Ban Ki-moon visit: Shuttle diplomacy

Almost every waking moment of his two days official visit to Nigeria was occupied by activities. When the United Nations secretary general, Mr. Ban Ki-moon arrived in Abuja on August 23 2015, he went straight to a meeting with Governors of the various states. In his speech titled “Pathways to a New Nigeria – the […]

Almost every waking moment of his two days official visit to Nigeria was occupied by activities. When the United Nations secretary general, Mr. Ban Ki-moon arrived in Abuja on August 23 2015, he went straight to a meeting with Governors of the various states. In his speech titled “Pathways to a New Nigeria – the Role of Sub-national Governments” he explained that the UN was at a vital moment in its work to promote the sustainable development agenda and build a life of dignity for all. He urged the Governors to contribute to development as a means to countering climate change, insecurity and terrorism. The agenda for his trip was to focus attention of the government, business community and civil society organisations on promoting sustainable development, consolidating democracy, promoting human rights and addressing  climate change.
On the Second day of his visit., Mr. Ki-moon met with President Muhammadu Buhari and commended him for embarking on an agenda for change and prioritising security and the anti-corruption war. He pledged UN’s support for President Buhari’s reforms, saying when change occurs in Nigeria, there will be change in Africa. He made a passionate appeal for the release of over 200 Chibok schoolgirls, who were abducted in April 2014 by Boko Haram militants. Mr. Ki-moon pleaded for the unconditional release of the girls and other abductees of the Boko Haram. His visit coincides with the week the “Bring Back Our Girls” protesters are preparing to commemorate the 500th day since the girls disappeared. The #BringBackOurGirls group #BBOG started its campaign immediately after the abduction of over 200 girls from their hostel in Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014.
Mr. Ban Ki-moon attended a dialogue on Democracy, human rights, development, climate change and countering violent extremism.’ The event was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. It was attended by Permanent Secretaries of Ministries, members of the diplomatic corps and civil society organisations. Mr Bank Moon’s Special Assistant on Sustainable development Ms. Amina Mohammed introduced the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs that will continue with and expand on the Millennium Development Goals MDGs  which will end this year. 
In his speech,  Mr Ki- moon stated that he was in Nigeria to visit President Buhari and to ensure strong United Nations (UN) partnership with the country. He commended Buhari for pledging to tackle inequality and corruption in his inaugural speech. Mr. Ban Ki-moon said ‘insecurity takes root due to mismanagement of resources, injustice, marginalisation of vulnerable and minority groups and inequality. He stated that the UN has the ambition of ensuring sustainable development goals, ensuring gender parity, ending hunger and poverty and combating corruption by 2030. Mr Ki-moon informed the audience that the international community had agreed on a framework for financing sustainable development. A blueprint for a sustainable development agenda aiming to 2030, including through a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also been developed. Mr. Ki-moon said “These 17 SDGs will be adopted by world leaders at a meeting in New York on September 27 and 28 2015 where President Buhari will also participate.”  The secretary-general stressed the importance of tackling climate change, noting that sustainable development goals may not be realised without addressing the phenomenon.
In his speech, Osinbajo noted that about 110million Nigerians are poor, adding that the government is working to develop the nation’s economy so that the citizens could be empowered. He stressed Nigeria’s commitment to join the rest of the world in tackling the scourge of climate change.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, said Islam has no problem with Christianity but the actions of the adherents of both religions who have a warped understanding of their religion creates conflicts. He cited various development projects jointly implemented by Nigerian Muslim and Christian leaders to create interfaith harmony and promote development. He urged the United Nations secretary general to assist Nigeria to recover its stolen money stashed in foreign countries by corrupt politicians. On peace building, he underscored the need for the UN to ensure that Israel complies with UN Resolutions and address the issue of injustice and stereotyping which fuel extremism.

Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja made a presentation on climate change. He shared guidelines for environmental protection as contained in the church policy. He linked farmers and pastoralists’ conflicts to effects of climate change, dwindling water resources from the Lake Chad basin, deforestation and the population pressure. He called for cleaning up of oil spill and other environmental pollution in the oil producing area of the Niger Delta as it is done in other parts of the world. He also called for commitment of the powerful and rich nations of the world to address the pollution they create for our common world.
Several dignitaries also made presentations. The Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission Mrs. Amina Zakari made a presentation on the reform and restructuring of the Commission which assisted it in organizing a free and fair election. The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission Dr. Ben Angwe discussed the role of the Commission in promoting human rights. The National Security Adviser Major General Babagana Monguno listed the renewed military operation being undertaken to combat the insurgency and the soft approach which is a project on Combating Violent Extremism CVE  being implemented by his office. The forum was interesting but due to time constraint, participants were unable to engage with the speakers in an interactive session.