Abuja – The Federal Government has been called upon to honour members of the armed forces of Nigeria who took part in the restoration of peace in Liberia 15 years ago.
Former Press Secretary to the ECOWAS Cease-Fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), Mr Frank Akinola, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Thursday.
Akinola said the call had become imperative because the United Nations Mission in Liberia ended in 2016.
“In view of that, the role Nigeria and ECOMOG played in restoring peace in Liberia may be forgotten by the international community except we use the occasion to blow our own trumpet as a sub-regional power.’’
On his part, Akinola, a veteran journalist, said he had written a book: The ECOMOG STORY: DYNAMICS OF AFRICAN POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY.
This, he explained, was to mark the 25th anniversary of the formation and landing of ECOMOG forces in Liberia to stop the civil war there.
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Akinola said the book “is an eyewitness and research account of the genesis of the Liberian civil war, the role of ECOWAS and Heads of Government toward the formation of the multinational peace keeping force which restored peace and facilitated the conduct of the democratic election in Liberia to sit a legitimate government till this day.
“It is heart-warming to note that democratic governance has remained stable in the country in the past 15 years since ECOWAS handed over the operation to the UN.
“The timing of this publication is also significant because the UN Mission in Liberia came to an end in 2016.
“The role Nigeria played in restoring peace in Liberia needs to be highlighted’’, he insisted.
According to him, the public presentation and 25th anniversary celebration are to commemorate that feat and celebrate the gallantry of ECOMOG officers and men who fought for the accomplishments and those who lost their lives.
Akinola, former City Editor (Lagos) of Daily Times newspaper, said “the honours award is designed to boost the morale of our soldiers engaging insurgents in the North East.
“This is to assure them that they would equally be honoured at the end of Operation Lafiya Dole’’, catch phrase introduced by Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Yusuf Buratai to boost combatants’ morale to defeat the insurgents.
“The presentation of the book is scheduled for March 17 in Abuja.’’ (NAN)
