Prof. Chris Kwaja  Honours Amongst 22 Membership Of World To Lead  OIPMA Team  In  Geneva, Switzerland

Yakubu Busari 

Plateau on global stage again 

……. Congratulations Prof. Chris Kwaja 

History is unfolding for Plateau State as one of us, a distinguished son of the soil and one of the leading aspirants for the Plateau North Senatorial seat, Prof Kwaja just got an appointment AS A SENIOR ADVISER AFRICA to be amongst the 22 leadership team of the OIPMA.

WHAT IS OIPMA?

The acronym OIPMA stands for Organisation Internationale pour les Pays Les Moins Avancés (,OIPMA) which also means the International Organisation for the Least Developed Countries (IOLDCs). 

The OIPMA or the International Organisation for Least Developed Countries was established in 1996 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a non-profit, Non-Governmental Organization holding UN ECOSOC status that advocates for the world’s most vulnerable countries such as DRC Congo, Cambodia, Uganda, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Yemen, Nepal, Niger, and 46 others. 

What this means is that Prof. Kwaja will be amongst those key figures that will  present the concerns of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in international debates, and speak up on behalf of civil societies in the crisis-affected LDCs. 

He will be:

1. Participating in international debates such as the United Nations Human Rights Council Sessions, UN Human Rights bodies meetings,

and other events coordinated by different stakeholders.

2. Doing research and writing reports on obstacles and constraints that impede the implementation of the SDGs in the LDCs.

3. Meeting with NGOs based in the crisis LDCs such as the countries of the Horn of Africa, Sahel Region, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

4. Conducting forums and interactive dialogues on the challenges met by the LDCs (children and armed conflicts, extremism, corruption,

and other core issues.

5. Carrying out advocacy matters with the aim to promote Human Rights and target conflict-prevention, post-conflict, and peace-building.

6. Advocating for Political stability and conflict resolution with a focus on peace building efforts in LDCs.

7. Advising and advocating to tackle deforestation and biodiversity loss in LDCs through natural resource management; and Supporting renewable energy initiatives.

8. Advising on Trade capacity for equitable global participation and; peace financing efforts in economic development initiatives

.

9. Advising on Initiatives for addressing (especially) children’s rights to quality education; access to digital resources and technology; Support healthcare systems;

10. Advocacy for water and sanitation projects.

WHO IS PROF CHRIS M A. KWAJA 

Chris Kwaja is a Professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies at the Centre for Peace and Security Studies (CPSS), Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Nigeria. 

One of the most recent aspirants for the Plateau North Senatorial seat, Prof KWAJA currently serves as the Special Envoy on Peace and Security, to the Governor of Plateau State, in Nigeria. He is also the representative of North Central Nigeria on the Governing Council of the prestigious Progressives Institute of Nigeria, Abuja.

Prior to that, he had served as the Director of Research and Documentation and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under the former Governor Jonah David Jang administration.

He serves as a Senior Advisor for Africa; Senior Research and Strategy Officer; as well as Country Director – Nigeria, with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a United States quasi- government institution dedicated to the pursuit of peace globally. He is a Visiting Research Fellow with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Abuja, Nigeria. 

He is also a Global Fellow of the Centre for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, Watson Institute of International Affairs, Brown University, United States.

Within the United Nations system, he was appointed as the African Representative of the United Nations Working Group on Mercenaries (2018-2024), and also served as Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group (2019-2020). His experience with the United Nations has enabled him to prioritize the strategic role and importance of multilateralism and global cooperation in achieving peace and security.

Within the African continent, Prof . Kwaja constructively lends his service as an active and critical voice in the academia, civil society, policy and diplomatic spaces. To his credit, he has over one hundred (100) scholarly, technical and policy publications in reputable journals, books, edited books, monographs, series, technical reports, policy and security briefs among others. His research and policy work covers topics on politics of multilateralism in the context of global governance, the politics of identity in Africa,the privatization of security, human rights and humanitarian studies, climate change and energy security, democratization and governance, conflict and peace studies, as well as security sector reform in transition societies.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR PLATEAU STATE 

Plateau state is undoubtedly in search of a very strong and (on-the-global-table) voice to advocate, debate, and advise strong bodies like OIPMA on mitigating the precarious state of insecurity especially issues of land grabbing and genocidal attacks on the communities.

Prof Kwaja will without doubt play an indispensable role in this regard. 

Considering the fact that both the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the Governor of Plateau state have both shown interest for international collaboration to stem the tides of insecurity in the state, the appointment of Prof Chris Kwaja will fill the gap in Advocacy, Communication and Persuasion for global response and assistance.

As we wish Prof a Godspeed, we must rally round to ensure that he succeeds in these tasks.

Congratulations once more.

Luka Panpe Yakubu.

Jos Plateau state, Nigeria.

panpeerr@gmail.com 

27/06/2026.

Caleb Mutfwang 

Bere Gyang 

Prof  Nentawe Yilwatda 

Sagacious Bello Lukman 

Dachung Musa Bagos 

Rt. Hon Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, PhD, OON