Harps on prompt responsiveness to warning signals
Former Nigeria president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo today, commended the efforts of the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Eghosa Osaghae on the establishment of an Early Warning Systems Centre at the institute.
Chief Obasanjo who could not hide his joy while inspecting the state-of-the-art early warning facility, said the initiative was a timely intervention to curb arrays of national crises.
” I am particularly delighted that it is not an Early Warning Center of conflicts alone but also that of crises like flooding, droughts and issues of climate change”, he said.
The former president also expressed concerns on the responsiveness to early warning signals, urging relevant bodies to effectively utilize such invaluable information for national good.
While enumerating the functions and objectives of the Gen. LEO Irabor NIIA Early Warning Systems, the coordinator of the centre, Dr. Godwin Ichimi, said the overall objective was to flag off crises and conflicts before they snowball to somewhat uncontrollable dimensions.
He further revealed that the Early Warning Systems Centre, which was inaugurated few months ago, had began breaking remarkable grounds by giving critical crises signposts and analyses to the Nigerian Armed Forces, particularly on the Sudan crisis.
Former President Obasanjo was crowned the first Global Advocate of the NIIA Gen. LEO Irabor Early Warning Systems Centre.
