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HRH spends a second day in Nigeria

30th November 2006

The Prince of Wales today praised British forces in Nigeria who have worked tirelessly to improve Nigeria's peacekeeping capabilities on his tour of West Africa.

His Royal Highness also paid tribute to the work of Nigeria's soldiers who had policed conflict areas and helped restore stability in parts of Africa.

The Prince was speaking at the peacekeeping wing of a military training college in northern Nigeria during his tour of the West African country.

He told British and Nigerian staff from the Jaji Military Cantonment that he was pleased to "visit Jaji to see the work that's been done here to prepare Nigerian army battalions for peacekeeping duties in Darfur in the Sudan".

"If I may say so, I've been impressed by what I've seen and heard and impressed by the quality of the instruction and training carried out.

"Above all, I'm proud to see the work being done by members of the British Armed Forces.

"They come out here for three or five weeks to assist in passing on some of their experience and skills in these areas of peacekeeping."

In 2004, General Martin Agwai, then Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, appealed to the UK for help in setting up a dedicated centre for training soldiers deployed to conflict zones.

The British responded by providing £500,000 to refurbish buildings at Jaji to create a home for the new facility, build additional accommodation to house troops and train instructors from the Nigerian Army.

Twelve British servicemen under the leadership of Colonel Robert Russell, Commander of the British Defence Advisory Team in Nigeria, have been working with their West African counterparts in the training of peacekeepers.

The British involvement in the project saw UK servicemen first train up Nigeria's instructors and they now oversee the work the African trainers perform.

Nigeria has three battalions of just over 2,000 men on peacekeeping duties in Darfur, Sudan, and their soldiers have performed similar duties in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

During The Prince’s tour of the peacekeeping centre, he saw soldiers being taught how to check a vehicle for devices and weapons and how to man a checkpoint.

His Royal Highness also met Nigerian troops who have just returned from Darfur and the British servicemen working at the facility.

Colonel Russell, who showed The Prince around the centre, said: "At the moment we are training our first battalion of 800 soldiers over three weeks and they will deploy to Darfur in February.

"The training is going very well, the troops are very enthusiastic and next week they're going on a four-day training exercise."

Afterwards, The Prince held an audience with the Emir of Zazzau, the traditional ruler in Kaduna State, at his palace in the northern city of Zaria.

The two men sat in front of a gathering of chiefs, district heads and religious leaders. The British High Commissioner Sir Richard Gozney was also present.

The Prince thanked the Emir for his warm welcome and then provoked laughter when he told him: "For me being, I'm afraid, a rather elderly polo player it's also a great joy to meet another polo player."

Referring to Princes William and Harry who are keen players of the sport, he added: "Unfortunately we have to leave it to our sons."

The two men then spoke privately for about 10 minutes. When they left the palace the chiefs, with their flowing robes and large turbans made of exotic colourful material, formed two lines and The Prince and the Emir, walked down the middle as trumpeters blasted out a fanfare and drummers beat out a deafening rhythm.

As The Prince continued his tour of north Nigeria he visited an historic former cathedral made entirely of mud in the village of Wusasa.

The building, constructed in 1927, even has a mud pulpit, altar table and pews and was for many years the only Christian place of worship in the area.

The Prince spent 20 minutes privately with the Archbishop of Kaduna, Josiah Fearon, and other church members for an informal discussion inside the building.

Northern Nigeria has a majority Muslim population but in recent years underlying political problems have provoked tensions between followers of Islam and Christians.

The outbreaks of violence in the city of Kano in 2000 and Kaduna in 2002 left several thousand dead.

Before leaving Nigeria, The Prince gave a speech at Arewa House.