‘Stop The Carnage’ – Senate Warns Israel, Calls Tinubu To Press For Two-State Solution

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday came down hard on Israel, warning the country against the continued bombing of the Gaza Strip, an enclave being controlled by Hamas, regarded as a terrorist group by Israel, the US and many countries in Europe.

This was a sequel to a motion brought during plenary by Adamu Aliero, (PDP- Kebbi Central) and Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, co-sponsor (APGA-Abia South) praying his colleagues to intervene in the ongoing Israel war on Gaza.

The one-month-old war which was triggered by attacks on Israel by Hamas, has displaced thousands with many dead.

As Israel continues to pound Hamas in its determination to root them out, the Senate said the “killings must stop.”

The promoter of the motion, Aliero who traced the beginning of what is regarded as the Arab-Israeli war to 1948 said the killings of children and women must stop.

The two-term governor of Kebbi State condemned the “wanton destruction of lives in that conflict, and called for “a permanent solution.”

He said that “the United Nations voted in 1948 to partition Palestine, one Jewish, one Arab but the Arab community rejected it.”

He said, “There have been horrifying figures of casualties from both sides. Schools that have been destroyed. Hospitals, Churches, Mosques that have also been destroyed from both sides.”

Contributing, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, (APGA-Abia South) said, “A two-state solution has been proposed and accepted but one side they don’t want to accept and the other side said they want to protect themselves.

“But the point is the world knows that an eye for an eye will lead to everybody not having any eye. And so I joined in calling for a swift and quick resolution of this conflict so that the world may be at peace.”

Also contributing to the debate, Deputy Senate President, Jubrin Barau (APC-Kano North) said, “What we are calling for is a ceasefire immediately.

“What we need now is a ceasefire so that the people that are being killed every day will no longer be killed. So many have lost their lives.

“So many children have been left orphans.

“You see what’s happening, when you open your TV you see dead bodies. This is unacceptable. This is not good, it’s not good for the modern world.

“The world has been so advanced. To begin to witness these kind of atrocities is not something we should welcome.

“We should add our voices so that Palestine and Israel can come together and accept a two-state solution so that permanent peace can return to that region.

“We can’t allow this to continue so that a permanent ceasefire should be called for and be implemented immediately.

“Let the carnage stop, let the killing stop, then we sit down and negotiate for a two-state solution,” Barau said.

Senator Sanni Musa, (APC – Niger East) said, “It’s not all about who is right or who is wrong” and noted that killings on both sides is condemnable.

“What I feel about a country like Nigeria, in Africa is to give our voice out, calling for peace. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.

“We are calling for peace, we want a solution – a permanent solution to this conflict,” Musa said.

Senator Victor Umeh (LP – Anambra Central) said, there’s every need for caution, to ask the leaders in that environment to stop” the killing.

In his contribution while putting the motion to test, Senate President Godswill Akpabio who presided over the plenary commended the sponsor of the motion supporting the call for the cessation of hostilities.

The Senate in a unanimous resolution called on “Nigeria to, as a matter of urgency, take necessary steps in conjunction with other countries and the United Nations to immediately end the conflicts, ensure and save lives and properties of innocent children and women and indeed humanity who are being destroyed on a daily basis.

“Urged the federal government of Nigeria to press for a two-state solution panacea towards a permanent resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis as earlier agreed by the United Nations since 1948.”

Akpabio thanked his colleague “for us to identify with the plight of the armless children, the plight of innocent citizens, the plight of our fellow human beings who are daily being slaughtered.”