The Secretary General of the United Nations has just completed his trip to Nigeria, as part of a brief African tour which passed through Senegal and Niger. It was Antonio Guterres’ first official visit to Nigeria. He went on Tuesday, May 3 to the northeast of the country, the epicenter of the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, where he met people displaced by the conflict, but also repentant former fighters from Boko Haram. On Wednesday May 4, he was in Abuja where he notably met with the Nigerian head of state.
With our correspondent in Lagos, Liza Fabbien
President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his satisfaction with the visit of the UN Secretary General, in the midst of war between Russia and Ukraine.
Antonio Guterres assured his side that this major crisis does not change the actions of the UN around the world.
After visiting the city of Maiduguri on Tuesday, Antonio Guterres assured that the UN continues to support the displaced people, whose stories have deeply moved “.
The Secretary General of the United Nations recalled that more than four million people will be in a situation of food insecurity during the lean season in northeastern Nigeria.
Despite everything, Antonio Guterres gave his support to the Nigerian government’s efforts to close the camps surrounding the town of Maiduguri, in order to encourage the displaced to return to their villages of origin.
This decision, however, worries humanitarians, who fear that these vulnerable populations will suffer from hunger or be targeted by the jihadists of the Islamic State in West Africa.
This Wednesday, Antonio Guterres also paid tribute to the victims of the attack on the United Nations headquarters in Abuja on August 26, 2011. This suicide attack orchestrated by Boko Haram left 23 dead and 60 injured.
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