Against the backdrop of the humanitarian crisis in the North East, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has observed that Nigerians have failed to learn from the Biafra civil war.
Speaking in Abuja, the deputy senate President said Nigeria ought to build her internal capacity and mechanisms for managing such situations.
Ekweremadu noted that after going through armed conflict and humanitarian crises, Nigeria ought to have strengthened her capacity to build peace and manage humanitarian challenges.
He, however, assured that the National Assembly was committed towards assisting parts of the country facing humanitarian challenges.
According to Ekweremadu, “As a young boy in the 1960s, I experienced firsthand the humanitarian crisis in the eastern part of Nigeria occasioned by the Biafran war. Then, we had to depend on international donors and humanitarian organisations.
“Unfortunately, from the developments so far in the North East, it is clear that, like virtually every other thing in our history, we did not learn from that experience. We remain heavily dependent on humanitarian organisations and donors.
“If we had learnt from the experience of the civil war, Nigeria would have needed little or no external support. We would have built our internal capacity and mechanisms to manage the North East situation.”
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