Despite spending over $1 billion since 2015 to retake Boko Haram-held territory in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States, Nigeria’s and the Lake Chad Basin’s security remains uncertain due to continuing wars in Libya, the Central African Republic, and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), made the remarks on Tuesday, shortly after collecting the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum’s “Award for Strengthening Peace in Africa” in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital.
“Although we are winning the war, however, as a country and sub-region, we continue to be negatively impacted by events in Libya, the Central Africa Republic, The Sahel and the war in Ukraine,” Buhari told his counterparts at the African Conference for Peace, 2023.
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The President’s reasoning was based on the unfettered flow of “all kinds of small and light weaponry” orchestrated by foreign fighters.
He further reasoned that the inactivity of African adolescents and their lack of participation in debating topics that affect them provides a continual recruitment pool for extremist organizations spreading havoc across the continent.
As a result, he advised authorities to prioritize youth development, with greater seriousness and tangible solutions for boosting skill acquisition while discouraging inactivity.
This is according to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, headed ‘President Buhari receives award for African peace, lays out parameters for future unity.’
The President’s reasoning was based on the unfettered flow of “all kinds of small and light weaponry” orchestrated by foreign fighters.
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He further reasoned that the inactivity of African adolescents and their lack of participation in debating topics that affect them provides a continual recruitment pool for extremist organizations spreading havoc across the continent.
As a result, he advised authorities to prioritize youth development, with greater seriousness and tangible solutions for boosting skill acquisition while discouraging inactivity.
This is according to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, headed ‘President Buhari receives award for African peace, lays out parameters for future unity.’
The President said, “When I assumed power in 2015, Boko Haram held about two-thirds of Borno State, half of Yobe State, and a couple of local government areas in Adamawa State, all in the North-East of Nigeria.
“We have been able to retrieve these swathes of territories by investing over $1bn to acquire hard and software weaponry from the US and other friendly countries to carry out sustained operations against insurgency since 2015.”
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These funds, he believes, would have been better spent on important infrastructure like healthcare and education.
“Our Armed Forces and those of our partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force (consisting of Chad, Niger, Cameroon, Benin Republic and Nigeria) continue to demonstrate great bravery while paying the ultimate price in securing our collective freedom.
“Despite the difficult times we face, we continue to spend very scarce and lean resources to ensure that we have a well-resourced military force to take on this task. Ideally, these are resources that could be spent on education, healthcare, infrastructure and other social services, but without peace, we have learnt the hard way that our children cannot go to school or seek good healthcare,” the President stated.
He explained that the scenario caused severe instability and served as a litmus test for Lake Chad Basin Commission member countries in creating ways to restore livelihoods in the region.
The President asked his counterparts to step up efforts to limit and potentially prevent the spread of small arms and light weapons, as well as the influx of foreign fighters into Africa.
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Buhari told the current AU chairwoman, Senegalese President Macky Sall, that the upcoming Union Summit must find a pragmatic African strategy to resolving the country’s decade-long insecurity, which has rendered it a refuge for all kinds of weaponry and foreign fighters.
Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, stated in his remarks that the 2023 conference theme was based on the suggestions of the “Nouakchott Declaration” that arose from the inaugural conference.
Bayyah added that Buhari received the prize for his good leadership, promotion of peace in a multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multi-lingual country like Nigeria, and for sharing his knowledge and expertise with other African countries.
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