International
US. Working with Nigeria, other African Countries to Ward off Instability, Says U.S. Department of State
US. Working with Nigeria, other African Countries to Ward off Instability, Says U.S. Department of State
By: Michael Mike
The United States on Wednesday said it is working with Nigeria and the rest of the countries in Africa to address the drivers of instability on the continent and ensure that the situation does not degenerate.
Addressing the press on the purpose of her visit to Nigeria, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability (ADS) at the U. S. Department of State, Mallory Stewart said:
‘I’ve heard a lot, and I’ve seen through the news the banditry challenge and the experiences, and so we have been trying to appreciate and understand how to affect those things we call drivers of instability, drivers of a security environment that lends itself to these challenges.
‘“And we are working with partners in Nigeria to try to get ahead of some of those challenges, or trying to figure out how we can manage some of those challenges. And for example, the confidence building measures, or the capacity to show greater compliance with international treaties that could help domestically provide for legislation that prevents some of the insecurity that results when there isn’t an ability to implement that, the international legal regime.
‘We are trying to prevent greater instability and trying to address the drivers right now. You know, one of the interesting conversations we’ve had in other African countries have been talking about the challenges of resources, the herders versus farmers conversation, on how we manage confidence building measures to ensure access is allowed for the important resources, such as water in some of these communities, and it’s been really helpful to work on communication capacities, to work on, even sometimes, information exchanges that provide greater understanding and prevent some of the tensions that lead to that instability.
“So you know, to give you more specifics, coming here has been really helpful to understand how many challenges these communities are facing across the board. Just as the global community is facing inflation challenges after COVID-19 , right? This is something that’s very real, and so appreciating how we can really incorporate, hopefully, some confidence security building measures, some mechanisms to hear more information and to allow greater exchange of information to hopefully get ahead of that tension.’
Stewart who disclosed that she had met with some operators in the Nigerian security sector and the civil society movement, said: “Our bureau really is here to focus on hearing the Nigerian voice, hearing the concerns and the elements that we can work together on to support stability and security across the board. Our bureau utilizes the toolkits of confidence building measures, but also security mechanisms together to try to achieve greater stability. And we do this with our partners around the world. And so some of the important conversations we were able to talk about was how we can work to hear the Nigerian interest in a political declaration that the US government has been working with right now 55 other countries, hopefully more, including some African nations, to agree upon the responsible uses of AI in the military context, right to sort of make sure we can get these 10 principles using AI in a manner consistent with international law, recognizing inherent human bias, recognizing that AI systems upon AI systems can lead sometimes to greater risks. And so it really is a good encapsulation of what we do in our Bureau, which is maximizing the advantages of stability and security mechanisms and minimizing some of the risks that can sometimes be inherent in emerging technologies or in challenges in implementing even treaties.
“One of the other conversations we had was our upcoming partnership with the Nigerian government to lead a conversation for the region on implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and understanding the challenges in that context, so that you know the Nigerian voice in explaining sometimes the concerns with respect to non state actors with respect to chemical security, how they can be important in the region, and how as a region, if ECOWAS member states, can also work towards implementing some of these international conventions, it can be more stabilizing, so that was another conversation we had. We also talked about where we can contribute to what is already a very complicated and sophisticated group of participants in the Yaounde architecture and understanding, if we can provide any additional capacities in communication, enabling or better standard operating procedures for all the diverse players, working through an appreciation for Nigeria’s role in that working through an appreciation for the maritime centers that are based here to see if we can facilitate a better appreciation of more effective teamwork, in a sense, on all of the issues that everyone is coming at from different perspectives. So these were some of the conversations we had.”
US. Working with Nigeria, other African Countries to Ward off Instability, Says U.S. Department of State
International
Chinese Embassy Will Work to Ensure 13 Newly Signed Agreements with Nigeria See the Light of Day-Envoy
Chinese Embassy Will Work to Ensure 13 Newly Signed Agreements with Nigeria See the Light of Day-Envoy
By: Michael Mike
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai has said he has commenced work to ensure the implementation of the 13 agreements recently signed by Nigerian and Chinese governments during the visit of President Bola Tinubu to China, insisting that making sure that all the agreements see the light of the day.
Dunhai who addressed journalists at the Chinese Embassy in Abuja on the importance of Nigeria’s President state visit to China and the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries, noted
that Tinubu’s visit opened a new vista in China and Nigeria bilateral relations.
He explained also that with the upgrade of bilateral relations, there would be an increase in activities between both countries, with the impending movement of Chinese investors into Nigeria.
He said: “During President Tinubu’s visit, the relevant government departments of the two sided signed a total of 13 cooperation documents, covering such areas as high-quality Belt and Road cooperation planning, the implementation of the global development initiative, economic growth, human resources, application of Beidou Satellite Navigation System, export of peanuts to China, and the media exchanges.
“Among them, one of the bilateral cooperation documents covers around 19 projects that China and Nigeria are cooperating and intend to cooperate with. In addition, multiple cooperation arrangements were signed between relevant departments, state governments, and Chinese companies during the visit.”
The envoy responding on what would be done to ensure that the 13 MOUs signed by China and Nigeria are implemented, said: “That is exactly my mission and task. That is my priorities. From the Chinese side, the two sides we signed 13 cooperative documents.Actually, I believe it’s much more than that, because there are other cooperative documents signed, not between the department to department, but between department to company.
“So I think the two sides, we are going to follow through with all those side documents. I’m sure that I’m going to be very busy, and the people here in Abuja are going to be very busy, and maybe in Lagos, and in many other states, because there are going to be a lot of incoming visiting delegations from China.And I’m sure that there are going to be a lot of outbound delegations from Nigeria to China. I think the only purpose is to try to materialize, to translate the consensus reached by our two presidents, the documents that we signed, into reality. So I have a lot of work to do, and I think that’s also the responsibility of our two sides.
“So as ambassador, I’m certainly looking forward to working with all sectors, and to materialize all those cooperative documents.
“So as the new Chinese ambassador, I look forward to working with people from all walks of life to bring China-Nigeria relations to a new height.”
He also stressed that President Tinubu’s visit to China is of great significance to build on the past successes and to further advance China-Nigeria relations and China-Africa relations.
The envoy added that: “China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Nigeria in multilateral affairs, and jointly safeguard the interests of developing countries.
“Going forward, we will work closely with all sectors of Nigeria to implement the important consensus reached by our two countries and ensure that we translate the consensus between our two leaders into concrete actions in order to move forward for upgrading bilateral cooperation.”
On what should be expected from the upgrade of China-Nigeria relations, Dunhai said it means that China and Nigeria are going to be more closely knitted together, to ensure our relations are stronger and we are going to cooperate more in all areas.
He added that: “So that’s why I believe that this visit is unique, is historical, and also I personally feel that this is a great success.
I’m sure that with this visit, it’s going to provide us with a huge potential to increase our trade values”.
Chinese Embassy Will Work to Ensure 13 Newly Signed Agreements with Nigeria See the Light of Day-Envoy
Pakistani Armed Forces Remain largest contributors to UN peace keeping –Envoy
By: Michael Mike
The High Commissioner of Pakistan to Nigeria, Sohail Khan has said the Pakistani Armed Forces remain the largest contributors to the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations across the globe, a position that has been maintained since 1960.
Khan, who is a retired Major General in the Pakistani military, made this known at the Pakistani High Commission in Abuja on Friday during Pakistan’s Defence and Martyrs Day celebration, which is held annually on September 6 since 1965.
He noted that the commemoration day was to pay homage to the armed forces of Pakistan who protected the motherland from internal and external aggression with bravery.
He disclosed that 23,900 officers and five Generals had sacrificed their lives in the Global War against Terrorism, with Pakistan losing over US$152 billion in the process.
The High Commissioner said Pakistan has kept responsible nuclear state status and the armed forces’ management of the command and control system has been distinguished.
He emphasised that one major significance of the occasion is honouring martyrs and members of the armed forces for their dedication and sacrifices.
On his part, the Defence Advisor at the High Commission, Col. Mushtag Kamran stated that September 6 signified the unflinching resolve, unity, and sense of sacrifice to defend the motherland at all costs.
He praised the sons of the soil who sacrificed their lives to protect freedom and sovereignty, urging others to strive for a better tomorrow.
The event was attended by senior Nigerian Armed Forces officers, ambassadors, attachés, and diplomatic corps, and featured traditional Pakistani cuisine, with a pledge from Pakistani officers to continue to defend the motherland following the footsteps of martyr.
Pakistani Armed Forces Remain largest contributors to UN peace keeping –Envoy
US Provides $6.5 million for Flood Related Humanitarian Needs in Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $6.5 million to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to address flood-related humanitarian needs across Nigeria.
According to a statement on Thursday by
the Development Outreach and Communications Team of USAID, the funding is part of USAID’s Fiscal Year 2024 support and will enable local partners to respond to flooding and other disasters.
The statement revealed that IOM is allocating $3 million to address flood-related humanitarian needs across the country.
Flooding has affected over 619,000 people in 29 Nigerian states since mid-August, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency. The floods have claimed 210 lives, displaced nearly 228,700 people, and damaged more than 84,800 homes.
According to the statement, this response is part of a larger humanitarian assistance effort. In Fiscal Year 2024, USAID has provided nearly $100 million in previously announced funding to Nigeria to respond to the urgent needs of those impacted by disasters, including floods.
USAID Mission Director, Melissa Jones said:
“The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Nigeria as they face the challenges posed by climate change and increasingly frequent natural disasters. Our enduring partnership is rooted in a long history of delivering humanitarian aid across the nation.”
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