A former Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has rued the global impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, noting also the racial discriminations faced by Nigerians and Africans in the wake of the crisis.
Ekweremadu spoke on Sunday at the opening of 9th Session of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace as well as the International Tolerance and Co-existence Conference currently holding at the national parliament of the United Arab Emirates (Federal National Council) in Abu Dhabi.
He called on the international community to rise more assertively against racism and also raise more humanitarian support for those affected by the conflict.
“It is quite imperative for this honourable parliament to reflect on the tales of racism-induced woes, indignity, and horrors suffered by Africans and others in the ongoing conflict. Back home in Nigeria, we saw so many reports and trending videos of Nigerians and other Africans, mostly students, recounting their ordeals in the hands of their hosts at the borders, train stations, and in forms of media misrepresentations.
“So, it needs to be underlined that, among other things, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict reminds us that racism is still very much with us and it is for reasons as this that the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace was established to address. And this we must do.
“Nobody, whether Black or White or any other race for that matter deserves racial discrimination at any point in time, worst still at points of life and death. This parliament needs to rise in condemnation of such abuse of human dignity”, he stated.
He urged the international community to do more to end the war.
“While members of the international community deserve commendation for the efforts made so far towards ending this conflict, they need to do more and do it faster too. There is also the need for increased engagement of both parties by the United Nations.
“Furthermore, there is need for international humanitarian intervention for displaced civilian population, while also ensuring a continued safe corridor for evacuation of all civilians in line with the Geneva Convention regarding civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are otherwise rendered incapable of fighting”.
Ekweremadu, however, urged communities and nations to embrace peaceful resolution of issues, as armed conflicts come at grave costs to all sides involved and even beyond.
“In the Eastern part of Nigeria where I come from, we have a saying that he who rushes into war does not know that war itself is death and destruction – death and destruction to your enemy as well as to you and your loved ones. This is even more so in a globalised world where, like a pebble thrown into the water, whatever happens in one part, have ripple effects on the rest.
“According to Reuters, the conflict has resulted in over 21,000 deaths, 1,900 non-fatal injuries, 10 million displacements, destruction of over 1,700 buildings, and US$119 billion property damage.
“The conflict has also had a devastating effect on a global economy trying to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commodity prices, especially crude prices and energy, have soared.
“International students have also been displaced. Nearly 2,000 Nigerians in Ukraine, most of them students, have been evacuated and are back home.
“The bottom line is that that war and conflicts are never an option. This is why in my part of Nigeria, we say that peace may be costly, but no price is too high to pay for peace because it will always be cheaper than war”, the former Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate concluded.