Nigeria spent $8bn to restore peace in Liberia – Irabor
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Leo Irabor, has disclosed that the Nigerian government spent $8bn to restore peace in Liberia.
He disclosed this in Abuja yesterday while delivering his keynote remark at the event to mark the 75th-year celebration of the United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Irabor said Nigeria had significantly contributed to 41 peacekeeping operations worldwide.
He said since the first engagement of troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces in Congo in 1960, Nigeria had been committed to the principles and objectives of the United Nations.
He said since then, over 200,000 Nigerian troops had served in UN peacekeeping missions worldwide some of which Nigerian senior military officers had commanded.
“Similarly, under regional and sub-regional cooperation, Nigeria has been involved in peacekeeping operations in field missions in Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Darfur and Sierra Leone and has contributed a lot in terms of finance, logistics, troops and civilian experts, making her one of the most significant African troops and civilian police contributors to UN missions.
“It is noteworthy that in addition to the loss of lives and injuries to personnel, the ECOMOG, a regional interventionist mediation force advocated to end the protracted Liberian civil war, was operated at an estimated cost of USD 8 billion to the Nigerian government,” he said.
Irabor said Nigeria’s active participation in peacekeeping missions had helped save countless lives and restore peace and stability to many countries over the decades.
He said despite the security challenges occasioned by the activities of non-state actors and other criminal elements that had besieged Nigeria, the Armed Forces and the police had continued to contribute troops to sustain the country’s commitment to the UN.
General Martin Luther Agwai, who was the special guest of honour, noted that the UN peacekeeping had been a unique and dynamic instrument to help countries in conflict transition to lasting peace.
He said more than two million uniformed and civilian personnel had contributed to the global effort to secure peace and progress across the world since 1948.
The Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, paid tribute to those who lost their lives while securing peace across the globe.
In his message to the occasion, he said: “In carrying out this essential work, many peacemakers have paid the ultimate price. More than 4,200 peacemakers have lost their lives serving under the UN flag.