VP Osinbajo Receives Rock Star Bono To Explore Global Partnership To Address Northeast Crisis

By Laolu Akande 

The Federal Government will welcome a global partnership that would ensure a concerted and focused international response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the insurgency in the North-Eastern region of the country.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, gave this indication earlier today while receiving members of the ONE campaign led by the international Rock Star artist Bono, and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who were at the Presidential Villa to discuss the possibilities of a global partnership to address the crisis through international advocacy.

Addressing members of the delegation that included former UK Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, Prof. Osinbajo noted that “it is very important that you chose to come and offer some partnership. This is great and we are pleased…Partnership is certainly the way to go.”

He said no matter how prepared a country could be, handling the kind of crisis in the North-East with two million displaced people including children, as a single country “would be irresponsible.”

According to him however, a global partnership to address the situation should be coordinated and more focussed on what is required to be done, for instance, in addressing the issue of malnourished children and not attempting to do too much things at once.

Speaking earlier the Irish born artist Bono said he has visited some of the IDPs and said “we want to be useful to you,” adding that what he saw in the region was “deeply disturbing.”

Bono also commended the social investment programmes of the Buhari administration saying “we have heard of the incredible plans, the social investment funds,” adding also that the level of transparency already seen in the administration is both “very exciting and transforming.”

The ONE campaign is an advocacy organization with more than seven million people around the world taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases especially in Africa. It has on its board people like Mo Ibrahim, Bill Gates, Micheal Bloomberg among others. It was founded in 2004.