There is an unyielding feeling that Nigeria’s failure to take its place as Africa’s great country and a crucial player in the comity of nations is the chief reason Africa as a continent has struggled badly with underdevelopment. There are many who would argue that the surging insecurity here and worsening poverty engulfing the African continent are largely byproducts of Nigeria’s epic struggle to realize its potential.
Conflicts, climate change, and corruption have worsened Africa’s affliction, plaguing its countries and casting a long pall over more than a billion people. Then, there are the wars.
In the global village that the world has become, what affects one person or one country often reverberates across others. Nigeria’s war with terrorists has rapped the West African subregion hard, echoing all the way to the other continents. In the same vein, the war in Ukraine continues to have consequences for Nigeria and Nigerians.
In addition to launching airstrikes against terrorists in Nigeria, the United States recently confirmed the deployment of about two hundred troops in a move that could drastically change the complexion of a conflict that has taken a particularly heavy toll on women and children. In the wake of the deployment of the troops, customary questions about sovereignty have arisen as expected.
Russia’s war in Ukraine especially took a heavy toll on Nigerian students. At the onset of the war, Nigerian students in Ukraine suddenly found themselves in the eye of the storm. Their hasty evacuation spoke to the peculiarly potent perils of war.
Nigeria did not record any student casualties from the war. In recent days, however, two Nigerians have been confirmed killed in the war while fighting on the side of Russia. Another Nigerian has since cried out, stating that he was deceived into joining the Russian army to fight against Ukraine. He has since appealed to the Nigerian government to bring him home.
Nigeria is neither an island nor a pariah state, and it is clear that the country is being affected by conflicts embroiling parts of the country as well as other countries. What do Nigerians make of these conflicts? The biggest lesson is that what affects one affects all. It is the greatest incentive to work towards a peaceful world.
Because the actions of people anywhere in the world have a way of traveling across countries and continents, everyone ought to commit to working towards a better world.
Conflict, especially armed conflict, which disproportionately affects women and children, should be eschewed, as should a world order that places power and profits ahead of people.
War takes the heaviest toll on those who are already vulnerable. When war happens, they disproportionately bear its brunt, and they do not even have to be near the war to be affected.
Arresting and preventing conflicts is a way to check their pernicious effects even before they start. This will take a lot of commitment from every country. This commitment can only be grounded by the realization that without peace every effort at development and security would remain distant and impossible.
Ike Willie-Nwobu,
