Following the appointment of Lt.-Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba, a Rwandan junior soldier to take over the commandeering role of the UN-AU Hybrid Force in Darfur (UNAMID) from Gen. Martin Agwai and head contingents that have senior officers as unit heads, concerns are raised if peace would not be jeopardized in Darfur.
Nyamvumba, who was said to have been a cadet while some of these senior officers were already graduates of the Nigerian Defence Academy, has now resumed office as the new Force Commander for UNAMID. It is however yet to be seen if his appointment would not generate internal wrangling that might crumble the peace-keeping operation in Darfur particularly from the angle of the internal organizational structure of the peace-keeping force.
The problems are many. First why would the AU influence the selection process even while Nyamvumba did not come tops during the interview? A Nigerian General was said to have performed most outstandingly and he was not given the job. The issue to me is not with the appointment of a Rwandan but with filling such a high profile vacancy with a junior soldier who now has to give commands to his superiors. Is AU having problems with Nigeria or are some leaders within the AU benefiting from the instability in the region?
Second, I would have thought that the UN Secretary General would have weighed the security and operational implication of appointing a junior soldier to lead an army of better qualified and trained soldiers for such an all-important mission in Darfur.
Lastly, there are growing worries with how certain infamous decisions and actions as well as some eleventh-hour grumblings and passivity are increasingly disrupting the progress and change the African continent is gearing towards.
Well, I cross my fingers and hope the legacies of Gen. Agwai would not be eroded and the ordinary people, mostly helpless children and women would not have to suffer for the ‘dirty politics and inglorious tactics’ that are being seen at work.
Nyamvumba, who was said to have been a cadet while some of these senior officers were already graduates of the Nigerian Defence Academy, has now resumed office as the new Force Commander for UNAMID. It is however yet to be seen if his appointment would not generate internal wrangling that might crumble the peace-keeping operation in Darfur particularly from the angle of the internal organizational structure of the peace-keeping force.
The problems are many. First why would the AU influence the selection process even while Nyamvumba did not come tops during the interview? A Nigerian General was said to have performed most outstandingly and he was not given the job. The issue to me is not with the appointment of a Rwandan but with filling such a high profile vacancy with a junior soldier who now has to give commands to his superiors. Is AU having problems with Nigeria or are some leaders within the AU benefiting from the instability in the region?
Second, I would have thought that the UN Secretary General would have weighed the security and operational implication of appointing a junior soldier to lead an army of better qualified and trained soldiers for such an all-important mission in Darfur.
Lastly, there are growing worries with how certain infamous decisions and actions as well as some eleventh-hour grumblings and passivity are increasingly disrupting the progress and change the African continent is gearing towards.
Well, I cross my fingers and hope the legacies of Gen. Agwai would not be eroded and the ordinary people, mostly helpless children and women would not have to suffer for the ‘dirty politics and inglorious tactics’ that are being seen at work.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article03//indexn2_html?pdate=100909&ptitle=Controversy trails appointment of UN-AU troops' commander
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