Light at the end of the tunnel for Nigeria.

Edward Kallon, the outgoing UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, is moving on after five years in the post. In this blog, Mr. Kallon reflects on the many challenges facing Africa's most populous nation, the impact the UN has made on his watch, and the prospects for a prosperous, sustainable future.

'When I arrived in 2016, I set out to go beyond the traditional engagements with governments, the diplomatic and business communities, and engage and interact with the people, and their diverse cultures and traditions. It has been an incredible journey, with milestones and legacies to build on.

In the last five years, as I applied myself to realizing this vision for the UN, I have enjoyed tremendous support and goodwill from the government and people at the federal, state, and local government levels. For this, I remain forever grateful, as this would not have been possible without their continuous support and guidance.

Nigeria: an opportunity and a risk to the African region

Nigeria, being the most populous country in Africa and the fastest growing economy in the region, provides great opportunities for economic growth and development, not only in the country but in the entire African region.

On the flip side, these opportunities also come with challenges. Nigeria is at a crossroads, with multiple, complex challenges which have implications for peace, development, and stability across the continent and beyond.

Consequently, Nigeria represents both an opportunity and a risk to the region at large and must address five critical risk factors to ensure peace, security and stability in the country: social cohesion, equality and non-discrimination; internal security; economic stability; justice and rule of law; and displacement and migration.

Myriad challenges

Nigeria is facing a number of megatrends, including multidimensional poverty; governance and human rights deficits; climate change; sluggish economic growth at a time of high population growth; the limited involvement of women in civil society and politics; youth unemployment; and pockets of conflict, banditry, criminality and terrorism driven by ethno-religious differences, and a rise in hate speech.

Farmer-herder conflicts have become part of broader tensions between various actors, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons continues to threaten national security, and Nigeria accounts for 70 per cent of the approximately 500 million illegal arms believed to be...