A group, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has praised the Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) of the Nigerian Army for its role in conflict management and resolution.

The IPCR hailed the Nigerian Army during its speech on Thursday while on a courtesy visit to the Headquarters of the OPSH in Jos, Plateau State.
Speaking during the visit, the Head of the Zonal Office of the IPCR in Jos, Adejo Haruna, expressed satisfaction with the early response mechanism recently put in place by the OPSH to checkmate the crisis on the Plateau.
Haruna disclosed that the institute is a federal government agency established to engage in conflict resolution and peace-building in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The IPCR has enhanced the use of non-kinetic approach, research, interventions and capacity building of crisis-affected communities,” he said.
“Non-kinetic and kinetic approaches are required to permanently address and prevent recurring of conflicts on the Plateau.”
The Zonal Head who also presented a report on the dynamics of conflict in Nigeria and on the Plateau as well as the way forward for the OPSH said both agencies must continually collaborate to achieve effective peace and conflict resolution in areas marked vulnerable to conflict.

In his response, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division Nigerian Army (NA) and Commander OPSH, Major General Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim, thanked the group.
“I thank you for your support to the security agencies in managing the conflicts, especially in the area of recurring farmer/herder crisis on the plateau,” Ibrahim stated.
He also tasked the people to continually support the efforts of the security agencies in tackling insecurity by uniting against the enemies of peace.
General Ibrahim assured that the OPSH will continue to engage relevant organisations and stakeholders in a bid to apply new strategies to improve the security of lives and property of people in various communities and bring an end to conflicts on the Plateau and the country at large.
The GOC/Comd OPSH stated that there is no conflict-free society however, the ability to resolve conflicts within the shortest possible time is essential to the healthy existence of the society.
The high point of the visit was the presentation of a report on the dynamics of conflict in Nigeria and the way forward to the GOC/Comd OPSH, the presentation of souvenirs and group photographs.

Nigeria has been designated the country with the largest number of people lacking access to electricity with 86 million of its over 200 million population living without electricity as of 2021, a joint report by multiple international agencies, has revealed.

According to the report compiled by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the countries with the largest number of people without access to electricity as of 2021 were Nigeria (86 million), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (76 million), and Ethiopia (55 million).

The report highlighted the electricity access deficits in sub-Saharan Africa, where half of the regional population still lacks access to electricity, pointing out that the 20 countries with the largest access deficits accounted for 75 per cent of the world’s population.

It said bridging electricity access gaps, especially for people living in poor and remote regions, required an annual rate of growth of one point per year from 2021, onward almost twice the current pace.

Many developing economies in sub-Saharan Africa, are hobbled by scarce financing, inadequate risk mitigation resources, financially nonviable utilities, low capacity in critical agencies, and the absence of local financial institutions with access-related expertise all of which compromise the bankability of electricity access projects.

“As of 2021, the 20 countries with the largest access deficits accounted for 75 per cent of the global population without access. The countries with the largest number of people without access were Nigeria (86 million), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (76 million), and Ethiopia (55 million)”, the report stated.

It further stated that access to electricity grew by an annual average of 0.7 percentage points between 2010 and 2021, rising from 84 per cent of the world’s population to 91 per cent.

“If no additional efforts and measures are put in place, some 660 million people, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, would still be unserved in 2030,” it added.

However, to bridge the access gap, the report suggested that policies for energy access should demonstrate political commitment and maximise the socio-economic benefits of access, keeping the most vulnerable populations at the forefront of efforts to close the access gap.

It highlighted the fact that the sub-Saharan African region still has the largest electricity access deficits in the world.

The report further emphasised that about half of the regional population still lacked access in 2021, saying as a result, more than 80 per cent of the world’s unserved lived in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2021.

It noted that electricity access was essential for education as well as for healthcare facilities including lighting, clean water supply, childbirth and neonatal care, immunisation, storage, and power for medical equipment.

Unfortunately, this aspect of health infrastructure is often neglected, leading to inadequate access to electricity, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries, it stated.

It stressed that all countries needed to establish conditions that support new and innovative ways to promote transparency, ensure accountability, and de-risk investments.

The joint report suggested regional cooperation as a solution to increasing electricity access in Nigeria and the Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Because small national power systems predominate in the region, regional cooperation among national electricity companies and regional electricity markets is important to manage prices and ensure the security of electricity supply”, it said.

The report also called attention to good regulatory and policy frameworks that will encourage productive uses of electricity, which generate income and employment in local communities and thus help fight poverty.

It added, “It is important to note that integrated access planning, with special attention to the expansion of mini-grid and off-grid systems, is the precondition for such frameworks.

“Also, regulatory and policy frameworks informed by integrated planning can meet the energy demands of industry (especially small and medium-sized enterprises), attract private investment in the energy sector, and multiply the effects of the sector on the rest of the economy.

“Supporting technological innovation and digitalisation could reduce costs, provide efficiencies across the value chain, and improve collection and accountability, encouraging investments that widen opportunities to close the energy access gap while having large cross-sectoral effects.

“Governments across the African continent should also consider the deployment of digital technologies and the interoperability of components when strengthening and updating national institutional networks and legal frameworks that guide standards and regulations for energy products and services.”

Peter Uzoho

Hussein El Shahat © Gallo Images
A total of eight Al Ahly players will be rushed from Sunday’s African Champions League final into the Egypt squad for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea on Wednesday.

Goalkeeper Mohamed El Shennawy, defenders Mohamed Abdelmonem, Mohamed Hany, and Yasser Ibrahim will be joined by midfielders Marwan Ateya and Hamdi Fathi and the striking duo of Hussein El Shahat and Mahmoud Kahraba in the 28-man squad that will take on Guinea in Marrakech, Morocco and then host South Sudan in a friendly on 18 June.

Fortunately for the Al Ahly contingent, they will not have to travel far after Sunday’s clash between Wydad Casablanca and the Cairo giants at Casablanca’s Mohamed V Stadium where Al Ahly take a 2-1 lead from last Sunday’s first leg of the final.

Mohamed Salah leads a contingent of only four foreign-based players after both Sam Morsy (Ipswich Town, England) and Ahmed Hamdi, who plays for Montreal in Major League Soccer were dropped. Saudi Arabia-based defender Ahmed Hegazi has withdrawn because of injury.

Egypt coach Rui Vitoria handed the Future FC’s midfield duo Mohamed “Bobo” Reda and Ghannam Mohamed a first call-up.

Egypt only need one point to book their berth at next year’s Cup of Nation finals in the Ivory Coast. They are top of group D, ahead of Guinea on goal difference and six points ahead of Malawi and Ethiopia.

Guinea are hosting the match in Morocco because their own stadium in Conakry has been ruled unfit for use in international competition by the Confederation of African Football.

SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abougabal (National Bank of Egypt), Mohamed El Shennawy (Al Ahly), Mohamed Sobhy (Zamalek)

Defenders: Mohamed Abdelmonem (Al Ahly), Ahmed Fetouh (Zamalek), Ali Gabr, Mohamed Hamdy (both Pyramids), Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim (both Al Ahly), Mahmoud Marei (Future FC), Ahmed Ramadan (Ceramica Cleopatra), Hesham Salah (Al Ittihad)

Midfielders: (both Al Ahly), Mahmoud Hamada (Pharco) Mohamed Helal (National Bank of Egypt), Mohanad Lasheen, Ghannam Mohamed, Mohamed Reda (all Future FC), Ahmed Zizo (Zamalek)

Forwards: Hussein El Shahat (Al Ahly), Mostafa Fathi (Pyramids), Mahmoud Kahraba (Al Ahly), Omar Marmoush (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany), Mostafa Mohamed (Nantes, France), Yasser Rayan (Ceramica Cleopatra), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool FC, England), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Trabzonspor, Turkey).