Former President Dr Goodluck Jonathan has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia, following the ongoing fighting between Ethiopian soldiers and Tigray Defence Forces in the northern part of the country.
“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the conflict between the Ethiopian government and those opposed to it,” said the former president.
In his statement titled “Ethiopians should meet as brothers, not as combatants”, the current ECOWAS Special Envoy in Mali also added that Ethiopia “is strategically important to Africa, being at the heart of the continent, and of our efforts at continental unification”.
“Africa and the rest of the world cannot sit idly by as this great nation, that has played a very pivotal and vital role in human civilisation, is at risk. I, therefore, call on all sides to look at the bigger picture. And that is what Ethiopia means to her people, to Africa and to the world,” he continued.
He also remarked that the ongoing violence could undo the progress that Ethiopia has achieved this far.
“So much progress has come out of Ethiopia over the last few years, and this forward match ought not to be halted. I urge everyone in that blessed nation to recognise that they are all brothers and sisters of one motherland, Ethiopia.
“That being the case, it is certainly more profitable to meet as brothers than to meet as combatants. Thus, I make this urgent appeal for all to move from battleground to common ground.”
