The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon disclosed that over 7.5 million people are still in need of humanitarian assistance in the Northeast.
In a new year message, Kallon said the situation is among various challenges the government faces in the region.
He assured Nigerians that the United Nations and its partners would continue to assist Nigeria until a permanent solution to the crises is found.
He reiterated his call for a political solution to compliment the military effort as the fight against insurgency continues.
“After more than ten years of fighting, it is now clear that a military solution alone is not enough. We must engage in a political process that involves all the stakeholders; community, traditional and religious leaders, youth groups, women, the security and political leadership must all be involved in a common dialogue for Peace.”
He also commended Nigerians for their maturity and commitment to unity and peaceful co-existence of all, in a constitutional democracy.
“With all the legal challenges to the elections now resolved, the governments, both at the federal and state levels can now focus on delivering on the mandates freely given to them by the people”, said Mr. Kallon.
Mr. Kallon noted with satisfaction Nigeria’s leadership role in advancing the climate change discourse and its impact not just in the country, but across the Lake Chad Basin and the greater Sahel.
“The United Nations will in the coming year work closely with the Nigerian government in finding immediate, medium and long term solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change and in finding a durable solution to the continuous shrinking of the lake Chad, which has directly affected the livelihoods of over 30 million people who owe their daily existence on the lake, either through fishing, farming, trade and other commercial activities,” he said.
Mr. Kallon urged the federal government to pay much more attention to youth unemployment, while ensuring that women are brought into the mainstream of political and economic life of the country.
“Women and girls are critical to everything we do and in all facets of our lives. We need to stop abuse and discrimination against women and encourage and build their capacity to assume their rightful place in the governance of our societies”.
He urged the government to keep up the war on corruption, while ensuring equity and justice in its actions.
He implored the Federal, State and Local governments to embrace, mainstream and invest in SDGs in order to drive the transformative change required to comprehensively address the economic, social and environmental challenges faced by Nigeria and the world at large.
“It is only through the implementation of the SDG agenda that we will make good our collective promise to Leave No-One Behind and reach the furthest behind first,” he said.
