Sudan Appeals for Humanitarian Assistance for People Affected by Ongoing War

By: Michael Mike

The government of Sudan has called on the countries across the globe and international agencies to come to the aid of the countries by sending in into the crisis ridden country humanitarian assistance.

The government also alleged that the protracted crisis should have been over by now if not for assistance given to the rebel force by some countries, asking that those countries should be compelled to stop their sponsorship.

Addressing the media in Abuja, Charge d’ Affaires of Sudan in Nigeria, Ahmed Jaboul, while assuring that Sudan would ensure that the humanitarian assistance get to all the people, said the country will continue to prioritise humanitarian solutions to the present crisis in the country as it remains the key to ending the protracted conflict situation.

He added that this has become important to enable Sudanese government to meaningfully negotiate political settlement.

The charge d’ affaires while lamenting that since the crisis began a year ago the situation largely remains the same as the rebels have not laid down their arms but that the the National Military Forces have halted hostilities in most parts of the country.

Jaboul said: “What we will like to focus on nowadays is to talk about the humanitarian solutions in Sudan. This is one of the very critical areas and one of the priorities, not only for the government, but for the international community as well.

“The discussion on the way forward has been going on since June, 2023, particularly at the conference held in Geneva, which centered on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. Yet, what we received here in Sudan is not more than 10 per cent of the commitment made.

“Even, the humanitarian aids we received in the central part of Sudan and stored in the central part of the Sudanese states have been invaded by the rebel forces.”

He decried that not much has been done by the international community to sustain humanitarian solutions resulting from the conflict situation, especially in condemning the rebel acts.

He expressed concern over moves by the rebels toward central part of Sudan and parts of Western Sudan, which led to the killing innocent people.

He regretted that the rebels continue to invade wherever they go, killing innocent people, taking everything they found suitable and stop business life totally.

He declared that: “The government of Sudan is willing to have roundtable like it did in Jedda in 2023 to negotiate settlement,” adding that: “At the end of the negotiations last year, their were commitments by each party, government did its part, those who hosted the peace talk alluded to it, but the rebels did not.

“We had agreed the rebels should come out from the houses of civilians, entities, government institutions, universities and move to safe places to enable us proffer solutions.
“Unfortunately, these was not adhered to by the rebel forces, but the situation has changed now. The military forces control the Sudan capital and most central parts, except parts of Dafur which is still under control of the rebels.”

He appealed to media organisations to play key role by promoting correctness on news about the conflict in Sudan to advance the humanitarian solutions, sustainable peace and as well, ensure political settlements.

He appealed to the international community to compel those sponsoring the rebel to stop even as he called for humanitarian support, stating that the Sudanese government was ready to allow the donors to distribute them directly in Sudan to the affected people.

Sudan Appeals for Humanitarian Assistance for People Affected by Ongoing War

Why desperados must be denied from dabbling into serious leadership positions…. El-Rufai

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Former Governor of Kaduna State Nasir El Rufai has said that desperate people looking for political appointments should never be allowed to get it.

He said that real leaders are not desperate to get positions at all costs adding that if one is too desperate for a position, its a sign that such a fellow would be self-seeking instead of in support of the general cause of the people.

Speaking further on leadership the former Governor said that “in life the best way to correct this deficit of good leadership which our dear country is suffering from, is by choosing those who never lobbied or asked for a particular position at all costs”

Rufai made these assertions in maiduguri the Borno State capital recently while describing the residents as lucky for having a leader like Zulum with a focus on where he wants to take the state to.

He said that Professor Babagana Zulum was a real leader who never lobbied for the position that was entrusted on him and has proved himself worthy because each time he (Rufai) comes to town he finds new developments amidst choking insurgency which is supposed to be an excuse for non performance.

Rufai who gave a lecture titled “leadership and Public Policy: Navigating challenges and Lessons” during a capacity building workshop on enhancing skills of government officials in policy implementation and productive human resource management in Borno commended Zulum for his giant strides in spite of daunting challenges confronting him.

“Nigeria has been a country with lots of untapped potentials within the last 200 years. What we lack is the ability to choose the right leaders to do the job by taking the country to the next level.

” We have only one problem in Nigeria and that is good leadership i repeat. We will not make progress until we are ready to correct this leadership deficit issue staring us in the face.

” I commend the new look of the state capital maiduguri because its obvious you have a leader who knows where he is going to. The people of Borno are obviously resilient people making progress even in the realm of insurgency.

” if we must make progress in development in this country, we must provide leadership that would take care of the least of the society and not just the five percent who are privileged.”

On development of the country, he advised civil servants and political leaders to stop taking their kids abroad for education when quality education is right here at their door steps.

“if you are a council chair and your son is not attending the local school, you should ask yourself why because it is wrong. Stop taking your kids abroad and fix the public schools with good leaders and to do this you need effective policies. That is the only way one can enhance development.

Also speaking during the special lecture, the Chair civil service commission Dr Bulama Mali Gubio stressed that public policy is the dictionary in the implementation of programs of government.

“Policies are formulated by the state executive council backed by laws. When you divert from policy, the entire phenomenon will crumble. It is a fixated phenomenon not subject to changes just like that.

” Some civil servants fail to recognize the policy of retirement even after serving for 35 years. They cut corners and adjust the files to suit their whims and caprices.

” To stop some of these wrongs, policies must be explained to the the public by the implementors so that the public will understood accordingly.” said Gubio.

Over 250 officers benefited from the five days training for top civil servants in the state which included all the political leaders in the state.

Head of service barrister Mallam Fannami said that the five days of talk shop also included all the Commissioners and permanent Secretaries in Borno state.

The secretary to the state government, Mallam Bukar Tijani who represented Governor Babagana Zulum called on participants to ensure that the knowledge gained will reflect in their productivity as it concerns the management of the service.

Why desperados must be denied from dabbling into serious leadership positions…. El-Rufai

Piracy, Armed Robbery in Gulf of Guinea Has Reduced- Touray

By: Michael Mike

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray has said that the Gulf of Guinea has continued to witness a downward trend in piracy and armed robbery attacks over the year.

He noted that this was achieved through the efforts of the Inter-regional Coordination Centre, ICC, insisting that its achievements in maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea is quite commendable.

Touray made this known at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Heads of Institution (HOI) of the ICC, at the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja, on Thursday.

ICC was created in September 2014 by ECOWAS, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) with the mission of serving as the Coordination Centre on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea following the 2013 Yaoundé Summit of ECOWAS, ECCAS and GGC Heads of State and Government.

Touray in his address on Thursday, said: “Since the Political Declaration of our Heads of State, substantial progress has been made in our maritime community.

”This included the adoption of National Maritime Strategies and the deployment of critical maritime infrastructure that has improved maritime situational awareness.

“With regards to our MoU, some progress has been achieved by the governing body on inter-institutional coordination.

”The Coordination Centre receives funding, and its annual Work Plan and Budget are approved, including the operations of Maritime Operational Centres.”

Touray added that the importance ICC for global maritime security and safety cannot be wished away, noting that it attracted the interest of many development partners.

He listed them to include the G77++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, the European Union, the German Federal Government and the Chinese Government for their different support and assistance.

He said: “Their assistance has contributed to our success in establishing the ECOWAS Regional Maritime Security Centre (CRESMAO) in Abidjan, with three Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres (MMCC) in Cotonou (Zone E), in Accra (Zone F), and in Praia (Zone G).

“Similarly, the ECCAS Maritime Security Architecture established a Regional Centre for Maritime Security in Central Africa (CRESMAC) in Pointe Noire, as well as Multinational Maritime Coordination Centres in Douala (Zone D) and in Luanda (Zone A).

“The establishment of maritime information sharing networks between ECOWAS and ECCAS have improved information sharing and situational awareness.”

Touray while noting that the Gulf of Guinea has continued to witness a downward trend in piracy and armed robbery attacks, added that: “According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), actual and attempted piracy and sea robbery incidents saw a downturn trend from 31 in 2015, 18 in 2021 to 15 in 2022.

“Incidences of piracy and armed robbery further declined to 6 attacks in the first quarter of 2024 in the Gulf of Guinea. This is thanks to our institutional actions and collective responses.”

Touray, however, stated that in spite of such laudable progress, the ICC had serious challenges, which included non-recruitment of key staff, irregular funding, and breakdown of essential services.

He said that there was still a need for regular review of the progress and challenges on the level of implementation of the Declaration, stressing that it was important to take concrete steps to address the challenges.

“The Code of Conduct on the Prevention and Suppression of Acts of Piracy, Armed Robbery Against Ships and Illicit Maritime Activities in West and Central Africa was supposed to be turned into a legally binding Agreement three years after its adoption in Yaoundé in 2013.

“Thus far, we have not achieved this after the 10th Year Anniversary of the Yaoundé process. It is therefore important that we critically appraise our institutional responses on the Code of Conduct,” he said.

Touray urged the ICC governing body, which comprises the Presidents of the Commissions of ECOWAS and ECCAS, and the Executive Secretary of the GGC, to review a new EU project, ‘Safe Seas’ for the region and the Yaoundé Architecture Regional Information Sharing (YARIS) tool.

He also called on member states to streamline development corporations and partnerships to ensure that ICC provided the necessary oversight to guide the Coordination Centre.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Gulf of Guinea Commission, Jose Abeso, said the region was still facing the challenges of maritime insecurity, stressing that the objective was to eliminate all forms of criminality in the domain.

He said that the law on criminal activities in the maritime sector in the Gulf of Guinea should be harmonized to act as effective detriments against committing such crimes.

“Our maritime domain is the next destination for the sustainable economic development of our countries.

”Our governments cannot or should not leave the running of institutions meant to patrol this area, to ensure that security and safety of activities is not left to third parties,” Abeso said.

Participants at the event included the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Gilberto Verissimo.

Others were the representative of the UN Office for West Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS) and that of the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA).

Piracy, Armed Robbery in Gulf of Guinea Has Reduced- Touray