By Felix Khanoba
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has raised concerns about the continued existence of numerous colonized territories around the world, stressing that their patience has been exhausted.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at the International Conference to End Colonialism, organized by the Society for International Relations Awareness (SIRA), Gambari called for urgent action to ensure the independence of these territories.
Speaking on the theme “The Forgotten Peoples: International Conference to Decolonize the World,” Gambari, who also served as the last Chair of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, emphasized the need for coordinated global efforts to liberate the remaining colonies.
Reflecting on the passage of a UN resolution on decolonization when he was just 16, Gambari, who will turn 80 in November 2024, lamented that many territories are still struggling for freedom decades later.
“There are still colonies across the globe, particularly in the Caribbean, with at least 61 territories, 17 of which are recognized by the United Nations,” Gambari stated.
He identified some of these territories as American Samoa, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and Western Sahara.
Gambari, who also served as Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari, underscored the importance of the conference in advancing the UN General Assembly’s resolution on decolonization.
He warned that the colonized peoples’ patience has long been exhausted, and they are eagerly awaiting freedom.
“In 2020, the UN General Assembly, through Resolution 75/123, proclaimed 2021 to 2030 as the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. We are gathered here to breathe life into this resolution, seeking pathways to actualization rather than pushing it into yet another decade,” Gambari declared.
On the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Gambari suggested that the tragedy could have been avoided if more countries had followed Nigeria’s lead in recognizing Palestine as an independent state.
“In 1984, as Foreign Minister, Nigeria recognized Palestine and granted it ambassadorial status. Perhaps, had the world followed this direction, the calamity in Gaza might have been averted,” he said.
Gambari also recalled Nigeria’s recognition of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) during his tenure as minister, a move that secured its membership in the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
Also speaking at the event, President of SIRA, Owei Lakemfa, emphasized the conference’s role in addressing the problem of colonialism.
“We aim to bring together people from colonized territories, liberation movements, and colonial administrators to discuss and agree on a possible timeline or framework for decolonization,” Lakemfa stated.
He urged Morocco to grant full independence to Western Sahara, which has been a member of the African continental body since the 1980s.
” We urge country like Morocco which is already blessed, and richly endowed to leave its neighbour alone, let them survive.
” Fortunately for us also, Nigeria has done very well by recognizing Western Sahara in 1984 when General Buhari was head of state,” he added.
The conference, attended by dignitaries from around the world, featured speeches from former political prisoners Oscar Lopez Rivera and Edwin Cortes, who spent decades in prison for their advocacy for freedom, as well as a keynote address by Ambassador Oubi Bachir, the representative of the POLISARIO Liberation Movement in Switzerland.
