President
Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said his government would not rest until the over
200 schoolgirls, abducted from the Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno
State in April 2014, were rescued alive.
He
also, for the first time, reacted publicly to the attempt by a former Minister
of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, to disrupt the collation of the
results of the 2015 presidential election, describing it as a desperate attempt
to maintain the status quo for selfish reasons.
Buhari
made the submission in a speech he delivered to the parliament of the European
Union in Strasbourg, France.
A
copy of the speech was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja.
Buhari
said he remained committed to the promise he made to the parents of the
abducted girls that his administration would rescue them alive.
He
thanked individual EU member states for their assistance towards the success of
the Nigerian military onslaught against the Boko Haram sect while noting their
pledges to support efforts towards the rescue of the kidnapped girls.
The
President added, “It may interest you to know that in a recent meeting I had
with parents of the Chibok girls, I assured them that government would not rest
until all the girls are rescued alive and reunited with their families.
“I
remain fully committed to this pledge.
“Since
my assumption of office in May last year, we have re-organised the Nigerian
Armed Forces and repositioned them to deal decisively with the Boko Haram
terrorists.
“Indeed,
all the Local Government Areas that were hitherto under the control of the Boko
Haram terrorists in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in the North-Eastern flank
of Nigeria, have been recaptured.
“The
Internally Displaced Persons are gradually returning to their communities. The
Federal Government is committed to rebuilding schools, hospitals and other
vital infrastructure destroyed by the fleeing terrorists.
“Currently,
the activities of Boko Haram have been reduced to the Sambisa Forest and their
capacity to launch major offensives has been degraded.
“Boko
Haram has now resorted to attacking soft targets such as markets, mosques and
churches using innocent, underage, hapless children to detonate locally made
Improvised Explosive Devices.”
Buhari,
however, expressed concern about the alarming security situation in Southern
Libya, which, he noted, was becoming a strategic time bomb for Africa and
Europe.
He
said the ungoverned swath of land of Southern Libya had become a thriving arms
bazaar, which constituted a threat to the security of the Sahel-Sahara region
as well as the West African region and beyond.
“We
must therefore intensify our efforts to find a lasting solution to the Libyan
crisis,” he stated.
Buhari
said despite its various challenges, democracy had come to stay in Nigeria.
He
pointed out that sooner than expected, the country would be counted among the
most stable democracies in Africa.
The
President added that the drama, orchestrated by Orubebe at the National
Collation Centre, where the results of the last presidential election were
being released, was momentarily frightening.
He
said the maturity, displayed by officials of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, saved the day.
He
said, “The drama that took place at the National Collation Centre was a
momentarily frightening situation, unleashed by desperate agents of the status
quo, with the purpose of maintaining their grip on the national resources for
their selfish interests.
“The
maturity and patience, with which the officials of the Independent National
Electoral Commission, under Prof. Attahiru Jega, handled the matter, saved the
struggle for democracy and the huge European contributions. We must thank God
that Nigeria survived this drama.
“As
I have stated at other fora, the action of Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan, is commendable.
“For
the first time in the history of Nigeria, a presidential candidate and sitting
President, conceded electoral defeat in defiance of calls by strong forces and
agents and benefactors of the regime not to do so.”
Buhari
identified poverty, disease and technological backwardness as Africa’s
problems.
He
listed the challenges posed by the problems to include internal strife,
refugees, drug and human trafficking.
He
said since chaos was not a neighbour anybody would wish to have, it was
important for countries to cooperate and tackle these serious problems in
Africa.
The
President described Nigeria as a peace-loving nation that had played a critical
role in conflict management and resolutions within and outside Africa.
Buhari
added, “Peacekeeping and peace-building have been part of Nigeria’s foreign
policy since independence.
“Nigerian
troops have participated in almost all United Nations sub-regional and regional
peacekeeping and peace-building operations.
“In
spite of our current security challenges, Nigeria is among the 10 top troops
contributing countries to the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations around the
world with huge financial and human commitment.”
Buhari
reiterated his position that climate change portended serious threats to
Nigeria’s security and development.
He
lamented that Nigeria had been watching helplessly as the Lake Chad was drying
up.
This,
he added, had consequences on the people in the area.
He
said, “Nigeria is watching helplessly as Lake Chad is drying up. This has
monumental consequences on the people living in the Lake Chad Basin, whose
livelihood has, for generations, been dependent on the resources of the lake.
“These
resources are fast dissipating, throwing communities out of jobs.
“It
is pertinent to mention that all the Lake Chad contiguous states are facing the
effects of climate change. Collectively, we are under obligation to face these
common challenges.
“Our
collective efforts may not be enough as we are constrained by the dearth of
funds, technology and manpower to initiate the right solutions.
“We
are therefore, calling for quick global actions to address the issues. Indeed,
these will serve in part, as panaceas for the issues facing the countries
sharing the Lake Chad resources.
“In
an effort to find a lasting solution to this problem, Nigeria had contributed
the sum of $5m, which had already been used in the conduct of holistic study
for Inter-Basin Water Transfer from Congo Basin to Lake Chad. The study has
revealed that the project will require the sum of $15bn to reach completion.
“I
wish to state that this study has indicated that the proposed Lake Chad Project
would be able to pay back this huge investment, if it is private-sector driven.
Against this background, let me invite the Parliament to use its good offices
by lending its support towards the realisation of this laudable project.”
Source: The Punch
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