Peace in pieces may be better than no peace at all, By Owei Lakemfa

Abusafiah Ramzy Ibrahim, a Nigerian-Palestinian who has lived peacefully in the country for 35 years, was abducted from his Abuja home on 22 August. The suit-wearing, shadowy Nigerian security agency, with diplomacy as camouflage, was accused of the act. Nothing was heard of Ramzy; he seemed simply to have disappeared from the earth’s surface. But for the fact that he is a leader of the Palestinian community in Nigeria, it seemed he never existed.

It was his Palestinian origins that established a link between his disappearance and the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Also, ten days earlier, the Tinubu administration had laid out the red carpet for an Israeli delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel. Both sides had discussed security, terrorism and intelligence sharing. Even as Israel massacred children and imposed starvation on hapless human beings in Gaza, the Nigerian delegation celebrated “Israeli heroism”.

However, as Ramzy wasted away in some Nigerian dungeon, events in Palestine and around the world, decisively swung against Israel. A record eleven Western countries, including traditional allies like the United Kingdom, France and Australia in September 2025, recognised the Palestinian State. They joined five others, including Spain , Norway and Ireland which had done same in 2024.

Israel, within months had become such a pariah state that when on 26 September its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu climbed the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, stage to address the world body at its 80th Anniversary, the hall emptied as decent humanity did not want to listen to a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Even United States President Donald Trump said to be a staunch ally of Israel, treated Netanyahu like a rabid dog when both met on Monday, 29 September.

He sternly warned Netanyahu and Israel never again to attack Qatar, the peacemaker of the Middle East. Trump was visibly angry that the same day, he signed an executive order stating that: “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States. In the event of such an attack, the United States shall take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability.”

These events seemed so overwhelming that the Tinubu administration set Ramzy free. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s international image was in tatters, making its best known diplomat and former Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, though not part of the official delegation, to run around the 80th UNGA trying to cover our country’s shame. He spoke up for Nigeria and Africa at various fora and granted press interviews on Nigeria’s glorious diplomatic traditions.

At the UNGA @80 Pact Innovation Forum on 23 September, Gambari, former UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, Zimbabawe and Cyprus, appealed for urgent funds to be channelled to the UN so that 20 percent of its staff will not be sent home, and its major humanitarian agencies like the World Food and Refugee programmes would not be subjected to damaging budget cuts.

As Trump met Netanyahu at the White House this Monday, he unveiled his 20-point peace plan for Gaza. These include the deradicalisation of Gaza, to make it “terror-free”. This assumes that Israel’s genocide is not part of the terror structure.

Also, Gaza is to be “redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza”. The peace proposal emphasises that: “No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.” This, of course, is welcome as it is a radical departure from the old Trumpian idea to relocate Gazans and turn the territory into some estate project.

There is also to be an immediate ceasefire, which means the genocide will stop.

The proposals also provide that 72 hours after Israel publicly accepts the agreement, all hostages, alive and dead, will be returned.

In turn: “Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after 7 October 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.”

Also, there is a proposal for full aid to be allowed into Gaza and, willing Hamas members to be decommissioned with those who wish to leave Gaza, provided safe passage.

There is the controversial proposal that Gaza will no longer be governed by Palestinians, but by “a temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza.”

Most controversial of all is that this “Board of Peace,” will be headed and chaired, wait for it, by President Donald J Trump! Technically, the new Gaza Head of State will be the United States President which means, simultaneously, he would preside over two countries.

In another controversial proposal, former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair will be part of Trump’s proposed leadership in Gaza. Recall that the same Blair had lied that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and had on that false basis, engineered an international invasion of that country in which over one million people were killed. So, can Blair who ordinarily qualifies for a war criminal be trusted with such a job? But if this is what will stop the on-going genocide in Gaza, there might be no time talking about Blair’s past. An African proverb says even a bad child has his own day.

There is also a proposal for a Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza. Equally, there is a proposal to establish an International Stabilisation Force, ISF, which will train and support vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza. This proposed force is to secure border areas, alongside newly trained Palestinian police forces.
Under these proposals, Israel will neither occupy nor annex Gaza. Rather, it will withdraw its forces based on standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarisation.

In stating the ultimate goals of the proposals, Trump said: “While Gaza re-development advances and when the PA reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”

While Trump says his outlined proposals will be pursued even if Hamas delays or rejects them, he is silent in case Israel delays or rejects them. Sometimes, peace even if it comes in pieces might be preferable to no peace at all.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.