2023 may not be feasible with rising conflicts in Nigeria, UK warns
Ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, the British government has warned that the 2023 general elections in Nigeria may not hold due to rising cases of conflicts across the country, with calls for break up and secession.
Speaking at the launch of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Peace and Inclusive Security Initiative, PISI, in Abuja yesterday, the Director, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in the United Kingdom, Chris Beecroft said Nigeria was currently faced with significant peace and security challenges.
According to him, there is an active insurgency in the North-East; farmers-herders’ conflicts which are extending across the country, resource conflict in the Niger Delta, tension in the South-East and banditry in the North-West.
He noted that Nigeria was at a critical juncture in its journey, adding that time had come for new thinking and action to build a more peaceful future for all Nigerians.
Beecroft said, “The Foreign, Common-wealth and Development Office values our relationship with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, through our programmes, including SPARC, PERL and most recently the Technical assistance provided in framing the Peace and Inclusive Security initiative, PISI.
Chairman NGF and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in his opening remark at the launch, noted that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country had also made insecurity situation worse and exacerbated the level of violence and fatalities from crime.
According to him, between May 2011 and February 2021, over 76,000 deaths were reported by the press and tracked by the Nigeria Security Tracker, NST, project of the council, a Foreign Relations, Africa program, which documents violence in Nigeria.
Fayemi said, “Today’s event heralds an important milestone for the Forum as we seek to build a more inclusive and collaborative platform to drive an urgent country-wide response to the security challenge our country is facing.
“Nigeria is still at crossroads . One of the key areas where there is urgent need for consensual today is security governance, given the escalation in the spate of violence and coordinated criminal activities that have undermined government authority and waned public trust in recent times.
“The level of insecurity across parts of the country is not only eroding citizens safety and peoples’ means of livelihood, it is also threatening the expression of the rights of all Nigerians.
