Press Release: VICE-PRESIDENT SHETTIMA CALLS FOR LASTING SOLUTIONS TO GAZA CRISIS AT UNGA79, REAFFIRMS NIGERIA’S SUPPORT FOR PALESTINIAN INDEPENDENCE

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

For Immediate Release

(Lagos, 25th September, 2024). The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) commends Nigeria’s Vice-President, Senator Kashim Shettima GCON, for his decisive and principled stance on the Palestinian issue during his address at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79). Standing in for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, Vice-President Shettima delivered a resounding call for immediate ceasefire and reaffirmed Nigeria’s long-standing support for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for sovereignty and independence.

This address comes at a critical moment. The Gaza conflict, reignited on October 7, 2023, has already claimed over 40,000 lives and left thousands more wounded, most of them women and children. It remains one of the most urgent humanitarian crises of our time, demanding collective action and resolve. The Vice-President’s call for peace and justice is consistent with Nigeria’s long-standing commitment to the values of freedom, human rights, and opposition to oppression in all its forms—values deeply rooted in our shared global history of anti-colonialism and the fight against apartheid.

Before the assembly of nations, Vice-President Shettima underscored the failure of the international community to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has persisted for decades. He rightly pointed out that the continued violence and instability are stark reminders of the world’s inability to fulfill the founding ideals of the United Nations—ideals aimed at promoting equality, justice, and the right of all peoples to live free from oppression.

A Call for Global Responsibility and Leadership

Vice-President Shettima’s powerful address at the UNGA79 sends a clear and timely message: Nigeria will always stand with the oppressed, and we will not be silent in the face of injustice. His remarks are a clarion call for global leadership, urging world powers to move beyond rhetoric and act decisively to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Vice-President Shettima’s appeal for ceasefire and justice for the Palestinians is a reminder that the international community must renew its commitment to a just and peaceful resolution to the conflict—one that guarantees the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace, security, and dignity.

MPAC’s Stand: Upholding Justice and Human Rights

MPAC remains steadfast in our advocacy for a principled foreign policy that places justice and human rights at the forefront. The Palestinian people’s quest for freedom, independence, and human rights is not just an Arab or Muslim cause—it is a human cause that deserves the full weight of international support. Vice-President Shettima’s speech at UNGA79 is therefore a bold reaffirmation of Nigeria’s long standing commitment to universal values, and for that, we commend his leadership.

We continue to urge the Nigerian government to remain vocal and active in the pursuit of justice for the Palestinian people. It is critical that Nigeria, alongside other nations of conscience, holds Israel accountable and those arming it to commit massacre after massacre with absolute impunity responsible for crimes against humanity. A sustainable peace can only be achieved when the injustices meted out to the Palestinians are addressed, and the Palestinian people are granted their full rights under international law.

In the light of this fact, we call on the Nigerian government to officially recognize and support South Africa’s exemplary role in confronting the dangers and threat to global peace represented by Israeli imperialist aggression, and that of its main supporter, United States. We urge the international community to act with the urgency, resolve, and moral clarity required to bring an end to the violence in Gaza and to work towards a lasting and just peace to end the 76-year old occupation of Palestine.

-End-

Disu Kamor
Executive Chairman

Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC

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