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Nigerian Female Peacekeeper, Others Awarded UN’s Medals

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Cdr. Olufunmilayo Amodu, serving with the UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), has been awaited with medal for her outstanding and excellent service.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday decorated her with the medal.

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Three fallen Nigerian peacekeepers will also be honoured on the 1st of June in United Nations headquarter in New York.

Those to be honoured include Lt. Col. Ali Suleiman, who served with the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Others are Warrant Officer Remmy Amakwe, who was deployed with the African Union–United Nations Mission in Darfur; and Mr Kolawole Shogaolu, who served in a civilian capacity in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali.

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The contribution of Nigeria to UN Peacekeeping Operations to ensure global peace and security have been acknowledged by the UN.

The decoration was part of activities to honour the service and sacrifice of peacekeepers around the world to mark the 2018 International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

Guterres also decorated Maj. Mohammad Khan from Bangladesh with a medal to appreciate the outstanding service of, a military staff officer based at MINUSMA Force headquarters.

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Speaking after receiving the award, Amodu said: “The medal is very important. It symbolises what it is to be a peacekeeper at MINUSMA. Receiving it from the Secretary-General is a very unique privilege.

“The terrorists are not relenting in what they are doing. And obviously, we are not backing out in what we have come to do”, she added, underscoring the worrying security situation in Mali.

She further said: “The UN is all about peace. And when there is peace, there is development.

“When there is peace, there is promotion of technology. When there is peace, every other thing works the way it should work.

“And for any person who would want to join MINUSMA, you should have at the back of your mind that when you are coming, it is to support the peace process.”

NAN reports that more than one million men and women have served under the UN flag, saving countless lives just as over 3,700 blue helmets have paid the ultimate price over the past seven decades.

Troops with the mission have increasingly become the target of attacks.

Meanwhile, Guterres attended a ceremony at MINUSMA’s base in Bamako where he paid tribute to fallen peacekeepers and laid a wreath at the memorial inside the camp, engraved with the names of those who died in the service of peace.

“Dear peacekeepers, you have demonstrated that you are capable of all forms of sacrifice. For many of your colleagues, this has meant the supreme sacrifice of giving their lives to protect the lives of Malian civilians.

“I want to thank you very much for this effort; these sacrifices, to pay tribute to you, and to say how proud I am to work with you.

“As peacekeepers, you are the foremost symbol of the United Nations itself“, Guterres said.