No question, this is the most significant crisis the world has faced since WWII—UNGA president

With the world firmly in the grip of the coronavirus lockdown, somewhere in New York, His Excellency Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the United Nations General Assembly, (UNGA) sat down before his laptop for an exclusive online video interview with Daily Trust to discuss the pandemic and the UNGA’s response to it.   When World War […]

With the world firmly in the grip of the coronavirus lockdown, somewhere in New York, His Excellency Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the United Nations General Assembly, (UNGA) sat down before his laptop for an exclusive online video interview with Daily Trust to discuss the pandemic and the UNGA’s response to it.

 

When World War II ended in 1945, it was so devastating that countries of the world bandied together to form the United Nations, whose mandate includes the prevention of similiar future catastrophes.

Nigerian-born Tijjani Muhammad-Bande is the president of the United Nations General Assembly and he believes the COVID-19 pandemic is the most significant crisis the world has faced since 1945.

“There is no question of exaggeration about the nature of the significance of this crisis and every day we are learning how it manifests in different individuals. We are dealing with over three million confirmed cases. There is nothing more to say in terms of saying this is something that effects everywhere. It is difficult to come up with something that has challenged the international committee more.”

Since the interview, confirmed cases globally have risen to nearly seven million with over 400, 000 deaths recorded worldwide, according to figures from WHO.

One of the first things the UNGA did when the pandemic broke was to adopt a resolution co-sponsored by 188 countries titled “Global Solidarity to Fight the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).”

It called for an “intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate and defeat the pandemic, including by exchanging information, scientific knowledge and best practices and by applying the relevant guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization.

“I think the UN has worked on and is working closely with many organisations and countries to help address the immediate issues around the pandemic in terms of looking after those who are most directly affected,” he said.

His belief is that the resolution would ensure that when vaccines are developed, they would be accessible and affordable, and to guarantee that all countries obtain them when they become available.

However, attempts by the US government to buy a vaccine in development from a German firm “exclusively for the US” had drawn criticisms from many.

Muhammad-Bande, a former university professor and political scientist, thinks that countries are better off working together and sharing whatever vaccine is developed.

“I am very optimistic that it is understood and very clear that the nature of the pandemic is such that if one country is not safe, no country is safe,” he said. “I think that more and more, we see countries taking up the challenge to work with others. That is why we have regional bodies working with each other even if national realities are different in each country. Even in one country, there are different regions and it’s just a matter of time that if one part of the country has a problem, the others will have problems. The local situation in countries are different and they are being addressed as such.”

The April 3 resolution was also clear about its stance against discrimination in the fight against the pandemic, something that has been tested by reports from China of Africans being discriminated against and thrown out of their accommodations over the pandemic.

“I think it is not just a conversation about China,” Amb. Muhammad-Bande said, “It is a conversation about the principles surrounding our world. The United Nations Charter is clear about the necessity to support rights and to give solidarity and support if those rights are trampled upon. I have also been told that there is a statement from the foreign ministry of China addressing the issue. I think our focus is to reaffirm, as we have always done, what connects us as human beings and the recourse by any, at times it is not even countries but communities, local situations that have nothing to do with what a country stands for.

“At times, things can happen in countries that the authorities might not know but once these are brought to the attention of the authorities, what is expected is to operate within the rules. We have seen countries connect to others even when there is disagreement over so many things in relation to this same matter. Discrimination is completely counterproductive.”

Even though the interview took place before the murder of African-American George Floyd, which has sparked anti-racism protests worldwide, Prof. Bande could just have been addressing today’s reality.

For the Kebbi-born diplomat, the price of discrimination, especially with regards to the pandemic, will be colossal.

“I think all channels are needed to address the concerns of all countries and to recall our co-dependency and our connection as human beings and the United Nations is very clear on this and I think there is no dispute as to the necessity to live up to our commitment to uphold rights,” he said.

Many analysts and some governments, especially the US, have accused China of not fully disclosing to the international community the extent and nature of the pandemic when it first broke. The fallout from that dispute has seen the US withdraw its contributory funding to the World Health Organisation.

“It is not helpful to have disputes of this kind and I think these are two very important countries and you expect cooperation from these countries,” he said.  “And even with the dispute, I think what you see is that there is a strong connection between China and the US.”

He referred to the exchange of personnel and resources between the two squabbling giants and emphasized yet again the need for all countries to set aside finger pointing and work towards containing the pandemic.

“It won’t be wise to do a post mortem in the middle of the crisis but to continue to patch our cooperation,” the president said. “No one country is able to come out of this alone. Collaboration in terms of research, in terms of support is necessary.”

Despite the bickering, Muhammad-Bande said other countries have stepped up and are contributing funds to support others. Nigeria, he points out,  has recently benefited from these funds. It is important to focus on these, the president said.

However, beyond COVID-19, the WHO has been contending with a number of other pandemics across the world. Nigeria is just riding out a storm of Lassa fever that has claimed about 200 lives just before COVID-19 struck. There are reports of a new Ebola Viral Disease outbreak in DR Congo. Wouldn’t the US withdrawing its funding from WHO affect efforts to confront all these challenges?

“Let it be clear that no single country’s support is the basis for addressing any challenge and I do not think that this dispute will continue forever,” he said. “There will be a review, I am sure. Countries are stepping up to give support and support the WHO, even before this and it is clear that all of us should do more.”

But it is not only countries that are expected to do more. In Brazil, street gangs have helped in enforcing lockdown, in Jos, Nigeria, vigilante groups have helped police the streets during the lockdown there. In global hotspots like Libya, DR Congo and Afghanistan, the president is hoping that warring parties would ceasefire, as other groups elsewhere have done, to help the global response to fight the pandemic.

“By and large, a lot of conflicts have heeded the call of the Secretary General [Antonio Guterres] to make it easier for us to address the most urgent issue worldwide, which is to bring an end to COVID-19,” he said.

Through the lockdown in various parts of the world, UN agencies have been trying to coordinate responses, something Muhammed-Bande is pleased with.

“The UN has various agencies and the agencies have been working,” he said. “The secretariat has been busy and so have personnel on the ground dealing with issues.”

Despite his optimism, however, Muhammad-Bande is under no illusion about the bleak outlook of the post-pandemic world, but like the consummate diplomat he is, he believes the world would rally together and pull through. And that thought put a small smile on his clean-shaven face.