Obasanjo announces commission to curb unrest

Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo has announced plans to set up a special security commission to deal with increasing ethnic, religious and communal unrest. In a broadcast on Monday to mark the 41st anniversary of independence, Obasanjo said the violence recorded in the past two years was "a national disgrace". He added that the unrest had made it necessary to set up "a Commission on Security to advise the government on ways and means of strengthening overall security for our people". Widespread violence across ethnic and religious lines as well as within ethnic groups has claimed thousands of lives since Obasanjo was elected president in 1999. The latest violence erupted in early September in the central city of Jos between Muslims and Christians. It resulted in the death of over 500 people and the displacement of more than 50,000. "Peace and security are fundamental foundation stones on which democracy and development can and need to be anchored," Obasanjo said. He urged Nigerians to work to achieve and consolidate "political stability with social cohesion and harmony".