Nigeria: "Je suis Baga aussi"

While the EU and the world focused on the barbaric act of violence in Paris, the Charlie Hebdo attack, Boko Haram literally erased the Nigerian town of Baga by executing 2000 people.

"It is perfectly natural that we have a stronger reaction when something is happening in our vicinity, on our continent. We really can be proud of our EU citizens, who demonstrated true solidarity with the victims of the Paris attack, their families and the entire French nation. But our values are universal - the Baga attack is also an attack on European values, just as the one in Paris. We must show active solidarity towards the victims of Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria as well. It is time to say 'Je suis Baga aussi'," said Davor Ivo Stier, EPP Group Coordinator in the Development Committee and Spokesman on the ACP-EU JPA (Africa Caribbean Pacific-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly) Delegation.

Stier also emphasised that the EU's development cooperation policies need to adapt to new challenges - the fight against terrorism and radicalism. Poverty and hunger are a fertile soil for radical ideas.

"We need to be real about this situation. One of the reasons why Boko Haram is advancing so fast is that the Nigerian government does not have the capacity to cope due to weak government institutions and corruption of endemic proportions. Nigeria is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of natural resources, and two-thirds of its population live on under a dollar a day. It is a global scandal, and this is only one of the examples that prove that a large proportion of our development aid is being consumed by corruption in some states," said Stier.

He added that the EU should remain the leader of global development cooperation, but that some transformation of development policies is needed: "Good governance, the rule-of-law and building effective institutions, as well as building peaceful societies, must be priorities for our development policy. This is the only way we can ensure lasting peace and security in developing countries."