Nigeria Content Online

The
Federal Government is not happy with the way Nigerian soldiers are
killed in the course of their peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan,
Adetokunbo Kayode, the minister of defence, has said.

Mr. Kayode made the
comments, yesterday, at the United Nations (UN) regional conference on
deterrence, use of force and operational readiness in peace keeping
operations at the Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre (NAPKC) in Jaji,
Kaduna.

The minister said
members of the Nigerian contingent recently disarmed in Darfur were
caught between abiding with the mandate of the mission and protecting
themselves in the midst of rebels’ attacks.

“It is hoped that
the outcome of the conference will be clear policy that will streamline
the bottlenecks and create guidelines for efforts at reducing the
complexity of mandates and the immediate resolution of conflicts.”

Chief of Army
Staff, Abdulrahaman Dambazau, said that the guidelines should aim to
answer immediate issues that affect the performance of troops in the
field, but not hamper their performance.

“The sacrifices
made in terms of lives by peacekeepers should not bolster the spirit of
warring factions, rather every form of sacrifice should make us design
better ways for our peacekeepers to have an edge over belligerents,” he
said.

Mr. Dambazau called
for policies that would enable the organisation prepare peacekeepers
for effective duty on UN missions, especially in Africa.

“The successes that will follow any peace support mission are determined by the state or level of preparedness of the troops.”

Nigerian peacekeepers honoured

Eleven Nigerian
soldiers were among United Nations international peacekeepers honoured
posthumously in May as part of the eighth annual International Day of
UN Peacekeepers at the world body’s headquarters in New York.

The occasion was
marked with several events at the UN on the previous day, including the
presentation of service medals to peacekeepers, including two Nigerian
military officers.

The UN list tracked the loss of international peacekeepers from January 2009 to February 2010.

On the list of
fallen peacekeepers were two Nigerian officers: Johnson Umana, who died
in Darfur on May 7, 2009, and Bala Etsu, who died in April 27, also in
Darfur.

Others from Nigeria
included John Itebu, who died on May 25, 2009; Gonjing Toma, who died
in Darfur on June 10, 2009; Mathew Abel, who died in Lebanon on June
23, 2009; John Ahmed, who died in Darfur on March 17, 2009; and Leonard
Ajibo, who also died in Darfur on February 25, 2010.

There were also
Yusuf Ibrahim, who died in Darfur on September 28, 2009; Bello Ishaku,
who died in Darfur on October 14, 2009; Taryuhua Ningir who died in
Lebanon on October 30, 2009; and Dede Fadairo, who died in Haiti on
January 12, 2010, in an earthquake.

As a mark of their sacrifice, the Dag Hammarskjöld UN Medal will be
sent to the next-of-kin of the fallen soldiers. More than 700 UN
peacekeepers have died in the course of duty in the past five years,
with more than 3,000 lives lost since the first operation in 1948.