Amid the incessant kidnapping of schoolchildren and students in Nigeria, particularly in the North, the United States Government has said those responsible for such acts must be punished.
The Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated this at a telephonic conference during the week.
In response to a question by Saturday PUNCH on how the US plans to address alleged human rights abuses by the Nigerian military and security agencies battling armed conflict groups like Boko Haram, Thomas-Greenfield said it was an issue that the US would continue to fashion out with the Nigerian government.
She said, “We have called the government out when we have seen violations being committed, but we also, at the same time, try to provide assistance and train and equip law enforcement and other professionals to address some of these issues and to address shortcomings that they may have. So we’re looking at programmes that focus on building capacity for the security services that focus on providing support to the people.
“I was reminded today that when I was asked early in my tenure what keeps me awake at night, and on that day that I was asked that question, Nigerian children had been kidnapped from a school. And again, that is something that continues to happen in Nigeria. It’s something that we all have to work to address. We have to hold people accountable and really have them punished for those kinds of acts.”
Nigeria, particularly the North, has experienced a wave of abductions of schoolchildren by armed gangs, including Boko Haram terrorists, bandits, and militant herdsmen.
Several states in the region have shut schools in recent times due to the rise in abductions and banditry, a development that has seen about 10.5 million children put out of school, according to the United Nations.
Thomas-Greenfield said schools should be places where children could go to learn, be happy and thrive, adding that part of the US’ work with the Nigerian security services was to help them be more effective and efficient in providing security for all Nigerians, but particularly for young children and young girls who are trying to get educated.
Also, Thomas-Greenfield said food scarcity in insurgency-ravaged North had been a concern to the US. She said the issue was one of the topics of discussion at the upcoming UN Food System Summit in September.
She said, “We will be actively engaging in the discussions that will take place later in the year. As you have noted, South Sudan and Yemen particularly have been identified as being very highly food insecure because of insecurity, and we know that the situation in northern Nigeria is one that we need to focus attention on.
“But there are also other areas in the world where food insecurity is leading to conflict and conflict is leading to food insecurity. So I can say without any hesitation that we will be working on this issue and trying to address the issue, and trying to find solutions to assist people to address their food insecurity requirements in the future.”
Thomas-Greenfield said the US was “truly” committed to partnering with Africa to bring hope and prosperity to its people of Africa but said it had to be done with the support of the African people.
Meanwhile, the ambassador said Africa’s relationship with China worried her, because, according to her, “that is a relationship that sometimes rests on coerciveness, indebtedness, and not in partnership.”
“And I want our message to be completely the opposite of that and our relationships to reflect that our partnership with Africa is one in which we focus on the needs of the people, we focus on our values, and we focus on opportunities to build capacity across the continent of Africa,” she said.
