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Says investment in education yields highest returns at GEP event From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja Vice President Kashim Shettima has called on the African Union (AU) to reinvigorate diplomacy as the central strategy for resolving conflicts on the continent, stressing that reliance on peacekeeping missions alone is costly and unsustainable. According to a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President said this while speaking on behalf of President Bola Tinubu during the African Union Peace and Security Council meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly. Shettima said, “Our continent must continue to maintain a diplomatic approach in its conflict prevention and resolution endeavours.” He acknowledged the role of the AU’s Peace Support Operations (PSOs) in maintaining peace but highlighted the heavy financial burden they impose on African nations. With limited support from the United Nations and traditional partners focusing on other global conflicts, African countries are struggling to finance these operations. The Vice President emphasised that future peace operations, especially those mandated by the UN, should integrate diplomatic and political strategies that target the root causes of conflict. “We also urge the Council to ensure that the existing strategies for future AU PSOs include elements that would ensure that national and local institutions can effectively anticipate and manage shocks and relax tensions,” he stated. Shettima warned against external interference, including the presence of foreign military forces and mercenaries in African countries, which contradicts the spirit of African common defence and security policies. He urged the Council to adopt a communique promoting the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces from member states. On strengthening African peace structures, Shettima called for expediting the operationalisation of the African Standby Force and for strategic coordination between regional economic communities to avoid fragmented responses. “Conflict prevention and resolution on the continent is a matter of solidarity, and working in silos should be avoided completely,” he added. Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the AU, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, also stressed the need for national peacebuilding mechanisms as a critical foundation for African security, noting the troubling surge in armed conflicts and lack of funding for peace initiatives. In a related event,Shettima highlighted education as a crucial public investment, noting its impact on reducing conflict and fragility. Speaking at a high-level conference co-hosted by Nigeria, Italy, and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), he said, “Every additional year in school increases lifetime earnings and reduces the risks of fragility and conflict.” He praised GPE’s role in mobilising resources and improving education quality, urging donors to safeguard and increase official development assistance for basic education.
