The chairman of the National Human Rights
Commission, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, has revealed that
Nigeria comes after war-torn Syria and Iraq, with the
number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) put at
almost a million.
He gave the figure on Monday, July 6, during a national
conference organised by the United Nations Millennium
Campaign (UNMC), the MDGs Office and the Open Society
Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) with the theme, ‘Good
Governance Beyond 2015: Setting Agenda for Inclusive and
Sustainable Development in an Era of Change.’
Odinkalu, who attributed the development to the insurgency
ravaging the Northern part of the country, said the violence
has weakened the state and its institutions.
He quoted the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
(IDMC) Global Overview of 2014 which reads: “Boko Haram’s
ruthless campaign to establish an independent Islamic state
in North-eastern Nigeria also drove new significant
displacements.
“It was responsible for displacing more than three-quarters
of at least 975,300 people in the country during the year,
while many others fled inter-communal violence in the
Middle Belt region.”
The IDMC report revealed that as at the end of 2014, about
38 million people around the world were forced to leave
their homes as a result of armed conflicts and generalised
violence. He said these people are living in displacement,
around the borders of their own country. He said 11 million
new people were displaced from the beginning of the year.
He said no fewer than 30,000 people are displaced daily.
The report further reads: “Never in the last 10 years of
IDMC’s global reporting, from the peak of the Darfur crisis in
2004 have we reported such a high estimate for the number
of people newly displaced in a year. Today, there are almost
twice as many IDPs as there are refugees worldwide.”
Earlier on, the executive director of OSIWA, Abdul Tejan-
Cole, stated that the MDGs, which will end in September,
2015, would be replaced by the signing of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), by all the nations of the world
during a meeting on a new development agenda in New
York.
He said: “Nigeria has made very impressive progress with
the MDGs but the story of the MDGs is an unfinished
business because we still have issues like HIV, illiteracy,
hunger, sanitation and more. We are going to transit these
development issues to the next agenda.
“All the stakeholders are here and we shall be talking and
strategising on how we can lay the structural, institutional
and legal framework for the early implementation of the
SDGs.”
Odinkalu observed that the MDGs and likewise, the wider
project of development are founded on the beliefs of
human rights, human dignity and equality.
Meanwhile, in a response to the latest Boko Haram
bombings in mosques and churches in the northern region,
the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has directed
all Commissioners of Police in the country to beef up
security at all worship centres..
Commission, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, has revealed that
Nigeria comes after war-torn Syria and Iraq, with the
number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) put at
almost a million.
He gave the figure on Monday, July 6, during a national
conference organised by the United Nations Millennium
Campaign (UNMC), the MDGs Office and the Open Society
Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) with the theme, ‘Good
Governance Beyond 2015: Setting Agenda for Inclusive and
Sustainable Development in an Era of Change.’
Odinkalu, who attributed the development to the insurgency
ravaging the Northern part of the country, said the violence
has weakened the state and its institutions.
He quoted the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
(IDMC) Global Overview of 2014 which reads: “Boko Haram’s
ruthless campaign to establish an independent Islamic state
in North-eastern Nigeria also drove new significant
displacements.
“It was responsible for displacing more than three-quarters
of at least 975,300 people in the country during the year,
while many others fled inter-communal violence in the
Middle Belt region.”
The IDMC report revealed that as at the end of 2014, about
38 million people around the world were forced to leave
their homes as a result of armed conflicts and generalised
violence. He said these people are living in displacement,
around the borders of their own country. He said 11 million
new people were displaced from the beginning of the year.
He said no fewer than 30,000 people are displaced daily.
The report further reads: “Never in the last 10 years of
IDMC’s global reporting, from the peak of the Darfur crisis in
2004 have we reported such a high estimate for the number
of people newly displaced in a year. Today, there are almost
twice as many IDPs as there are refugees worldwide.”
Earlier on, the executive director of OSIWA, Abdul Tejan-
Cole, stated that the MDGs, which will end in September,
2015, would be replaced by the signing of the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), by all the nations of the world
during a meeting on a new development agenda in New
York.
He said: “Nigeria has made very impressive progress with
the MDGs but the story of the MDGs is an unfinished
business because we still have issues like HIV, illiteracy,
hunger, sanitation and more. We are going to transit these
development issues to the next agenda.
“All the stakeholders are here and we shall be talking and
strategising on how we can lay the structural, institutional
and legal framework for the early implementation of the
SDGs.”
Odinkalu observed that the MDGs and likewise, the wider
project of development are founded on the beliefs of
human rights, human dignity and equality.
Meanwhile, in a response to the latest Boko Haram
bombings in mosques and churches in the northern region,
the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has directed
all Commissioners of Police in the country to beef up
security at all worship centres..
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