus the resolution on the Establishment of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent on 2nd August 2021. I am confident that this forum will make significant impact in the quest to end race-related vices and injustices.
Mr. President,
55. No reform of the United Nations system is more urgent than that of the Security Council. Stakeholders around the world are asking how such power could be concentrated, with scant representation. The intergovernmental negotiations have taken too long, some 15 years. We must avoid going in cycles. Consensus has been achieved in some of the elements of this reform, especially that of the representation of Africa on the basis of the Elzuwini consensus and the Sirte Declaration. It is unreasonable to expect unanimity in this matter. The issue, indeed, is about justice, not unanimity. Without justice, the legitimacy (even efficacy) of our Organization is called to question. We can and must make substantial, irreversible progress on Security Council reform in the current session.
Mr. President,
56. Connected to this, is the question of justice, fairness, and equity in respect of the Palestinian people. The situation in the Middle East is long-standing and gives cause for concern. Nigeria encourages Israel and Palestine to re-engage in dialogue based on relevant UNresolutions and Initiatives. The two-state solution has the support of the international community and is widely acknowledged as the path to lasting peace.
Mr President,
57. Our organization is at the peak of the multilateral system. It is also the pre-eminent body for solving our current and emerging challenges, and developing norms that are protective of us all. We need to re-commit to it, rejuvenate it to better serve us. Nigeria re-affirms its faith in the UnitedNations and is further resolved to continue to work with all Member-States for peace and security, development and the protection of human rights. In the current moment, hope for these, is dependent on how we assist each other to get COVID-19 out of all countries, regardless of their classification. We can and must do so.
58. In this regard, let me close my statement by paying special tribute to a great and humane internationalist, and an exemplary practitioner of multilateral cooperation. I am speaking of Chancellor Angela Merkel of theFederal Republic of Germany. As she exits the stage, we wish her well.
