• Different approaches must be adopted in difficult situations
• President okay with UN support

To end insecurity and killings in the Northeast and Northwest, the government should add dialogue to the use of force, the United Nations (UN)on Monday told President Muhammadu Buhari.

There must be dialogue and political approach to military solution, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said.

He spoke to reporters at the State House in Abuja after a meeting with President Buhari.

Kallon said: “The conflict is still ongoing, it’s not over. But today again, I told Mr. President that in addition to the military effort, that there is need to complement that with enhanced dialogue and political approach process in search of durable solution to the crisis.

“So, we think various approaches have to be used to find a solution. But when you talk about conflicts in Nigeria, we are talking about three typologies. There is no one-size-fits-all. You have identity-based conflicts, resource-based and power-based conflicts. Each of those typologies require different  approaches and solutions, that is the complex axis we are dealing with.

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“In the Northwest, you have the situation of banditry that is mixed up with some elements of terrorism, which makes it even more complex. And there is also power-based conflicts that are ongoing.

“So, because of the mixture of these typologies within Nigeria itself, that is why it is so difficult to find solutions to them, because you have to deal with each of them. But underneath all these beehives of conflicts, there are three dynamics that before a solution is found, we must look at; the political, economy and social context. They are so critical in finding the solution.

“The relationship between those three factors remain extremely important when you start looking at the issue of criminality, banditry and terrorism.

So, my call to His Excellency is to look at that robust mechanisms as a way of trying to find solutions to the conflicts in general”.

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The envoy added: “The affected people especially the 1.2 million IDPs and over 293,000 refugees in Niger, Chad and Cameroon must be supported in every way possible to improve IDP sites and shelter, basic services, protection and decongestion and dignified voluntary return to places they will have access to basic services and security.

“There is an urgent need to look at the issue of outstanding Tripartite Agreements with the Nigerian-Refugee Hosting countries and develop a National Framework to guide action on IDPs at state level in line with protocols agreed at the Kampala Convention”.

The UN representative said humanitarian problem in the Northeast had no humanitarian solution. He said only peace and preventive measures could solve the problem.