There鈥檚 not a lot to be happy about right now if you鈥檙e a Nigerian. Most recently we鈥檝e had to deal with a terrible fire tragedy, terror alerts, a rapidly declining naira and in the background of it all, our worst flooding crisis in a decade.
So when there鈥檚 any whiff of good news to uplift the mood, we won鈥檛 hesitate to share. Which is why we鈥檙e delighted to announce, ladies and gentlemen, that former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, aka OBJ, has scored a big win for himself and Nigeria on the African scene.
What did OBJ do?
It鈥檚 easy to forget Nigeria isn鈥檛 the only country facing shege. Thousands of people have died in the ongoing war in Ukraine and we really can鈥檛 wait for it to end. But closer to home in Africa, Ethiopia has been at war with itself for the past two years and over half a million people are dead. On November 2, 2022, the Ethiopian government and rebel forces .
Acting as an African Union (AU) mediator, our very own OBJ led the team who .
Obasanjo arriving at the signing ceremony [Image source: Reuters]
OBJ preached caution about the full implementation of the peace agreement,but the koko is, as of this moment, the Tigray War has ceased.
Why is this significant?
This isn鈥檛 the first time Nigeria has played the mediator role on the African continent. Another former president, Goodluck Jonathan, for providing humanitarian support during a time of crisis. In 2021, ensured the release of Mali鈥檚 president and prime minister from detention after a military takeover.
The scale of the Tigray War makes the truce signed in South Africa significant. One estimate notes that since it started in 2020. The war also displaced millions of people and created a worrying humanitarian crisis. Remember that Ethiopia is the second largest African country by population, after Nigeria, and whatever happens spills into surrounding countries.聽
The聽United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has already on ending the crisis, and it further proves his legacy . So we can鈥檛 blame him if he decides to buga.
Ultimately, OBJ鈥檚 significant role in helping to resolve the crisis, in a way, affirms Nigeria鈥檚 place as the continent鈥檚 big brother. We may be some distance away from truly assuming that African giant status, but this is a timely reminder of how important Nigeria can be when it decides to gbera.
