Insecurity: House Wants FG to Adopt AU 'Silencing the Gun' Report

The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to fully embrace and adopt the report of the 'Silencing the Guns' project aimed at silencing all illegal weapons in Africa, and ensure that relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) key into the roadmap. The House also urged the office of the National Security Adviser to fully adopt the report and cascade it down to other relevant security agencies. The campaign is aimed at promoting prevention, management and resolution of conflicts in Africa by targeting ways to silence all illegal weapons on the continent. In December 2020, the African Union decided to extend the initiative until 2030. The resolutions of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Ahmed Munir at the plenary yesterday. Moving the motion, Munir noted that ‘Silencing the Guns 2030’ is a flagship roadmap project adopted in Lusaka, Zambia, in 2016 by the African Union with the aim of realising a conflict-free Africa by 2030. He also noted that the concept of silencing the guns is borne out of the observation that the African continent is the scene of numerous violent conflicts that make the desired economic and political integration of the continent difficult. According to him, "As part of the AU Agenda 2063, the AU sought to ensure that Africa is characterised by peace, political tolerance and good governance; concerned that initially, the roadmap was to be achieved by 2020 of which the continent fell short and the goal was further extended to 2030; and cognizant that peace and security matters across Africa are interwoven and the continent cannot afford to further miss the 2030 set target." Adopting the motion, the House mandated its Committees on National Security and Intelligence and Foreign Affairs to ensure compliance.