Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang Condemns Hatred And Religious Extremism; Calls For Solidarity

The President of the Pan African Parliament (PAP), H. E. Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang has called on Africans to show solidarity and work in unity, regretting that the “continent is torn within by social movements, poor economic performance, climate change, terrorism, violent extremism and the keeping of dubious relationships with certain foreign powers”.

Hon. Nkodo Dang who made the call while presenting his opening speech at the recently concluded Second Ordinary Session of the PAP, observed that instead of helping to stabilize African states and promoting their development, some foreign powers are rather involved in sustaining conflicts that serve their geo-strategic interests.

According to Nkodo Dang, “The common denominator of the peaceful social movements in Algeria and the Sudan is the dichotomy between the potential spectre of violent Islamism and the people’s well-being claimed by these movements.”

“It is also important to ensure that Africa reaps the benefits of its potential while fully realizing that national and foreign investment, trade, prosperity, production and innovation of the African economies cannot materialize without security and stability”.

“In addition, access to health care, electricity and running water for all, would remain wishful thinking if we do not eradicate forced population movements, which hinder the development of our nations and foment instability by allowing trafficking of all kinds at our borders, and all forms of extremism”.

“Africa is facing many challenges resulting from climate imbalances including drought, famine, food shortages, mass displacements and rampant desertification”.

“It was with great consternation that we witnessed the tragedy of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which ravaged parts of Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and the Comoros, leaving in its wake, thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless and exposed to climate vagaries and insecurity”.

He paid tribute to all “the worthy daughters and sons of Africa who lost their lives in these disasters” and then extended the Parliament’s sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the countries that have suffered such heavy losses.

Hon. Nkodo Dang announced that in the spirit of solidarity, “the Pan African Parliament has started taking action, under the able leadership of its President and with the direct involvement of Dr. Bryline Chitsunge, the PAP Food Security Ambassador, as well as the mobilization of our partners, to bring relief to our brothers and sisters affected by the disaster”.

He reminded the Parliamentarians that the African Union has declared 2019 as the “Year of refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons in Africa: towards durable solutions to forced displacement in Africa” , noting that the issue is of paramount importance “for our nations and peoples, because of all the ills inflicted on mankind, the suffering of refugees, displaced by conflicts, guerrilla wars, natural disasters or social and political conflicts, is the most cruel, inhumane and degrading”

“Faced with this scourge, we must strive to unite, rather than divide, so as to find solutions to the ills besetting our continent” and urged the parliamentarians to promote multilateralism, which he described as the only thing that is able to provide a common and unified answer to this problem faced by our continent.

“We must be rallying point for intra-African solidarity, which places the dignity of our fellow citizens at the heart of its social project, defends their right to integration and freedom of movement, and also defends them against the devious ambitions of those who exploit them with the aim to destabilize and perpetuate violence”.

He noted that the issue of refugees was a global one where the cooperation of everyone is needed to seek lasting solutions and encouraged the need to watch over the destinies of our continent as well as continue the African tradition of tolerance and peace.

“At this juncture, we wish to extend our sincere condolences to the victims of terrorism, a global scourge which spares neither the individual nor country. Our thoughts especially go to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Mali, Niger, New Zealand, Nigeria and Sri Lanka where thousands of people have died tragically because of hatred and religious extremism”.