Goodluck Enjoins People To Be Advocate Of Humanity

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has enjoined every Nigerian to be an advocate for humanity as he observed today as a day set aside to remember millions of people affected by wars, natural disasters, sickness and famine and those working to relieve their sufferings.

President Jonathan who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, gave the charge Tuesday, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, on the commemoration of the World Humanitarian Day in the country, put together by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) with the theme: “More People than Ever before Need Our Help”.

He regretted that “those in need desperately require our help but our ability to reach out to them is sadly increasingly challenging and at risk.”  He said humanitarian workers have no other agenda than saving lives and delivering the basic necessities of life which include food, water, shelter, medical care and protection for the most vulnerable.

Jonathan noted that in spite of the passion of the humanitarian workers to save lives, they sometimes become targets of hostilities in the cause of discharging their duty, stressing that “violent attacks on humanitarian personnel are increasingly becoming more frequent and brutal and in the last decade, the number of attacks on them has tripled, resulting in more than 100 deaths annually.”

He commended the courage of the medical personnel and consoled with the families of those who lost their lives when he recalled that “recently some medical personnel, driven by passion and a strong sense of our common humanity, went beyond the call of duty to try to save the life of Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian carrier of the Ebola Virus and as a result got infected and some casualties were even recorded.”

He assured that the Federal Government was doing everything possible to ensure that those still alive get the best medical attention while praying to God to save their lives.  He consoled the families of those who lost their lives at the bombing of the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja in 2011 and other acts of insurgency, assuring that the country will soon overcome the evil of insurgency in the country.

He urged all Nigerians to continue to support the Transformation Agenda of the Administration by helping in finding solutions to the societal challenges, pointing out that President Jonathan had taken a giant step by setting up two important committees, which are the ‘Presidential Flood Relief Rehabilitation Committee’ chaired by Alhaji Aliko Dangote and ‘Victims of Terror Support Fund’ chaired by General T. Y. Danjuma, all aimed at cushioning the effects of natural disasters.

In his remark, the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Sani Sidi stated that commemorating the day had become imperative in view of the upsurge of growing threats, attacks, kidnapping, maiming, injury and loss of lives of humanitarian aid workers during both local and international operations.  He said, “Under the grim scenarios of conflicts and natural disasters, humanitarians have committed their lives, worked with their hearts, sweat and blood to save lives and bring succor to the distresses in times when the major concern of everyone is self preservation”.

High light of the event was the presentation of the Humanitarian Heroes Register to Vice-President Namadi Sambo by the Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Hajiya Hadiza Kangiwa who explained that the register was intended to be an official record where humanitarian workers both in government and non-governmental sectors were listed for demonstrating exceptional qualities, perseverance and courage beyond the call of duty.