A Presidential spokesman, Malam
Garba Shehu has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s contributions to the
just concluded 5th AU-EU summit in Abidjan as cogent, timely and highly
perceptive.
Shehu, who is the President’s
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, stated this in a statement
issued in Abuja on Thursday night.
According to him, during the
summit which was held between Nov. 28 and 29, President Buhari demonstrated the
pivotal role Nigeria plays in continental affairs and in the relationship that
Africa must forge with other regions of the world.
He noted that discussions at the
conference were productive and frank, saying this was due in no small measure
to the interventions of President Buhari.
“Others who attended the summit
described President Buhari’s contributions as cogent, timely and highly
perceptive.’’
The theme of the summit was
“Investing in Youth for a Sustainable Future.”
He said: “At the summit, the
President declared that the single most important investment we must make is to
grow and develop our economies in ways that will provide jobs for our youths.
“While we also must invest in
education and in other social areas, he emphasized that it is upon our economic
maturation that the future of Nigeria and Africa will hang.
“Without jobs, even educated
youth become vulnerable to forms of extremism, ranging from joining the ranks
of terrorists to risking their lives migrating to Europe through the “sea of
sand that is the Sahara and the unforgiving waters of the Mediterranean.
“He said we must declare this the
era of African industrialisation for this must be the primary goal of all AU
members.
“President Buhari said this and
future AU-EU summits must be dedicated to this goal.’’
On trade and investment,
President Buhari said Nigeria was not opposed to trade reform but said reform
could not be indiscriminate.
He said that trade reform should
only occur within the context of the push to industrialise.
According to him, direct foreign
investment that produces jobs and creates tangible wealth must be encouraged.
With regard to peace and
security, President Buhari stressed the need for greater cooperation to halt
human trafficking and the need to act to curb the deaths of desperate migrants.
The President, who focused
attention on Libya, said the once stable nation had become a house of chaos
where northbound migrants were often sold into slavery and the means of violent
terrorism were transported southward to upend political stability and peace in
the Sahel.
President Buhari called on the EU
to work more diligently with the AU to bring normalcy to Libya and for the EU
to be more forthcoming with humanitarian aid to those directly affected by
terrorism.
He said that the exit of former
President Mugabe was a closed chapter in Zimbabwean and African history.
“Mugabe symbolised a good dream
gone badly awry.
“Now, the rebuilding of that
nation can become a symbol of how Africa and Europe can work together to
develop a society based on justice, democracy and shared prosperity.
“If this is to be the case, we
must be careful not to disregard the aspirations of the common person in
Zimbabwe.’’
On the developing situation in
Togo, President Buhari along with five other West African leaders with one form
of stake or the other sat down with President Faure Gnassingbe to press for an
urgent agreement between the countries’s President and the coalition that had
been opposing him.
“You must talk to each other and
avoid political explosions,’’ the President said
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com