Dear Landers, I just read through the piece bellow and felt real bad, After we left the great british empire, are we now going in for the second slavery in the hands of the UN? In anyway, to monitor or supervise means inefficience on the path of our country. But in any shape this poll monitering is going to take, I know it won't sound good at all!!!. http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article07UN ready to monitor Nigerian polls, says Annan
From Laolu Akande, New York
IF requested to do so by the Nigerian Government, the United Nations (UN) is ready to monitor the nation's general elections next year to ensure they are free and fair, its out-going Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, said yesterday in New York.
Annan spoke at his final press conference at the UN headquarters in New York.
Answering a question on calls by some Nigerian politicians, including an All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential aspirant, Chief Harry Akande, that the UN should monitor the 2007 elections, Annan said only the Federal Government could make the request and such should be made early so that the world body could start making plans for effective monitoring.
Annan, who will quit office by the end of the year, however did not comment on the current pre-election preparations in the country, which have generated disagreement between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), some politicians and political groups.
Annan said he was not close enough to the issue to make a comment on the state of preparedness for the elections on the part of the INEC and the Federal Government.
But he said "the UN will be in a position to help if asked to do so." Recalling the recent successful conduct of the Congo elections, Annan said the UN had helped with over 100 elections worldwide.
If the request would come from the Nigerian government, the UN Secretary-General said, it had to come early "so we can work out the technical aspect in order to assure ourselves that the elections would proceed well."
According to the UN scribe, sometimes the global body also works to coordinate the work of international observers, but that also has to be based on the request of the Nigerian government.
Some political groups and presidential aspirants, including Akande, have been calling for a role for the UN in the conduct of the 2007 elections.
Annan spoke on several other international issues, including the United States (U.S.) invasion of Iraq, African Union (AU) and the role of the U.S. and other veto-wielding countries of the UN Security Council.
On the AU, Annan said the UN relationship with the body was improving, noting that the AU faced a huge challenge trying to form a union out of 53 nations, when the EU, when it started, had only 6 members.
He added that the AU lacked the kind of resources and logistics required, which he said was evident in the Darfur AU peacekeeping mission.
Annan urged the EU and other international bodies to provide support to the AU in order to strengthen the laudable efforts of the union.
Speaking on the Sudanese crisis, especially in Darfur, Annan said he was still in active dialogue with the Sudanese President, Omar el-Bashir, to clarify the new effort to have an AU-UN force in Sudan.
The Sudanese government had rejected the idea of a UN international force in the country to curb alleged genocide and other atrocities taking place in Darfur.
He disclosed that the government of Spain had donated $700 million to the UN for the realisation of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), describing the gesture as the single largest contribution to the MDGs programme, which was put in place under Annan's leadership.
Annan completes a 10-year tenure on the last day of this year. Nigeria is really in hot soup, We can stop them, can we? GOD SAVE MY COUNTRYSEGOYE2 |
