Bono, Dangote Consider Global Partnership to Address Humanitarian Crisis in North- East

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja

Rock star artist, Bono, and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Monday met with the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa to discuss the possibilities of a global partnership to address the humanitarian crisis in north eastern Nigeria through international advocacy.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo told the delegation that the Federal Government would welcome a global partnership that would ensure a concerted and focused international response to the humanitarian crisis in the North-Eastern region.

Bono‎ leads the ONE campaign group, an advocacy organization with more than seven million people around the world taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases especially in Africa. It has on its board people like Mo Ibrahim, Bill Gates, Micheal Bloomberg among others. It was founded in 2004.

Addressing members of the delegation that included former UK Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, Osinbajo said: “it is very important that you chose to come and offer some partnership. This is great and we are pleased…Partnership is certainly the way to go.”

He said no matter how prepared a country could be, handling the kind of crisis in the North-East with two million displaced people including children would prove a difficult task.

According to him, however, a global partnership to address the situation should be coordinated and more focussed on what was required to be done, for instance, in addressing the issue of malnourished children and not attempting to do too much things at once.

Speaking earlier the Irish born artist Bono said he had visited some of the IDPs and said “we want to be useful to you,” adding that what he saw in the region was “deeply disturbing.”

Bono also commended the social investment programmes of the Buhari administration saying “we have heard of the incredible plans, the social investment funds,” adding also that the level of transparency already seen in the administration is both “very exciting and transforming.”