President Buhari should use his forthcoming address before the United Nations General Assembly to establish himself as a global statesman by outlining the conditions under which the international community will recognise the Taliban government

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Within six months, the Taliban must organise free and fair United Nations-supervised elections. They need to get a mandate to govern Afghanistan

[2] The Taliban must submit to general elections every four years. Nobody has the right to rule a people without the permission of the populace

[3] The Taliban must leave women’s rights intact across Afghanistan. To buttress this point, at least a third of its cabinet must be female

[4] Betweeen now and when general elections hold, the government is Kabul must be a broad-based coalition. At least one third of the positions should go to the Northern Alliance

[5] Afghanistan’s Parliament must be restored immediately. It must approve any laws passed by the executive

[6] All restrictions on sporting activities must be lifted. As soon as this is done, as an act of solidarity, the Super Eagles will fly to Kabul to play a match against the Afghan national team

[7] All restrictions on enjoying music must be lifted. To show support, a delegation of Nigerian artists including the likes of Wizkid, Debange, Tekno, Tiwa Savage, Kiss Daniel, Oritsefemi, etc will stage a concert in Kabul

[8] The Taliban must commit to destroying all poppy fields in Afghanistan. To replace the revenue, Nigeria will supply their farmers with groundnut, millet, sorghum and cotton seedlings

[9] The Taliban must dissolve its armed wing and transition into a political party. As the world’s largest black nation, Nigeria will spearhead a United Nations peacekeeping force in the country until the Afghan Army and the Taliban fighters are truly integrated into one force as happened in South Africa

[10] Afghanistan must lift restrictions on all forms of religious worship. To help prove the point, the Christian Association of Nigerian will be paying a visit to Kabul