By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum is billed to deliver a public lecture to mark the 60th Anniversary of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) on Friday, 9 February, 2024.
Gov Zulum’s lecture titled “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflicts: Issues and Challenges” is to be delivered to invited guests, staff, PG students and cadets at the Academy Auditorium, NDA permanent site, Afaka, Kaduna.
Prof Zulum is eminently qualified to talk on the chosen topic, having been the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR) of Borno State under former Governor, Kashim Shettima’s second tenure (2015-2019) during which he witnessed first hand the carnage and destructions caused by the Boko Haram Insurgency. Gov Zulum risked his life while working on rebuilding homes and public infrastructure throughout the state. In 2019, he was elected as the Executive Governor and Chief Security Officer of Borno State, and in 2023 he was re-elected for a second term. As the sitting Governor, Gov Zulum oversees the Borno Restoration Project which involves the resuscitation of peace, security and development in the state.
Gov Zulum is a Professor of Agricultural Engineering, a Registered Engineer and Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE). He is a member of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (mni); a Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON); and receipient of honorary doctor of Leadership and Management of Atiba Univerisity Oyo; Fellow of Yaba College of Technology Lagos; and Ambassador-Extraordinary of the University of Ibadan at 75. Gov Zulum has acquired substantial experience in governance, leadership and administration over the past three decades.
In his lecture, Gov Zulum will recall his personal experience and comparative data to provide an informed analysis of the global and local instruments for the protection of civilians – especially unarmed persons, women, children, elderly and persons living with disabilities – who are trapped on lines of violent conflicts and the “ungoverned spaces” that are spawned by such conflicts. Gov Zulum will interrogate the efficacy or otherwise of the laws of armed conflicts, and the challenges of Post-War reconstruction and peace building.
UN Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, Ms Amina Mohammed
In addition to Gov Zulum, the UN Deputy Secretary General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, will present a second paper titled “Weaponisation of Sex and Protection of Rights of Women in Conflict”. Mrs Mohammed is expected to address the gendered dimension of conflicts, and the challenges of protecting women and the vulnerable, who are trapped in war zones. Mrs Amina Mohammed’s paper will complement that of Prof Zulum, and she will bring a blend of local and international perspectives, having served as Nigeria’s Minister of the Environment, and presently serving as UN Deputy Secretary General.
The presentations will be followed by discussions of each paper by eminent experts and defence and security professionals.
The event will also witness the unveiling of the NDA 60th Anniversary Commemorative volume titled “The Changing Dimensions of Nigeria’s Defence, Security and Strategy in a Globalized World” edited by Prof Usman Tar and Dr Sharkdam Wapmuk and Foreworded by Major General John O Ochai, the NDA Commandant. The books which contains 35 chapters provide a fresh and critical analyses on the dynamic metamorphosis of Nigeria’s defence and security in the era of revolution in military affairs (RMA) occasioned by unconventional security challenges and asymmetric warfare (Counter-terrorism and Counter-insurgency operations, CT-COIN).
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