High Commissioner of the Republic of the Gambia to Nigeria, Mrs Fatou Njie, said those agitating for the creation of a Biafran nation are backed by external forces. The Gambian envoy spoke with newsmen shortly after she presented a paper at the ‘Say No to violence’ conference organised by Africa Youth Network in conjunction with Wurafadaka Global Concept, held at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, last weekend. Njie, however, appealed to youths not to turn themselves to weapons of destruction by being influenced by those she called ‘external forces’ to scuttle Nigeria’s peace. She said some of the agitators who are spurring for war while agitating for the creation of a Biafran nation are backed by the external forces and urged them to embrace peace, which Africans are known for. The envoy, earlier in her address, urged African leaders to shun violence and called for a refocus on the family life, stressing that youths are prone to violence when the family institution is broken. The ambassador, who identified some of the forms of violence ravaging the continent as political, regional, xenophobic, domestic and terrorism, called for a

concerted effort to towards peace on the African continent in the interest of accelerated growth and development. The Director, Centre for International Education, University of Ilorin, Professor Mohammed Ibrahim, who also spoke in an interview with newsmen, backed the call for the restructuring of the country, but warned that if not properly handled, it may lead to another crisis. He appealed to those who are spurring for war over the agitation for the creation of a Biafran nation to take caution, adding that Nigeria is still licking the wound of its civil war 47 years after (Nigerian Pilot)