Buhari, African Leaders Donate To African Union Over Humanitarian Issues

President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to donate $3 million to the new humanitarian agency set up by the African Union (AU). 

He made this known on 27th May 2022 at the ongoing AU Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The summit tagged ‘extraordinary humanitarian summit and pledging conference’, as well as the ‘extraordinary summit on unconstitutional changes of government in Africa’, is being held from May 25 to 28, 2022.

According to a statement by the Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, at the 16th AU extraordinary session, Buhari remarked that more than five million people had been displaced in the Lake Chad region, with 70 percent of them mostly Nigerians.

The president said in tackling this menace, his administration created the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, to respond to the growing issues relating to displaced persons.

“This is in line with the Kampala Convention for the protection and assistance of internally-displaced persons.  I am glad to inform your excellencies that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs of Nigeria has continued to live up to its mandate in responding quickly to all situations of displaced persons and disaster management.” he said.

Reacting to the establishment of the new humanitarian agency by the AU, Buhari opined that the development would help Africa to effectively coordinate and respond to crises on the continent.

The president therefore pledged to donate $3 million for the commencement of operations at the newly-created AU humanitarian agency, as he called the attention of the Union to rising global warming issues across the world.

Having stated that Africa needed to focus on preserving its aquatic and ecological systems, Buhari said, “We cannot deny the fact that we have a very dangerous humanitarian crisis in our hands.”

“The rationale for the establishment of this agency is to forge a common African position on humanitarian effectiveness and to create an appropriate continental architecture to effectively respond and coordinate humanitarian crises on the continent.

“You will agree that this conference could not have come at a better time, considering the challenges posed by the increasing rate of Internally-Displaced Persons, Refugees and Returning Migrants, to our various countries and the continent at large.

“As you are aware, Mr Chairperson, the world is confronted by emerging threats, such as climate change, resulting in global warming, rising levels in waters, in some climes shrinking of rivers and lakes.

“All these lead to distortions in our aquatic and consequently ecological systems.  Conflicts, violent extremism and terrorist attacks, including herdsmen-farmers clashes and banditry lead to the displacement of whole communities, thus rendering thousands of people homeless.”

On his part, the President of Senegal and AU Chairman, Macky Sall also pledged $3 million on behalf of his country and asked other African leaders to contribute to the establishment of the agency.

In a related development, the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Mbasogo who hosted the summit, also promised the sum of $4 million. He said half of the money would go to the agency, while the other half would go to Mozambique.

The gesture as recorded at the AU Summit was commendable and a way forward. But the major plight being usually faced by the continent remains misappropriation of public funds, hence the need to create a measure that would ensure accountability in the long run.

However, it could be mind-boggling that Buhari has been busy donating to several for a across the globe while the various unions in Nigeria’s education sector remain on strike.

African leaders must acknowledge they are expected to tackle the numerous internal crises bedeviling their respective countries before considering the external ones, so their followers wouldn’t end up casting spells on them.