Abuja asks United Nations to be more active in Africa

Meanwhile, Radio Nigeria reported at the weekend that the Nigerian government had asked the United Nations to be more active in African affairs and urged it to engage in the implementation of the Sierra Leone accord. Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar made the call in talks with Annan. He said the United Nations was paying more attention to conflict in Europe to the detriment of more complex ones in Africa, the state-owned radio said. The United Nations, Abubakar said, needed to give more logistical and financial help to support the peace process in Sierra Leone. The United Nations has said that, by the end of July, it will increase its military observer mission in Sierra Leone, UNOMSIL, from 29 to 70. At a news conference in Monrovia on 8 July, Annan said his presence in West Africa was a show of support for the peace processes in the subregion. In addition, he said, the United Nations and the international community "had an obligation to work closely with Liberia and Sierra Leone in reconstruction and development".