Why Nigeria harped Israel-Palestine 2-state solution at the Arab summit Bola Tinubu attended today in Riyadh
Other African countries attending the extraordinary summit included Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt and lots more.
Globe-trotting President Bola Tinubu on Sunday 10 November 2024 arrived Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit the country is hosting. The gathering planned to iron out the myriads of problems going on in the Middle East particularly as it relates to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Nigeria with its substantial Muslim population had to be part of it although citizens still question what exactly is in it for them getting dragged to issues that precede the first industrial revolution featuring disagreements between Arabs and Jews?
The conflict in Palestine has persisted for far too long, inflicting immeasurable suffering on countless lives, President Tinubu comments to the automated speech translated in the Riyadh conference room hosting all the guests. It was a day after his arrival that he started reiterating his demands on behalf of his country’s people.
His appearance at the event was all part of being a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was established on 25 September 1969. This earned him the opportunity to be hosted once again by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father 88-year-old King Salman.
Other African countries attending the extraordinary summit included Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt and lots more.
As representatives of nations that value justice, dignity, and the sanctity of human life, we have a moral obligation to collectively bring about an immediate end to this conflict.
It is not enough to issue empty condemnations. The world must work towards an end to Israeli aggression in Gaza, which has persisted for far too long. No political aim, no military strategy, and no security concern should come at the expense of so many innocent lives.
This moral stance isn’t dissimilar to the demands Muslim countries made when they last gathered precisely at this time a year ago. This was slightly over a month after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. The resolution after the meeting called for an end to Israeli aggression, the breaking of the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and prosecution of the aggressor for its crimes.
Israel on its part isn’t shy about its war aims since it was provoked. Its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed following incursions into Gaza to destroy the entire Hamas infrastructure, but the new problem Arabs have with him now is his belligerence shifting focus to Iran and Lebanon before that. The royals and heads of state that were attending heard Prince Mohammed bin Salman preach de-escalation and justice.
With Nigeria going through over a decade-long insurgency crisis, Mr Tinubu was naturally in war mode when he took the job of being president in May 2023.
Even though steering the economy aright has seemed the most consequential task lying on his plate, being the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) chairman has led him to oversee the settlement of regional conflicts among member countries.
ALSO READ: Why President Bola Tinubu lifting Niger sanctions needed to happen
Precedence shows that although the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces really does not shy away from taking up challenges on the international stage, it is his success rate at bringing lasting solutions that are yet to be seen but he won’t relent.
Not relenting is the reason why the president quickly dashed to Saudi Arabia but Nigerians cannot see the benefit and the relevance of attending.
Dr. Abraham Idokoko tweets via X that [the] Arab-Islamic summit being attended by Nigeria’s president in [an] official capacity? Nigeria is NOT an Arab or Islamic state. No Nigerian president has attended a [trado-religious] or Christian or Jewish summit in the past, in [an] official capacity. So, why will taxpayers fund this?
To Nigerians, austerity should mean government officials doing away with unnecessary travel costs and to them this is one. They do not see the prospect of crude oil prices getting excessively out of hand should war in the Middle East worsen.
Under a post-PMS-subsidy regime that started immediately after Mr Bola Tinubu’s inauguration speech last year, purchasing fuel became unprecedentedly pricey, reaching beyond what most can afford.
The steepness in the price of buying petrol has become a point of anger hence why Nigerians think their president should stay home to fix problems. One place nor de contain this guy, mirrors the mind of the DAllSeeinRetina, also tweeting.
If there was to be a response by Nigeria’s number one citizen, possibly he could argue that looking out for those he leads is exactly what he went out there to do in Riyadh and soon he will be back.
