By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

Nigerian activists on Saturday urged the United Nations and global powers to ratchet up their pressure on the Israeli government to lift the siege on Gaza.

Speaking at a news briefing in the Nigerian commercial city of Lagos, Yekinni Shakiru, convener of the International Institute for Human Heritage -- a civil rights movement -- called for respecting all resolutions meant to guarantee a two-state solution to the standoff in the Middle East.

“We join the rest of humanity...in a global effort aimed at bringing to a close the human tragedy that is ongoing in Palestine,” Shakiru said.

He called the campaign “a collective imperative” that must be championed by all people of good conscience.

The news briefing was followed by symbolic rally. Similar activities were also held in other Nigerian cities calling on the international community to break the Israeli siege on Gaza, seven years after Israeli armed forces violently broke off a Turkey-led flotilla mission to end the blockade.

“We appeal to the conscience of the people of the world who support truth and justice to do the little they can to break this siege and allow the people of Gaza to live a dignified life,” according to Yekinni.

He urged “all freedom-loving people of the world to embrace the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and refrain from patronizing any group, individual or institution aiding and supporting the apartheid regime in Tel Aviv. We did that in South Africa, it is possible in Palestine.”

He also called for a sustained campaign to “pressure global leaders to prevail on the military rulers in Egypt to open the Rafah Crossing, which is the only outlet for the people of Gaza to the outside world.