Dr. Osotimehin noted that an obvious concern for him as a Nigerian and for UNFPA, are the secondary school girls who were abducted in Chibok in his home country last April, adding that he would never prescribe the bombing of the Boko Haram militant group knowing that those girls and many others are still alive and awaiting release. “It is in the interest of our common humanity to keep alive the hope in their hearts and of their families,” he stated.
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has denied he would like the international coalition currently fighting ISIS in the Middle East to bomb Nigeria.
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General was responding to “Come And Bomb Boko Haram, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin Urges Coalition Fighting ISIS,” a story which appeared in SaharaReporters last Monday, October 6, 2014.
The report emanated from remarks he made at the annual dinner of the Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN) in New York the previous day.
“What I did say is that the situation concerning ISIS in the Middle East and Boko Haram in Nigeria are similar, and that the response to Boko Haram deserves the same unanimity of international purpose and commitment,” the clarification said.
He added that while he believes in the power of international cooperation in confronting problems such as terror, no two situations are exactly the same, as a result of which such cooperation does not have to follow the same template.
Dr. Osotimehin noted that an obvious concern for him as a Nigerian and for UNFPA, are the secondary school girls who were abducted in Chibok in his home country last April, adding that he would never prescribe the bombing of the Boko Haram militant group knowing that those girls and many others are still alive and awaiting release.
“It is in the interest of our common humanity to keep alive the hope in their hearts and of their families,” he stated.
“Terrorist groups are a poison to the human community, and humankind must cooperate to eliminate this menace wherever and in whatever form it appears. While we must respond with unmistakable resolve, however, we must be careful not to let terror re-define who we are for the worse.”