President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria was making appreciable progress in solving the myriads of security challenges facing the country.
This is just as Nigeria hailed America’s support for the fight against terrorism in the North Eastern zone of the country.
The President’s Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, in two releases on Friday night said President Buhari met separately with the Prime Minister of Netherlands as well as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations at the sidelines of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America (USA).
At the meeting with the Prime Minister of Netherlands, His Excellency Mark Rutte, the President assured that Nigeria was dealing with terrorist elements troubling the country.
“We are preoccupied with security, and we are getting somewhere,” the President assured, adding that the North-East and the South-South, which were the issues in 2015, are stabilizing, while efforts are on to restore calm to the North-West, North-Central, and other restive areas.
On the economy, the President said the country took decisions to shut the borders, “eat what we grow, and curb smuggling,” noting that if that had not been done, “we would have been in serious trouble. We are lucky to have taken the decision when we did, otherwise things would have been impossible with the advent of COVID-19.”
On the spectre of military coups in West Africa, President Buhari told his guest that he was surprised at the attitude of those tampering with the Constitution of their countries, to stay longer in office. He assured that ECOWAS was doing the needful to address the developments.
Prime Minister Rutte congratulated President Buhari on how he successfully leads a country of over 200 million people, wishing Nigeria greater advances.
Also on Friday, President Buhari declared that support by the United States of America has made a great difference in Nigeria’s efforts to stamp out terrorism within its borders.
Meeting in New York with the Permanent Representative of America to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the President indicated that America’s support was a morale booster to the military, and people of Nigeria in general.
With supply of the Super Tucano aircraft purchased from America, and other helicopters on the way, President Buhari said ending the security challenges in Nigeria was only a matter of time.
On how the country was able to mitigate the scourge of the Coronavirus pandemic, of which the Ambassador said the Delta variant was “very virulent,” the Nigerian leader disclosed that a special team was raised by the Federal Government, which in conjunction with states, educated people on safety methods, “and we are not doing badly vis-a-vis our population.”
According to him, COVID-19 does not discriminate between small and big, rich and poor countries, “so we all have to collaborate and work together.”
President Buhari said leaders have to respect their people, part of which is to obey the term-limit clauses in their Constitution.
“I am surprised when people spend the maximum term possible, and then tinker with the Constitution, to stay longer.
“In Nigeria, we try to educate our people to appreciate the democratic system. Elections should be safe and secure, no coercion of any form. People should elect the people they want. That would grow democracy,” he said.
On climate change, President Buhari said the impact had been badly felt in the Lake Chad basin area, with more than 30 million people affected, deprived of access to fishing, farming, animal husbandry, and causing irregular migration and other anti-social acts.
The President then canvassed concerted action on inter-basin water transfer from Congo basin to the Lake Chad.
In her remarks, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said about 70% of her work at the UN center on Africa, and expressed worry about the recent military takeover in Mali and Guinea.
