It is great if you do not agree with me. If everyone agrees with 100% of my opinion, it means I have lost the core meaning of sharing things here. Yes, my position remains that war is evil and Russia and Ukraine should quickly pursue peace. Ukraine has shown courage, valour and strength, but the leader of the nation has a decision to make – and only him will MAKE it.
I write this because I was born in eastern Nigeria where I saw massive desecration of lands as Nigeria killed and decimated millions, even years after the theaters of deaths. You hardly win wars fought in your land – and no reasonable person will wish war for his or her enemy!
As we expect President Zelenskyy to evaluate his options, I also want African leaders to be nuanced and cautious on how they get into this. Russia supplies many nuclear research equipment, tools, etc to Africa. Do not say something that will cut your supplies and expatriates out. If that happens, many bad things can happen in our communities.
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Displeased with Russia’s incessant attack on Ukraine, the United States of America through its assistant secretary of state, Molly Phee has urged African nations to come in solidarity and speak with one voice against Russia’s attack on Ukraine. She made the call on Thursday while speaking with African journalists at a digital press meeting. She sought to mainly talk to African journalists to discuss with them the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the context of its impact on African nations.
According to her, she believes that African voices matter in the international community, and their votes are very important to effectively send a message that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is highly unacceptable. She believes that in this critical time, it is a time for the international community to demonstrate unity and speak with one voice against Russia’s aggression.
In her words, “We recognize that the early days of this conflict are already having an impact on African economies as they are in the United States and elsewhere in the world. We see the rise of fuel prices, commodity prices and we know that this disruption is doubling hard given the earlier impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are already engaged in efforts to promote stable energy and commodity prices, we are working on the supply chain.
You saw this week that President Biden joined other international leaders in releasing strategic oil reserves in efforts to manage fuel prices. I also know that there has been genuine concern and alarm about the treatments of Africans who have been studying in Ukraine. I want you to know that we are proud of Ukraine. The foreign minister has made clear that all individuals caught up in the chaos of this war must receive equal treatment. The government of Ukraine has established emergency hotlines for African students.”
President Biden is my choice any day – I am PRO-BIDEN and his biggest advocate. He does things great leaders do: he looks out for his own. Yes, he has not sanctioned Russian oil and gas because it will affect his fellow Americans. Largely, he does not want to put pain in innocent citizens. For Africa, we have to follow his footsteps especially in nations with nuclear power projects with Russia. If Putin stops those projects, you could be in ruins in your communities with nuclear wastes, fuels, etc!
Nigeria’s President has been well measured. Let us continue to call for peace.
Use wisdom on this to avoid consequences we all could regret. This is one reason I hate nuclear power for energy: it could become a political poison. Can you ever be politically independent from your supplier?
Everyone is measured including NATO.
NATO’s chief said Friday that a no-fly zone over Ukraine is not an option being considered by the alliance. “We’ve agreed that we should not have NATO planes operating over Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops on Ukrainian territory,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels.
“Ministers agreed that NATO’s relationship with Russia has fundamentally changed for the long term. But we remain committed to keeping channels for diplomacy and deconfliction open to avoid any fundamental escalation, misunderstanding or miscalculation,” he said.
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